Harian Metro

Harian Metro

Type	Daily newspaper
Format	Tabloid
Publisher	The New Straits Times Press (M) Berhad
Editor	Datuk Mustapa Omar
Founded	25 March 1991
Language	Malay
Headquarters	Balai Berita 31, Jalan Riong, 59100 Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Circulation	393,050 (Harian Metro) 447,691 (Metro Ahad) *Source: Audit Bureau of Circulations, Malaysia 2011
Website	www.hmetro.com.my

Harian Metro, Malaysia's first Malay daily afternoon tabloid in Klang Valley and morning tabloid in other part of Malaysia was established on 25 March 1991. It is now Malaysia's largest circulating newspaper for any language.

The change in the demographics of urbanites resulted in a growing audience of young people who were looking for entertainment, shopping news, lifestyle features and current news. Harian Metro met those needs in exciting editorial presentations.

On 17 July 2006, not content to rest on its laurels, the newspaper underwent a layout revamp to remain fresh and relevant for its readers. New vibrant pullouts were introduced such as “Rap” and “Variasi”, and this complemented the main paper further.

On 11 April 2009, Harian Metro increased the cover price with introduction of its new exciting pullouts such as “GIGS” and “EKSTRA”.

Harian Metro's meteoric rise has steadily gained momentum over the past few years. For 2011, Harian Metro maintained for the fifth year running as the No. 1 daily Bahasa Melayu newspaper as declared by the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

The continuous changes have since been well received by its readers, consolidating further the tabloid’s position as the leading Bahasa Melayu newspaper.

History

1991

• On 26 March, Harian Metro, the country’s first afternoon Bahasa newspaper was launched. The price was RM0.50.
• Mior Kamarul Shahid was appointed the first News Editor.
• On 26 June, Harian Metro first revamped.

1992

• Ahmad Puah Onah was appointed Editor.
• On 25 March, the southern edition of Harian Metro was launched in Johor Bahru.

1994

• On 1 April, Zian Johari was appointed Editor.
• On 16 May, Harian Metro Edisi Timur was launched.
• On 1 August, Harian Metro Edisi Utara was launched.

1995

• On 29 August, Metro Ahad was launched.

2000

• On 17 July, Harian Metro was revamped with a new tag line ‘Kini, Sini, Terkini’.
• On 23 July, Metro Ahad was revamped.

2001

• On 26 March, Harian Metro celebrated its 10th Anniversary

2003

• Metro Ahad achieved 1, 068, 000 readers for the fourth quarter of 2003.

2004

• On 27 January, new official web page for Harian Metro & Metro Ahad (http://www.hmetro.com.my) was launched at Balai Berita, Kuala Lumpur.
• On 1 June, Berita Harian Sdn Bhd appointed Hafifi Hafidz as the new Executive Editor of Harian Metro and Metro Ahad, replacing Zian Johari, who was appointed Executive Editor of Berita Minggu.
• On 27 July, Harian Metro launched its weekly column called “Liku-liku Niaga”. The column publishes every Tuesday in Harian Metro’s Business section.
• On 23 August, a new pullout of Harian Metro called Bintang and Variasi Metro (V-Met) was launched.

2005

• On 1 January, the cover price of Harian Metro was increased to RM1.20. In Sabah and Sarawak, Harian Metro was sold at RM2.00 each and the cover price of Metro Ahad was increased to RM1.50. In Sabah and Sarawak, the newspaper was sold at RM2.00.

2006

• On 6 June, i-Metro, an interactive portal providing readers a chance to be the eyes and ears of their community was launched.
• On 15 July, Harian Metro launched its new look with more stylish, colourful and reader-friendly layout. New sections focusing on celebrities, lifestyle, health and fashion have been added. Among the changes made are introducing new mastheads for Harian Metro and Metro Ahad, replacing Metro Ahad’s Meta with Ekspresi and renaming Harian Metro’s Bintang to Rentak Artis Popular (RAP) and V-Met to Variasi.
• On 16 July, Metro Ahad was revamped.

2008

• On 1 March, Abdul Ghafar Ismail was appointed Executive Editor Harian Metro/Metro Ahad.

2009

• On 12 April, Metro Ahad launched a new pullout “GIGS – Gema Informasi Generasi Semasa”. The pullout is inserted in Metro Ahad every Sunday.
• On 13 April, the cover price of Harian Metro was increased to RM1.50. In Sabah and Sarawak, the newspaper was sold at RM2.30. RAP and Variasi pullout introduced new masthead.
• On 1 July, Abdul Ghafar Ismail was re-designated as Deputy Group Editor, Harian Metro.
• On 17 August, Datuk Mustapa Omar was appointed Group Editor, Harian Metro.
• On 9 October, Harian Metro launched a new pullout AYU.

2010

• On 3 May, Harian Metro was made available in Sabah and Sarawak.
• On 23 May, Harian Metro’s Sarawak and Sabah edition was officially launched in Kuching. The 64-page Sarawak and Sabah edition is priced at RM1.50 each, providing readers with various interesting stories from sports, education, community to special features.