Berita Harian - History

History

1957

• On July 1, the inaugural issue of Berita Harian, first romanised Malay morning newspaper was published. Initially, it reflected the contents of Straits Times and was priced at RM0.15 with only 8 staff operating the paper.

1958

• In April, Abdul Samad Ismail was appointed Editor.

1960

• On July 10, Berita Minggu, first romanised Malay Sunday newspaper was launched.

1966

• On Jan 1, Berita Harian introduced a new masthead.

1968

• Cartoonist Lat started contributing “Keluarga Si Mamat” cartoon series in Berita Minggu.

1972

• Abdul Wahab Zain was appointed Editor.

1974

• Two pages of Berita Harian were added to make it a total of 12 pages – the contents focused on trade and business, notes on photography, advice for students in exams, more pages on entertainment, foreign news & articles and general features.

1975

• On July 1, Berita Harian price was increased to RM0.25.

1976

• Abdul Samad Said was appointed Editor.

1978

• Salim Kajai was appointed Editor.

1979

• On Nov 29, Edisi Bandar Berita Harian was launched.

1981

• Berita Harian was revamped with new colour masthead, new sections and greater emphasis on entertainment features. Priced at RM0.35.

1983

• Berita Harian price was increased to RM0.45.
• Adibah Amin was appointed Editor.

1984

• In February, Ahmad Sebi Abu Bakar became Group Editor.

1985

• On June 19, Berita Harian and Berita Minggu were incorporated under a subsidiary, Berita Harian Sdn Bhd.
• On Oct 20, Akhbar Dalam Darjah (ADD) was launched.

1986

• In April, Abdul Kadir Jasin became Group Editor.

1988

• On April 8, Ahmad Nazri Abdullah became Group Editor.

1989

• On Aug 8, Jaguh – a special 16-page tabloid pullout on Sports was introduced.

1991

• On Dec 2, new format of Berita Harian with the tag line “Sumber Ilmu dan Maklumat Mutakhir” was launched.
• On Dec 8, new format of Berita Minggu was launched.

1992

• On June 1, special daily supplements were added: Berita Pelajar, Berita Wanita, Berita Teknologi, Jaguh, Perspektif and Dunia.

1993

• On May 5, Komputer was published as a sub-section in Teknologi section.
• Launch of Minda Pelajar on the December 4. 50,000 issues were printed weekly at RM0.70 per issue.

1994

• On Jan 5, Komputer was launched as a separate pullout.
• On Aug 11, launch of a new image of Berita Komputer.
• The first issue of Didik, a weekly education tabloid, was published on December 19 with the cover price of RM0.70.

1995

• On Jan 1, newly improved fonts, images and layout were applied to Berita Minggu. BTV was renamed Persada Seni.
• On Jan 2, Regional page in Section 2 was abolished. Masthead for Section 3 was changed. The main section of the paper focused on national news, foreign and business.
• On Feb 23, Citra a weekly newspaper was introduced. It carried the tagline “Bicara Wanita Kontemporari”. It was sold at RM1.00. The last issue of Citra pullout was published on January 31, 2000.

1996

• On Oct 4, Joran pullout was launched.
• 1998
• On July 19, Ahmad Rejal Arbee was appointed Group Editor Berita Harian.
• In November, a new price for Berita Harian (RM 1.20) was announced. Persada Seni was moved into Section 3. Other segments included in Section 3 were Wanita, Sastera & Budaya and Iklaneka.

1999

• In June, the new look of Berita Harian and Berita Minggu were launched, incorporating new mastheads and layout design as well as improved content with more space for news, features and analysis.
• 2001
• Berita Harian’s weekly education tabloid, Didik was incorporated into Berita Harian as a free pullout beginning issue dated February 6-12.
• Berita Harian’s weekly education tabloid, Minda Pelajar was incorporated into Berita Harian as a free pullout beginning issue dated February 5-11.
• On Apr 26, Berita Harian’s third education pullout, SKOR was launched. SKOR aimed to guide secondary students in Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia, was distributed free with Berita Harian.

2002

• On Mar 3, Berita Minggu revamped Bi-Pop, an entertainment pullout and changed its name to Bintang Popular.
• On Mar 11, Berita Harian was published in 2 sections only. Wanita & Keluarga and Persada Seni merged in Section 2.

2003

• On Jan 6, a new look of Berita Harian was launched. The revamp was to make Berita Harian more reader-friendly, and with content to attract younger readers.
• On Jan 12, Berita Minggu launched product revamped.
• On Mar 3, Berita Minggu newly improved format of Bi-Pop was introduced.
• On May 30, Berita Harian first published Y1F1 pages in broadsheet size published every Friday, Saturday, Sunday (in Berita Minggu) and Monday.
• On July 18, Hishamuddin Aun was appointed Group Editor, BHSB.
• On Sep 22, Y1F1 became a tabloid-sized pullout and distributed free with Berita Harian every Monday.
• On Oct 4, Berita Harian launched a new pullout IKON targeted at youth. The pullout is inserted in Berita Harian every Saturday.
• On Nov 6, EpG (Emas, Gangsa dan Perak) was launched in place of Jaguh, Berita Harian sports pullout.

2004

• On Jan 13, average daily circulation figure of Berita Harian reached 238,000 copies.
• On Jan 26, Berita Harian introduced Page 1 for Edisi Wilayah, Tengah, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Sabah-Sarawak, Timur, Utara and Selatan. Each region will have its own front-page story daily.
• On Feb 12, Malaysia Super League (MSL) came in tabloid size for every first Thursday of the month.
• On Apr 5, Berita Harian started “Hello YB” column on the front page of its regional edition.
• On June 1, Zian Johari, former editor of Harian Metro was appointed Executive Editor of Berita Minggu.
• On Aug 23, a new look of Berita Harian’s Edisi Tengah called Sentral was launched.
• On Nov 29, Y1F1 ceased to be published.

2005

• On Jan 1, the cover price of Berita Harian was increased to RM1.50. In Sabah and Sarawak, the newspaper was sold at RM2.00 and the cover price for Berita Minggu was increased to RM2.00.
• On June 19, the new look of Berita Minggu was launched. The newspapers’ improved white-on-red mastheads have their words slanted five degrees to symbolise dynamism and youthfulness.
• On June 20, the new look of Berita Harian was unveiled. The revamp saw changes in the Berita Harian masthead as well as its pullouts.

2006

• On Apr 1, Datuk Manja Ismail was appointed as Group Editor and Director of Malay publications.
• On Apr 10, RakanBH was launched. It is an interactive community service for Berita Harian readers to send or receive news through their cell phone.
• On Aug 26, new pullout was introduced every Saturday – K & M (Kereta & Motosikal).

2008

• On Mar 1, Datuk Mustapa Omar was appointed as Deputy Group Editor of Berita Harian Sdn Bhd.
• On July 5, Berita Harian ceased its publication in broadsheet format.
• On July 6, Berita Minggu went compact after 51 years as a broadsheet. Subsequently on July 7, Berita Harian was published in compact version. Though smaller in size, the newspapers continue its editorial stance of providing serious and credible news. There are also some obvious changes being adopted such as the layout that uses bigger and more interesting pictures, shorter and concise news report and introduction of new pullout and columns.
• On July 11, a 12-page “XY - Ikon Lelaki” a new Berita Harian pull-out was launched.

2009

• On Mar 23, guru.net.my was launched.
• On July 1, Datuk Mior Kamarul Shahid was appointed Group Editor, Berita Harian and Mahfar Ali was appointed Deputy Group Editor, Berita Harian.
• On Aug 17, Berita Harian introduced ‘Sisipan Wilayah’ as a new pullout. There are 6 editions for Sisipan Wilayah: Edisi Sentral, Edisi Utara, Edisi Timur, Edisi Sabah Sarawak, Edisi Melaka Negeri Sembilan and Edisi Johor.

2010

• On Jan 2, Joran was published on Saturday instead of Friday.
• On Jan 11, Minda and Skor pullouts introduced a new masthead.
• On Jan 12, Berita Harian’s latest pullout Varsiti was launched.
• On Oct 20, Berita Harian online became the number one online news compared to other online newspapers in Malaysia. This result was through a research by Nielsen Media.