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The ''Times of Malta'' is an English-language daily newspaper in
Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
. Founded in 1935, by Lord and Lady Strickland and Lord Strickland's daughter Mabel, it is the oldest daily newspaper still in circulation in Malta. It has the widest circulation and is seen as the daily newspaper of record of the Maltese press. The newspaper is published by Allied Newspapers Limited, which is owned by the Strickland Foundation, a charitable trust established by Mabel Strickland in 1979 to control the majority of the company.


History

The history of ''The Times'' of Malta is linked with that of its publishing house, Allied Newspapers Limited. This institution has a history going back to the 1920s, when it pioneered journalism and the printing industry in Malta. It all started with the publication, by
Gerald Strickland Gerald Paul Joseph Cajetan Carmel Antony Martin Strickland, 6th Count della Catena, 1st Baron Strickland, (24 May 1861 – 22 August 1940) was a Maltese and British politician and peer, who served as Prime Minister of Malta, Governor of the L ...
, of Malta's first evening newspaper in Maltese, ''Il-Progress''. This was a four-page daily with its own printing offices in what was then 10A, Strada Reale,
Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 wa ...
. The name "Progress" is retained to this day by the commercial sister of Allied Newspapers Limited, Progress Press Company Limited, formed in 1946. Bilingual journalism, Maltese and
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
, was introduced in Malta with the publication, on 3 February 1922, of an English supplement to ''Il-Progress''. ''The Times of Malta'' and ''Il-Progress'' lasted until 1 March 1929. The English supplement then became ''The Times of Malta Weekly'' (forerunner of ''The Sunday Times of Malta''). The Maltese side was named ''Ix-Xemx'', later changed to ''Id-Dehen'' and later still to ''Il-Berqa'', first published on 29 January 1932. ''Il-Berqa'' ceased publication on 30 November 1968. In February 1931, Progress Press moved from Strada Reale to 341, St Paul Street, Valletta, until recently the site of Allied Newspapers Limited, also known as ''Strickland House''. As readership of the English supplement to ''Il-Progress'' soared, Lord Strickland was quick to see that there was room for an English daily. This would happen, so long as the new publication achieved and maintained a high standard of public service in information. The first issue of ''The Times of Malta'' was published in full co-operation with the British
MI5 The Security Service, also known as MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), G ...
on 7 August 1935 under menacing war clouds as
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
planned the invasion of Abyssinia, which began in October of that year. On 2 September 1935,
Mabel Strickland Mabel Edeline Strickland, (8 January 1899 – 29 November 1988), was an Anglo- Maltese journalist, newspaper proprietor and politician. Family and personal life Strickland was the daughter of Sir Gerald Strickland, later the 4th Prime Ministe ...
, who was a founder member of Allied Malta Newspapers Limited and formed part of the first Board of Directors, became the first editor of ''The Times of Malta''. She also edited ''The Sunday Times of Malta'' from 1935 to 1950 when she was succeeded by the late George Sammut, who retired in 1966. Anthony Montanaro was the next editor. He retired on 1 March 1991 and succeeded by Laurence Grech. On 6 August 1960, the 25th anniversary of ''The Times of Malta'', Strickland wrote that ''The Times of Malta'', whilst originally the
Constitutionalist Constitutionalism is "a compound of ideas, attitudes, and patterns of behavior elaborating the principle that the authority of government derives from and is limited by a body of fundamental law". Political organizations are constitutional ...
political party's paper, had become a national newspaper. The paper won for itself a reputation for objective reporting whilst upholding its own strongly held editorial opinion. Strickland's editorship covered the difficult years of World War II. Nevertheless, none of the newspapers forming part of the Group ever missed an issue, in spite of continuous bombing and many shortages in the siege years between 1940 and 1943. The building was bombed twice, receiving a direct hit on 7 April 1942, when sixteen rooms were demolished but sparing the printing machines. Thomas Hedley took over as editor from Strickland in 1950. He edited the paper through the traumatic years of political and industrial change, culminating in Malta's Independence in 1964. Under the editorship of Charles Grech Orr, ''The Times'' kept up the tradition of never missing an issue when twice hit by industrial action in 1973 and when political arsonists burned the building down on 15 October 1979. That date came to be known as "
Black Monday Black Monday refers to specific Mondays when undesirable or turbulent events have occurred. It has been used to designate massacres, military battles, and stock market crashes. Historic events *1209, Dublin – when a group of 500 recently arriv ...
". In the face of serious danger, the editor and his staff had to abandon the building. Printing of the following day's paper continued at another printing press,
Independence Press Herald House or Herald Publishing House is the publishing division of Community of Christ in Independence, Missouri. It publishes books, periodicals and other materials at the direction of the First Presidency. Its history dates to the publicatio ...
. The paper was out on the street as usual the following morning, reduced in size but a triumph for freedom of expression. During the last 10 years, its website timesofmalta.com has become the primary news source in Malta and one of the main news websites in the Mediterranean. In June 2019, Herman Grech was appointed editor-in-chief, Bertrand Borg online editor and Mark Wood print editor. In March 2021, Adrian Hillman, the former director of the Allied Group and Vince Buhagiar, the former chairman of Progress Press were charged in court with various fraud and money-laundering offences. It is alleged that Hillman and Buhagiar conspired with
Keith Schembri Keith Schembri (born in Cospicua, 26 July 1975) is Maltese businessman and political strategist who served as Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Joseph Muscat from 11 March 2013 to 26 November 2019. Schembri resigned in relation to the murder inv ...
, former Chief of Staff to Prime Minister
Joseph Muscat Joseph Muscat (born 22 January 1974) is a Maltese politician who served as the prime minister of Malta from 2013 to 2020, and as the leader of the Labour Party from June 2008 to January 2020. Muscat was re-elected as prime minister in the ...
, to defraud Progress Press of around €5.5 million by inflating the prices of machinery purchased from Schembri's company Kasco and sharing the profits between themselves.


References


External links

* {{official, http://www.timesofmalta.com Newspapers published in Malta Publications established in 1935 1935 establishments in Malta Maltese news websites English-language newspapers published in Europe