The Times will be 70 tomorrow

The newsroom in the 1960s and beyond!

I joined Allied Newspapers Ltd as a reporter in 1967, thus missing covering one of the milestones in the island's history - The Independence of Malta. But other important events would happen and all these had to be covered.

At the time we were four reporters in the newsroom covering all imaginable events for what was then still called The Times of Malta.

Just days after my engagement I found myself at the villa of Mabel Strickland. I remember sitting in the entrance to the villa in Lija awaiting instructions! I hadn't met her personally but had only seen her image on television and political posters glued to walls. She told me a group of boy scouts would be visiting her and she wanted a story to appear on the next day's edition of The Times.

At one stage she looked at me and said: "Son, do not call yourself a journalist until you practise journalism for six years''.

The woman meant business, she was professional and that's how she wanted her staff to be.

I must admit that during my 13 years as a journalist with The Times, Miss Strickland's advice kept haunting me and pushing me to always seek perfection.

All the reporters in the newsroom were young; we were in the 18-20 years age bracket. But we were disciplined... with a few exceptions! There was no cutting corners and no questions left unanswered. The editor - Charles Grech Orr - would never allow a name to appear with just the initials; he would insist on the full name and even designation!

Life was not that easy: we had no mobile phones and land lines at that time were most unreliable. So even merely checking a name was time-consuming and painstaking work.

The news editor at the time must have been one of the most adventurous I ever met - John Mizzi, whose knowledge of the Royal Navy was and I believe still is unbeatable within the local media scene!

His reliable contacts with navy high-ups were invaluable in order to obtain scoops. It was thanks to him that I was sent on my first overseas coverage - a Nato exercise in the Mediterranean. I must admit Mr Mizzi wrote the bulk of the story but I enjoyed every single minute of the trip, observing the day-to-day life of a naval officer on board the frigate HMS Tenby.

Although competition at the time was almost non-existent, especially in the English language print media, all of us strove hard and left no stone unturned to give readers the best possible news service. This bore fruit as we did have a few big achievements.

Life as reporters was hectic, especially in the run-up to general elections, during polling days and in the aftermath. Sometimes it meant jotting down notes for hours on end and the colourful Dom Mintoff made covering a Labour Party mass meeting an enjoyable event. I would usually sit in the driver's cabin of the truck on which Mr Mintoff stood to deliver his address, mesmerising the crowds.

That would be one of the rare occasions when a journalist could get so close to the former Labour leader. Indeed, The Times reporters would not be allowed to put questions to Mr Mintoff on his return from meetings abroad and we would stand behind barriers opposite the airport VIP lounge watching Mr Mintoff disembark, hop into his black official car and speed away.

Nationalist Party mass meetings prior to the 1971 general elections weren't as noisy and in terms of attendance they were smaller when compared to the MLP ones.

I was still a junior reporter when the late former PN leader George Borg Olivier was elected Prime Minister. But I still vividly remember covering the PN general conference when (President) Eddie Fenech Adami succeeded him as leader.

The atmosphere in the newsroom changed drastically on October 15, 1981. I had been assigned to cover a Labour demonstration that proceeded from the Palace Square to Castille. Temperatures were evidently running high. There was tension in the air. Having gathered the information I required about the demonstration itself, I made my way back to the newsroom to write the item. But as I approached Castille Place I witnessed my place of work being razed to the ground. The first thought to come to mind was the well-being of my colleagues. Then I asked myself: "Will The Times make it?" It had survived the war but I feared it would not remain afloat this time.

I was wrong, thank God. The Times was on the news stands the following morning - yes weak in terms of the number of pages but strong and full of determination to press ahead.

It took a lot of effort by many people of all shades and from all walks of life to put full democracy back on track again. But it did happen. Today journalism enjoys respect and freedom in its endeavour to disseminate information, to entertain, educate and to assist the citizens to have informed opinions.