179,231 (daily) 207,119 (Metro Ahad) 1,743 (daily E-paper) 1,741 (Metro Ahad E-paper) *Source: Audit Bureau of Circulations, Malaysia - July to December 2015[2][3]
Harian Metro is a Malaysian
daily newspaper owned by the
New Straits Times Press. It is Malaysia's first
Malay daily afternoon
tabloid in the
Klang Valley, in contrast to morning tabloids in other part of
Malaysia. The Harian Metro was established in March 1991 and is the first and oldest Malay-language tabloid newspaper in the country. It is now Malaysia's largest circulating
newspaper in 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 set out to meet those needs.
On 17 July 2006, the newspaper underwent a layout revamp to remain fresh and relevant for its readers. New pullouts were introduced, such as "Rap" and "Variasi".
On 11 April 2009, Harian Metro increased its cover price with the introduction of new pullouts such as "GIGS" and "EKSTRA".
Harian Metro's rise has steadily gained momentum over the past few years. For 2011, Harian Metro remained the No. 1 daily
Bahasa Melayu newspaper for the fifth time as declared by the Audit Bureau of Circulations. However, it later lost the status to its rival,
Mingguan Malaysia [
ms], in the second quarter of 2013, largely due to increased access and availability of internet news sources and subsequent growth in their audience.
Despite pride itself as a "reader's choice newspaper", Harian Metro seems to have things that it far left behind, unlike or since the presence of its rival newspaper, Kosmo!.
History
1990s
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.
On 1 August, Harian Metro Edisi Utara was launched.
1995
On 29 August, Metro Ahad was launched.
2000s
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 tenth anniversary
2003
Metro Ahad achieved 1,068,000 readers for the fourth quarter of 2003.
2004
On 27 January, a new official web page for Harian Metro and Metro Ahad at www.hmetro.com.my was launched in 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 increased to RM1.20. In
Sabah and
Sarawak, Harian Metro was sold for RM2.00 each, however, 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 a more stylish, colourful and reader-friendly layout, as well as new sections focusing on celebrities, lifestyle, health and fashion. Among the changes made are new
nameplates 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 of Harian Metro/Metro Ahad.
2009
On 12 April, Metro Ahad launched a new pullout titled "GIGS – Gema Informasi Generasi Semasa". The pullout is inserted into Metro Ahad every Sunday.
On 13 April, the cover price of Harian Metro increased to RM1.50. In Sabah and Sarawak, the newspaper was sold at RM2.30. The "RAP" and "Variasi" pullouts introduced a new
nameplate.
On 1 July, Abdul Ghafar Ismail was re-designated Deputy Group Editor of Harian Metro.
On 17 August, Datuk Mustapa Omar was appointed Group Editor, Harian Metro.
On 9 October, Harian Metro launched a new pullout, "AYU".
2010s
2010
On 3 May, Harian Metro became 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, provides readers with coverage of sports, education, and community.
2013
On 7 January, Harian Metro's weekday entertainment pullout, "Rentak Artis Popular" was shortened to simply "RAP".
2019
On October, Harian Metro was revamped. Its weekend entertainment section, "Bling" renamed to "RapXtra".
2020s
2021
On 25 March, Harian Metro celebrates its 30th anniversary.