The journey of The Manila Times

SINCE its humble beginnings in 1898, The Manila Times has been manned by and has produced topnotch journalists who have made the press a partner in nation-building. The following are the significant events that are now part of the paper’s history as well as that of the country:

1898 - American businessman Thomas Gowan starts The Manila Times, the first bulletin that carries press cable in English that is distributed in the Philippines. The first issue is a sheet of two leaves or four pages measuring 12 by 8 inches. A bulletin entitled “Manila Times” appears on the streets of Manila on October 10, 1898. The bulletin carries the first English-language press cable received in the Philippines. The bulletin is about the Paris Conference held to end the Spanish-American war. The publication also carries the description: “Pioneer American daily in the Far East.” At one point, the paper prints an issue at noontime and another in the afternoon. In 1928, however, its offices are razed by fire.