The late Anton Cassar.

Tributes poured in for veteran journalist Anton Cassar who died yesterday, aged 90.

Mr Cassar was well known for his leftist beliefs and unwavering support for the General Workers’ Union.

He was mostly remembered for establishing the GWU Maltese daily l-orizzont back in 1962.

“He was a gentleman who stood up for the profession, a man of integrity who was very respectful of all the press, even those sections who were frequently at odds with the GWU,” former editor of The Sunday Times Laurence Grech said.

Mr Cassar started a long career in the 1950s as a reporter with the newspaper Il-Berqa, then published by Allied Newspapers Ltd, before setting up l-orizzont.

In recognition for his contribution to the profession, Mr Cassar was awarded the Midalja għall-Qadi tar-Repubblika as well as the Gold Award for Journalism.

Frans Camilleri, editor of the GWU Sunday paper It-Torċa between 1964 and 1969, said that both from an editorial perspective as well as presentation-wise, Mr Cassar’s style was considered to be innovative at the time.

Mr Cassar strived to adopt a non-partisan approach within the editorial policy at the time, to the point he was be criticised for being too lenient in certain aspects.

Former l-orizzont editor Frans Ghirxi, who retired in 2010 after a 46-year career, also paid tribute to Mr Cassar.

“For him facts were always sacred, to the point that he frequently demanded journalists in the newsroom to put themselves in the shoes of those at the receiving end of the story before penning their stories.”

A gentleman who stood up for the profession

Mr Ghirxi recounted how, shortly after being appointed editor in 1992, he had persuaded his predecessor to start a weekly column.

“I trusted his judgement so blindly that he was the only one that used to send his article directly to print as I never felt the need to go through it,” Mr Ghirxi said.

The government also paid tribute to Mr Cassar, who described him as a pioneer in the fields of journalism and literature, and who contributed towards the moral, intellectual and social development of the country.

Condolences were also expressed by the Labour Party and the Institute of Maltese Journalists.

His funeral will be held tomorrow at the Holy Trinity parish church of Marsa at 3pm.