By: Zaki Salleh
IPOH 16 March – The journey of the local community newspaper, the Ipoh Echo will be documented when it was selected to fill a teaser slot to be presented at the 2023 National Journalists’ Day (HAWANA) celebration.
This year’s HAWANA celebration will be held from May 27 to May 29 in Ipoh.
The recording of the interview session for the documentation was held by the BERNAMA Radio crew at the Ipoh Echo office located in Jalan Lasam here.
First published in 2006, this first English-language community newspaper managed to attract the attention of readers in Ipoh and create influence.
This newspaper was co-founded by businessman, the late Datuk K.K Lim; the late Lt Col (B) Fathol Zaman Bukhari and the late G. Sivapragasam.
The goal at the time was to bring back the buzz and improve the economy of all communities, especially in Ipoh
Starting with 2,000 copies of a printed newsletter, it evolved into a full fledged community newspaper with a circulation of 20,000 copies per issue twice a month.
It was distributed to almost all major cities in Perak and sent directly to readers’ homes in Ipoh.
With the pandemic and MCO, the printed paper was put on hold and migrated into a vibrant digital portal with its own app available on Apple and Google.
Ipoh Echo is now on a few digital platforms like Facebook and Instagram, with Twitter next, in addition to its own website ipohecho.com.my which is easily accessible through its own app.
Editor-in-Chief, Rosli Mansor Ahmad Razali said, the newspaper still maintains the same reporting concept despite using different platforms.
“We are not only the ‘Voice of the local community but also the one stop source of news, happenings, events and food.
He said the transition on the platform is in line with the current trend with the number of readers reaching a million.
“We are proud that Ipoh Echo’s achievements as a community media that started small will be recorded at the HAWANA 2023 celebration.
“As local media, we are also excited when Ipoh, which is known as a hipster city, is chosen as the venue for a very meaningful event for the media community,” he said.
The organisation of HAWANA 2023 will be hosted by the National News Agency of Malaysia (BERNAMA).
HAWANA was first held on 11 April 2018 at Matrade Exhibition and Convention Center Kuala Lumpur.
