Kosmo!

Kosmo! (short for Cosmopolitan; Malay: Kosmopolitan) is a Malay language compact format newspaper tabloid in Malaysia owned by the Utusan Group, which also owns Kosmo!'s Sunday paper Kosmo! Ahad, Utusan Malaysia, and Mingguan Malaysia.[1] It is available in Malaysia at most newsstands.

Not to be confused with Kosmo, a desktop software with advanced functions.
Kosmo!
Front page on August 11, 2015
TypeDaily newspaper
FormatCompact
Owner(s)
  • The Utusan Group (2004-2019)[1]
  • Media Mulia (2020-present)
Editor-in-chiefAbdul Aziz Ishak
EditorBaharom Mahusin[2]
Deputy editorMohd Nor Ab Samad
Lokman Othman
News editorMohd Zuki Pileh
Samsor Junet
Teon Eg
Zambri Rambli
Mir Azri Shaharuddin
Anuar Ariffin
Mohd Faizal Zakaria
Sports editorAsan Ahmad
Founded30 August 2004
LanguageMalay
HeadquartersNo. 44, Jalan Utusan, Off Jalan Chan Sow Lin, 55200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Circulation187,967 (daily)
205,520 (Kosmo Ahad)
*Source: Audit Bureau of Circulations, Malaysia - July to December 2015[3][4]
Websitewww.kosmo.com.my
Free online archiveswww.kosmo.com.my/kosmo/cari.asp

History

Kosmo! was launched on 30 August 2004 by Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. All the sections in this newspaper use an exclamation mark (!).

Formerly, Kosmo! was sold in Malaysia at a price of 80 cents daily excluding Sundays, when it was sold at RM 1.00 under a different name, that is Kosmo Ahad. However, by April 2007, Kosmo! priced at RM1.00 per day, while on Sundays it is sold at RM1.20. As of July 2016, it is priced at RM1.00 for both Kosmo! and Kosmo Ahad.

Despite initial reports in mid-August 2019 that the Utusan Group would be shutting down its newspaper operations including Kosmo!, Kosmo! Ahad, Utusan Malaysia, and Mingguan Malaysia, the company retracted its decision after receiving a RM1.6 million cash injection from the United Malays National Organisation.[5][6] However, the Utusan Group announced that they will be raising Kosmo! Ahad's price from RM1.00 to RM1.50 and shifting to a new business model.[7][8][9]

Despite attempts to salvage Kosmo! and its sister newspapers, the Utusan Group executive chairman Datuk Abd Aziz Sheikh Fadzir announced that the company's newspapers would cease publication on 10 October 2019 due to poor cash flow, mounting debts and declining sales. Staff were given a few hours to clear their belongings from the Utusan Group headquarters. The four Utusan newspapers are expected to resume publication on 1 November 2019 under a new management. Aurora Mulia, a company linked to business tycoon Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary, had reportedly acquired 70 percent of Utusan's wholly owned subsidiary Dilof Sdn Bhd. However, only some of the 862 redundant employees would be rehired.[10][11]

In January 2020, it was reported that Kosmo!, along with its sister newspaper, Utusan Malaysia is set to be revived soon,[12] as some sources in the industry confirming that newspaper’s new management has recruiting staff to start working in February.[13]

Kosmo!, together with Utusan is expected to be relaunched on July 2020. According to their website, an animated teaser, which written in Malay showed: "Nantikan Julai ini. Dibawakan oleh Media Mulia Sdn Bhd." ("Awaiting this July. Brought to you by Media Mulia Sdn Bhd,"). It is understood that the new headquarters of the publication will be based at the New Straits Times Press main office at Jalan Riong, Bangsar.[14] On July 6, the newspaper's relaunch is expected to take place on July 20.[15]

See also

References
  1. "About Utusan". Utusan Group. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  2. "Editorial". Utusangroup.com.my. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  3. "CIRCULATION FIGURES : NEWSPAPERS - WEST & EAST MALAYSIA" (PDF). Abcm.org.my. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 September 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  4. "CIRCULATION FIGURES : NEWSPAPERS - WEST & EAST MALAYSIA" (PDF). Abcm.org.my. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 September 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  5. Buang, Shakira (20 August 2019). "Utusan gets RM1.6m reprieve from Umno". Malaysiakini. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  6. Habibu, Sira (20 August 2019). "Utusan not shuttering, price of paper to increase by 50 sen". The Star. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  7. Zainul, Emir (20 August 2019). "Utusan CEO says company not ceasing ops, Utusan Malaysia and Kosmo! to continue publishing". The Edge. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  8. "Utusan, Malaysia's oldest newspaper, and Kosmo! to cease publication". The Straits Times. 19 August 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  9. Yunus, Arfa (20 August 2019). "Utusan no more?". New Straits Times. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  10. "Utusan ceases publication but may be back soon". The Star. 10 October 2019. Archived from the original on 10 October 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  11. Asyraf, Faisal. "Some of Utusan workers will be rehired by new company, says Dr M". Malaysiakini. Archived from the original on 10 October 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  12. "NUJ confirms Utusan revival, job calls now open". Malaysiakini. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  13. Kevin Davasagayam. "Utusan to be back soon: Reports". The Sun (Malaysia). Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  14. Rahimy Rahim (21 June 2020). "Utusan Malaysia, Kosmo! expected to return next month". The Star Online. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  15. Ahmad Ali Karim (6 July 2020). "Utusan Malaysia Bakal Kembali 20hb Julai Ini". ahmadalikarim.com. Archived from the original on 6 July 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2020.


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