Two events at the beginning of August 1935 bore all the hallmarks of the turmoil and carnage that was to tear Europe apart in a bloody war.

On August 7, 1935, 60 per cent of voters in Gdansk, Poland, agreed to Nazism. Just four days later, a mass Nazi demonstration against German Jews was held.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Opposition leader Simon Busuttil in an informal question and answer session with journalists in 2013.

The very first edition of the Times of Malta, printed on August 7, 1935, reported the crisis in Abyssinia (Ethiopia), which brought international tension nearer to Europe. It also drove Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy together for the first time.

Unwittingly, the newspaper founded by Mabel Strickland and her father Gerald (Lord Strickland) was to become the only source of information for many Maltese as bombs rained down on the island during World War II.

Despite taking direct hits on several occasions, the paper never missed an issue throughout the siege of Malta – a proud legacy the company celebrates to this day.

The building in St Paul Street, Valletta, spawned hundreds of stories of different battles along the years, before it itself fell victim to political upheaval in October 1979, when it was torched to the ground by Labour thugs. Still, the Times of Malta made it to the newsstands the following morning, effectively sealing its reputation as a bastion for democracy.

From the dark days of war to the recent political scandals, the Times of Malta has been here, documenting every twist and turn.

Former editor Lawrence Grech.

It was there when Malta was awarded the George Cross in 1942; it followed closely the politically turbulent moments; it reported the arrival of queens and popes; it was on site when the Vulcan crashed in Żabbar in 1975; it reported in detail Malta’s momentous move towards EU membership; it was first on the scene when two Libyan fighter jets defected to Malta in 2011; it has been at the forefront in reporting the many migrant tragedies…

All along, it has been the most reliable and consistent news source in Malta.

While foreign news dominated the front pages for half of this newspaper’s life, the shift nowadays is towards local news. It is fascinating to see the changing focus over the years, not to mention the change in style and better print quality thanks to new machinery at Progress Press’s state-of-the-art facility in Mrieħel.

But changing trends meant that this news organisation had to spread its wings and change its ways of disseminating the news.

Content editor Ray Bugeja.

With 24-hour news channels, news portals and the constant flow of information, yesterday’s news is old news. The Times of Malta now runs Malta’s top news website, it produces and distributes several lifestyle magazines and supplements, and for the last two years it has ventured into television through a weekly programme, Times Talk.

Even as the winds of change impact the print industry, the newspaper’s importance in these fast-moving technological times has not diminished. In the past few years, the daily and Sunday papers have shifted direction increasingly to give prominence to exclusive stories.

As it prepares to mark its anniversary, the Times of Malta prides itself on the fact that not many institutions launched 80 years ago have survived upheavals and fast-changing business models, penetrating society’s psyche as the go-to place for breaking news.