DAVAO CITY – Mindanao Daily Mirror, the first daily newspaper in Mindanao, closed shop on Friday, July 3, after seven decades of service to the community.
In a statement, Mindanao Daily Mirror Editor-in-Chief Jon Joaquin said the media outfit was to print its last issue on Friday, 70 years after it published its first in 1950.
He said the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic had severely affected the operations of the daily newspaper, founded by Dean Demetrio Flaviano and Anita Jacela Flaviano.
“COVID-19 hit us hard and management has decided to close down the paper,” Joaquin said.
He said the newspaper came under new management on October 1, 2018, with long-term plans prepared that would honor the paper’s status as an institution in the city.
“As the Mirror writes 30, I want to thank all of you who journeyed with us in our long and short run. The Mirror was first published in 1950 and is the first daily newspaper in Mindanao,” Joaquin said.
Joaquin added that he was thankful to the new management “for seeing us through the dark days of the pandemic, but in the end the harsh realities prevailed.”
“I am especially thankful to our team which worked hard to keep the Mirror fresh and relevant. It’s been an honor. I’m sure we will be bumping into each other frequently as we continue the work of journalism,” he added.