www.bahrainthismonth.com September 2022 5 George F. Middleton Publisher and Chairman COVER Cover Picture: 25th anniversary edition Scan this QR Code to subscribe to the digital edition of the magazine. Printing Press Union Press, Bahrain Published monthly by RED HOUSE MARKETING P.O. Box 20461, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain Tel: (+973) 17 813-777, Fax: (+973) 17 813-700 Email: [email protected] www.bahrainthismonth.com © Copyright Reserved 2005-2020 The concept, content, style and design of this publication remain the exclusive property of Red House Marketing (Jersey) Ltd. and must not be reproduced in any form whatsoever without prior written permission. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this publication. However, Red House Marketing cannot accept legal responsibility for any error or omission. • Views expressed in this magazine by journalists and writers are not necessarily those of the publishers of Bahrain This Month. Licensed by the Ministry of Information Publication Code: TA001 ISBN 1 899 348 09 3 1 YEAR SUBSCRIPTION Bahrain: BD24 Gulf and international subscriptions available on request. Publisher and Chairman George F. Middleton Editor Farah Baig Assistant Editor Kristian Harrison Contributors Behnaz Sanjana, Bill Grieve, Eman Deabil, Pria Masson, Ouiam Charkani El Hassani, Simran Tiwari, Sravan Kumar. Intern Debra Okera Editorial Consultant Ahdeya Ahmed Print Production Manager Sabu Sebastian Art Director Hatem Monem Webmaster Nishad Eapen CRM & Database Coordinator Muna Yousef Staff Photographer Subeesh Kumar N S Administration and Finance Samson Vaz, Marlyn Ragasa Distribution Team CM Abdul Rahman, Gopal Arul Kumar Distributor Al Hilal Group (Hilal Direct Services) Media Sales Director Anuradha Manhas [email protected] Media Sales Executive Safia Dawani [email protected] DIGITAL & CONTENT MARKETING TEAM Digital Strategy Director Lini Reghunath Digital Marketing & Social Media Director Farah Baig Online Editor Farrah Saville Media Assistant Alya Al-Mutairi Social Media Managers Simran Tiwari, Rohit Reghunath When I look back, a quarter of a century ago, to the time when we started the first ever monthly magazine (of any language) in Bahrain, I am filled with nostalgia; and terror! I remember canvassing potential advertising support from popular restaurants and watering holes in Manama who wondered whether there was enough happening in Bahrain, on a monthly basis, in order to justify that frequency of periodical. At the time when we decided to launch Bahrain This Month, there was a quarterly magazine in existence called ‘This is Bahrain & What’s On’ run by a popular socialite, Finola Flanagan. Her popularity as an ‘IT Girl’ was considerable and, for a time, she enjoyed significant success in her endeavours. Unfortunately, this media pioneer passed away a few weeks ago after a long illness and I am grateful to her for her contribution to our industry. After the first issue was launched on 8th September 1997, I remember examining the multitudinous errors, including misnumbered pages, missing articles and duplicate forms (one of which, incidentally, was inserted upside down). Unfortunately, it was (by no means whatsoever) a pretty sight to behold. Severely embarrassed by this outcome, I tried to think of a way to recover from the ignominy of publishing failure and hit upon the notion that people would forgive almost anything as long as they could see themselves in the pages of a glossy magazine. We managed to include pictures of social activities, parties and events from the previous month to the appreciation of the Gulf Daily News subscribers at the time who took to the social photography element of the new publication in the same way that ducks take to water! In essence, Bahrain This Month’s ‘Bystander section’ became Bahrain’s very own social media platform before the advent of online media; and therein lies our success as it seemed to work even a quarter of a century on. Our forgiving audience were patient enough to bear with us as we committed to employing our first professional editor, the late Roy Kietzman; an American writer from Indiana, USA who put his heart and soul into the development of the magazine for the first eight years of its existence. Without the concise administrative support and loyalty of our first ever employee, Samson Vaz (who is still with us today), I know that this venture could never have survived the volatility of fate and circumstance especially over the past couple of years. From being the first monthly magazine in the State of Bahrain 25 years ago, to launching the first magazine website in Bahrain, and now, the first NFT magazine cover in the region, Bahrain This Month has always been at the forefront of developments in the Kingdom’s media industry. It is due to the very nature of Bahrain and its people; not only Bahraini nationals whose natural traits emit kindness, compassion, gentleness of spirit; but also Bahrain’s expatriates from all walks of life and countries from around the globe, who also seem to reflect the benign elements of graciousness inherent in Bahrain society when compared to other communities throughout the world. Bahrain This Month, often imitated but never duplicated, looks forward to another quarter-century of media success; not only in print, but now in digital format, online at www.bahrainthismonth.com, via social media digital extensions ranging from LinkedIn to Facebook to Instagram and more recently TikTok; as well as emailed newsletters and WhatsApp subscriptions on a regular basis. With a genuine total monthly reach of over half a million individuals, Bahrain This Month is delighted to embrace a new era in media convergence through our proactive digital media marketing strategies and filming, editing and animation expertise. Since 1997, to the present and beyond, we always were, we still are and will continue to be, “Your Guide to a Great Way of Life”. THE TEAM September 2022
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