The Royal Gazette is a Bermudian, English-language daily newspaper. Founded in 1828, it is Bermuda's only daily newspaper (not published on Sundays and public holidays).

History

The first issues of The Royal Gazette, Bermuda Commercial and General Advertiser and Recorder were published in January 1828. The company bore no relation to an earlier publication named The Bermuda Gazette and Weekly Advertiser founded by Joseph Stockdale in 1782 nor an earlier Royal Gazette founded by Mr Edmund Ward in 1809. Its founder Donald MacPhee Lee, an immigrant to Bermuda from Prince Edward Island in Canada, served as editor until his death in 1883, whereupon it was operated by his son and later his daughter. Part commercial printer and part newspaper, the company acquired its Royal title serving as the 'King's Printer' in Bermuda and as publisher of official notices. The first issue of The Royal Gazette included a statement that "The pages of the Royal Gazette will never be profaned by the scandals of private malice or the bitterness of party contention; but will be devoted to extracts from the most approved literature of the day and to the best original compositions that can be obtained within the Colony." From 1900 the paper was published twice a week. The Royal Gazette Company Limited was formed after the newspaper was bought by Mr John Foggo Eve from the Lee family in 1904. Following an amalgamation with the competing Colonist newspaper in 1921, The Royal Gazette and Colonist Daily became a daily newspaper. The name was shortened to The Royal Gazette in 1947. A Sunday edition was started in 1948, which continued until the competing afternoon daily Mid-Ocean News was purchased in 1962 and reduced to a weekly in 1968. The Mid-Ocean News eventually ceased publication in October 2009.

Editors

Ownership

The Royal Gazette is owned by The Bermuda Press (Holdings) Ltd which is a publicly traded company on the Bermuda Stock Exchange.

Legal Cases for Freedom of Expression in Bermuda

The Royal Gazette has been the protagonist in several legal cases protecting freedom of expression and independent/free press in Bermuda.