UAE | Media
Memories of times past and present
When Abdul Kareem arrived in 1978 he saw an advert for the launch of Gulf News and applied for a job. He joined the paper's circulation department just as it was turning from an afternoon edition to a morning newspaper.
- By Mahmood Saberi, Staff Reporter
- Published: 01:20 November 2, 2007
- Abdul Kareem (left) and Mohammad Ukkayil, two of the long-serving employees of Gulf News, with the first issue of the paper.
- Image Credit: Gulf News
Dubai: When Abdul Kareem arrived in 1978 he saw an advert for the launch of Gulf News and applied for a job.
He joined the paper's circulation department just as it was turning from an afternoon edition to a morning newspaper. "Very few copies were distributed in Bur Dubai, Deira, Satwa and Jumeirah," he said. "Our total print run was around 3,000."
Gulf News was printed at 12 noon then, but after a week "we became a regular morning newspaper," he said.
Most of the stories came from the wires, he said, meaning international news agencies.
This was before the newsroom became computerised.
Nowadays it is relatively easy to change a headline or update a story, but back then the process was far more complicated, he said.
Gulf News was first printed from its Airport Road office with about 200 people. When the paper shifted to its Shaikh Zayed Road offices in 1986, the only approach was a sandy track.
Staff had to trudge through the sand to get to work, there were no street lights and the road turned pitch black at night.
During the move, Abdul Kareem endured sleepless nights as he was the coordinator. "I have worked under three managements and in three offices," said Abdul Kareem, now head of archives.
Today, Gulf News archives stores pictures and stories from more than 15 publications from Al Nisr Group. "Anything you want we will get it for you," he said with pride in his voice. Abdul Kareem and his team used to earlier painstakingly clip and paste articles, but that stopped in 2001. Today, the archive, which is manned by nine staff, has more than a million images.
The most intense period was during the Gulf War. "We worked for 10 to 12 hours every day, bringing out five editions daily," he said. "I didn't go home for two days." The other incident he remembers well was the hailstorm of 1981, which flooded the paper's office. "I played a big role at the time," he said. The teleprinter bringing in international news had shut down and Abdul Kareem went frequently to Emirtel (forerunner of etisalat) to get teleprinter copies.
He comes from a large family of 10 brothers and sisters and had to give up his studies to help support them.
Abdul Kareem is married with two children. "My life changed along with the paper," he said.
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