Three new books in <i>Kullana Kulturali</i> series

After the war, The Times sought to uphold the principles of fair play, the "comment is free, facts are sacred" mentality and the right of reply - despite the fact that Lord Strickland's daughter, Mabel, who ran the newspaper, was herself involved in politics.

The history of journalism in Malta is being published in one of three volumes in the Kullana Kulturali series.

The three books which have just been published are Il-Gurnalizmu f'Malta 1798-2002 by Prof. Henry Frendo, Ir-Rumanz Malti sa Nofs is-Seklu Ghoxrin by Dr Charles Briffa and Il-Kwadri Ex-Voto Marittimi Maltin by Joseph Muscat.

Il-Gurnalizmu f'Malta 1798-2002 gives the social history of the development of Maltese journalism.

According to the book, The Times of Malta started being published as a supplement to the newspaper il-Progress back in the 1920s. It became a daily newspaper in 1935.

The Stricklands ran their own newspapers. In the 1930 electoral campaign, the Church condemned Strickland, his colleagues and his newspapers and imposed moral sanctions on all those who supported them, the book says.

Ms Strickland's newspapers took a stand in favour of Great Britain and the Commonwealth. In the fifties, the Progress Press newspapers moved editorially close to the Nationalist Party because of common opposition to then prime minister Dom Mintoff.

However, the papers never became Nationalist Party organs. They sometimes criticised, even harshly, the Borg Olivier administration and Mabel Strickland was against the Borg Olivier 1962 proposal for independence.

Ir-Rumanz Malti sa Nofs is-Seklu Ghoxrin gives a detailed exposition of the development of the novel as a literary genre in Malta and its social implications.

It provides another detail in the cultural picture of human development on these islands in the Mediterranean and it shows that Malta has taken part in various significant events of the region.

Il-Kwadri Ex-Voto Marittimi Maltin gives all the necessary social and historical information about Maltese ex-voto traditions.

The book offers an account of the main issues of the religious devotion in these islands through a historical eye.

It provides pleasant reading and should be interesting to all those who would like to add more to their cultural knowledge of the islands.

The Kullana Kulturali builds up into an encyclopaedia of Maltese culture presented by Publikazzjonijiet Indipendenza. Three volumes are published every three months.

More information may be obtained from Michael Schiavone on tel. 2596 5411 or 2596 5412.