Berita Harian

BH (renamed on 2 July 2012; formerly known as Berita Harian) came into being on 1 July 1957 as the first mainstream newspaper in Bahasa Malaysia. Ever since then, BH has become a true chronicler of history for the country.

Its Sunday Edition is called BH Ahad (renamed on 1 July 2012; previously known as Berita Minggu) was launched on 10 July 1960. Throughout the years, BH has diversely moulded itself from a paper reflecting the traditional thoughts and aspirations to a vibrant medium where era of knowledge has become the primary resource of economic development.

Overview

The newspaper was printed in broadsheet format until 5 July 2008, when the newspaper chart a new era, with a new look and trendier compact version on 6 July 2008.

As the pioneering vernacular daily, BH continues to transform its readers by enriching their knowledge and stimulating their minds with the latest news presented in a thought-provoking way. Moreover, it has evolved from just an ordinary daily to go on board in the digital platform namely e-paper, tablet, mobile phones and online edition allowing the readers to read the news in a simple, fast and compact way.

To stay relevant and to keep up with the tastes and lifestyle of the present generation, a total modification was made on 1 July 2012. The transition includes changing the 'Ekonomi' section to 'Bisnes', the pullout ‘Ratu’ to ‘Famili’ and ‘Rona’ to ‘Kembara’. Changes were also made in layout, typography, pagination which is more attractive and easy to read as well as highlighting the fact number, info graphic and interesting information. The new BH is also providing larger size colour photographs.

To attract younger and present readers, few segments have been introduced such as ‘Jejak’, ‘Fokus’, ‘5 Soalan’ and ‘Meoww’ a page for cat lovers. ‘Inspirasi’ pullout on Saturday will feature famous artists as a columnist such as Aaron Aziz and Fasha Sandha while the Glamor pullout on Saturday features well known columnist Juwie.

History

Editorial cartoon by Peng which was published in Berita Harian newspaper dated 7th September 1957 for a weekly column called "Berita Harian Hidangan Hari Sabtu" (Berita Harian’s Saturday Column).

"Mat Jambul Family" cartoon strip, published on 14th May 1961, by Berita Harian.

1957

• On 1 July, 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 10 July, Berita Minggu, first romanised Malay Sunday newspaper was launched.

1966

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

1976

• Abdul Samad Said was appointed Editor.

1978

• Salim Kajai was appointed Editor.

1979

• On 29 Nov, 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 19 June, Berita Harian and Berita Minggu were incorporated under a subsidiary, Berita Harian Sdn Bhd.
• On 20 Oct, Akhbar Dalam Darjah (ADD) was launched.

1986

• In April, Abdul Kadir Jasin became Group Editor.

1988

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

1989

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

1991

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

1992

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

1993

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

1994

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

1995

• On 1 Jan, newly improved fonts, images and layout were applied to Berita Minggu. BTV was renamed Persada Seni.
• On 2 Jan, 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 23 Feb, 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 31 January 2000.

1996

• On 4 Oct, Joran pullout was launched.
• 1998
• On 19 July, 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 6–12 February.
• Berita Harian’s weekly education tabloid, Minda Pelajar was incorporated into Berita Harian as a free pullout beginning issue dated 5–11 February.
• On 26 Apr, 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 3 Mar, Berita Minggu revamped Bi-Pop, an entertainment pullout and changed its name to Bintang Popular.
• On 11 Mar, Berita Harian was published in 2 sections only. Wanita & Keluarga and Persada Seni merged in Section 2.

2003

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

2004

• On 13 Jan, average daily circulation figure of Berita Harian reached 238,000 copies.
• On 26 Jan, 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, Malaysia Super League (MSL) came in tabloid size for every first Thursday of the month.
• On 5 Apr, Berita Harian started “Hello YB” column on the front page of its regional edition.
• On 1 June, Zian Johari, former editor of Harian Metro was appointed Executive Editor of Berita Minggu.
• On 23 Aug, a new look of Berita Harian’s Edisi Tengah called Sentral was launched.
• On 29 Nov, Y1F1 ceased to be published.

2005

• On 1 Jan, 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 19 June, 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 20 June, the new look of Berita Harian was unveiled. The revamp saw changes in the Berita Harian masthead as well as its pullouts.

2006

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

2008

• On 1 Mar, Datuk Mustapa Omar was appointed as Deputy Group Editor of Berita Harian Sdn Bhd.
• On 5 July, Berita Harian ceased its publication in broadsheet format.
• On 6 July, Berita Minggu went compact after 51 years as a broadsheet. Subsequently on 7 July, 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 11 July, a 12-page “XY - Ikon Lelaki” a new Berita Harian pull-out was launched.

2009

• On 23 Mar, guru.net.my was launched.
• On 1 July, Datuk Mior Kamarul Shahid was appointed Group Editor, Berita Harian and Mahfar Ali was appointed Deputy Group Editor, Berita Harian.
• On 17 Aug, 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 2 Jan, Joran was published on Saturday instead of Friday.
• On 11 Jan, Minda and Skor pullouts introduced a new masthead.
• On 12 Jan, Berita Harian’s latest pullout Varsiti was launched.
• On 20 Oct, 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.

References

External links

• www.bharian.com.my Official Website
• subscription.nstp.com.my e-Paper Official Website