Carrying stacks of newspapers under his arms, an Arab paperboy would park his motorcycle and make his way through the office buildings daily, calling out to see if anyone needed that day’s publication. In the mid-1970s in Kuwait, this was how Renny Mathews, who once worked in one of those buildings, remembered getting his news, often asking the boy, “Please leave the Kuwait Times paper here.”

Now delivered to his doorstep, the 69-year-old Indian man continues his daily habit of reading Kuwait Times. Mathews is particularly fond of the articles written by Yousef Al-Alyan, the founder of Kuwait Times, who passed away in 2007.

A visionary leader

“Whenever this man wrote something, he studied it very well; he never wrote anything that he didn’t truly believe in,” Mathews said, describing Al-Alyan as a “visionary person with a very prominent personality.” After Al-Alyan’s passing, Mathews felt that his legacy endured as the newspaper maintained its edge. “I don’t know how tough it is, but I think they’ve got the right people running the paper after him,” he said.

Having witnessed the paper evolve over the past 50 years, Mathews shared why he remains loyal to Kuwait Times: “There’s extensive reporting with a lot of coverage, especially on the international front. The quality of both the reporting and the paper itself has improved.”

Even at his respected age, Mathews isn’t the oldest known reader of Kuwait Times. Five years ago, the paper welcomed an older subscriber: 76-year-old Kuwaiti Murtada Amoumen. As a former English teacher, Amoumen uses the paper to stay connected to his beloved English language. “I read so I don’t forget what I learned and taught to the younger generations,” he said.

While he finds the topics covered by Kuwait Times “interesting”, his main reason for reading is his passion for the language of journalism, which he describes as “the language of intellectuals” and believes is expertly mastered in the paper. Amoumen makes it a point to never miss an issue; even when traveling, he asks his housekeeper to save all the editions for him until he returns.

Junior Times

Thomas Filip, 60, from Kerala in India, has known Kuwait Times since childhood, as it was the only newspaper available in his family’s mother tongue, Malayalam. “It was quite appreciable that someone made the effort to publish in our own language.”

His wife, Sherine Thomas, 50, born and raised in Kuwait, also developed a deep attachment to the newspaper from a young age, strongly linked to memories of her father. “My dad was very particular about improving our handwriting and making sure we stayed informed. He would have us read and rewrite the important news of the day, then test what we remembered later.”

When Kuwait Times republished some of its old editions for an anniversary, Sherine made sure to keep them all. “I saved them as memories to take with us when we leave Kuwait,” she said.

Around the same age as Sherine, Cibhu Chacko, 49, also Indian, was introduced to the paper by his parents. He fondly recalled the “Junior Times” entertainment section that Kuwait Times used to publish. “My brothers and I used to fight over the puzzle games.” As an adult, he has read Kuwait Times for over 24 years, either in the morning before work or in the evening before bed. This habit has been passed on to his children, as he noted, “Around 4 or 5 am when the newspaper arrives, my daughters read the key events and present them as highlights at their school assembly.”

Documenting history

Reading the newspaper has also been a daily ritual for Ambrose Regu, 63, since 2007. “I made it a practice to read the newspaper with my cup of coffee or tea, which gives me a more relaxing feeling than reading on social media or an e-book.” As a senior executive at a company in Kuwait, his favorite section is the business segment, keeping him informed on the latest financial news from companies and banks.

In addition to keeping up with current news, Regu sees Kuwait Times as a documentation of history, especially regarding events he hasn’t experienced firsthand. He appreciates how the paper shares stories each year to commemorate the anniversary of the invasion, which he only heard about from his Indian friends living in Kuwait at that time. Regu mentioned that all his family members are avid readers of Kuwait Times too.

Asif Saddique, a Pakistani reader who subscribed to Kuwait Times from 2006 to 2007 after moving to Kuwait from the US in 2004, values the newspaper’s credibility and authenticity, noting that it never shares “fake news”. Raja Ramalingam, an Indian reader who arrived in Kuwait in 2011, shares similar sentiments, appreciating the newspaper’s timely publications and its commitment to giving equal attention to both local and international news.

He particularly praised Kuwait Times for its balanced and neutral approach to news coverage, which he believes contrasts sharply with the often-biased reporting found in other newspapers. As employees come and go, both of them fondly recalled their favorite columnist, whom they eagerly anticipated each week — Mona AlFuzai, who wrote for Kuwait Times for many years.