When it was published for the first time Al Ittihad – The Union – was an expression of belief in the future.
That belief, of course, was Sheikh Zayed’s. The Ruler of Abu Dhabi already had a clear vision of a new country forged from the seven emirates.
An Arabic-language newspaper for a UAE that did not yet exist was a key part creating a sense of national unity.
The first issue, on October 20, 1969, seems primitive by the sophisticated standards of today’s mass media.
The newspaper was eight pages, published once a week by a staff of about 15.
Because there were no presses in Abu Dhabi, the stories were set and printed in Beirut, with each edition flown in on Middle East Airlines.
Photographs were in black and white and graphics drawn by hand. Copies were free, with a print run of about 5,000.
The lead story for the first edition paper was on the efforts of Sheikh Zayed and the other Rulers to negotiate a settlement of union under the banner headline, “Welcome to the pioneers of unity”.
A second article welcomed readers to the paper and a third explained the choice of name for the new publication.
At the foot of the front page was a grainy photo of the Rulers in talks, with a splash of colour in the red masthead and the crossed flags of Abu Dhabi. The lead story expressed hope that the new country would be born by the end of the year.
In fact, it was two more years before the formation of the UAE, in Dubai on December 2, 1971.
Al Ittihad was there to bring its readers the momentous news. The newspaper was still a weekly, but for this occasion it published for several consecutive days.
Earlier it had published details of a competition that would lead to the adoption of the new UAE flag.
On the day of union, Al Ittihad led with the one word headline, "Independence", and a map that showed the now-familiar borders of the UAE for the first time.
There was also breaking news to report. Iranian forces had invaded the Greater and Lesser Tunbs, sovereign territory of Ras Al Khaimah. Four RAK policemen were reported dead.
On December 3, Al Ittihad published a full report on the events in Dubai with another banner headline, in red: "Hail the United Arab Emirates."
“In one of those historic days,” the lead story began, “the establishment of the 18th Arab State has been declared: an independent sovereign state, part of the greater pan-Arab nation, set to protect the rights and liberties of its people”.
Inside, Al Ittihad filled page three with the raising of the new flag at Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi.
It was watched by a group of dignitaries that included Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, now President, and the legendary Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum, in town for two concerts.
Oddly, those saluting the flag in the image are doing so with their left hand. It turns out that the printers in Lebanon had accidentally reversed the photograph.
By the following April, the paper was publishing seven days a week in Abu Dhabi, but with offices in all seven emirates. For 45 years now, it has chronicled the development of the country, growing alongside as new sections were added for sport and culture.
In 1972, it became the first in the Arab world to use a fax machine and in 1981 began printing in Dubai. In 1996, Al Ittihad was the first newspaper in the UAE to launch a website.
In 2008, it acquired a little sister in the English-language The National, part of Abu Dhabi Media, a growing company that now includes magazines, digital media, games, feature films, radio and TV stations.
Over the past 45 years, it has chronicled the presidencies of Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Khalifa, and the passing of all seven of the Rulers of 1971.
There have been many state visits, including two by Queen Elizabeth, landmark buildings such the Burj Khalifa and the Emirates Palace, and the first Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix in 2009.
All have been recorded in the pages of Al Ittihad. The country's growth is reflected in the newspaper's circulation, which now stands at more than 100,000 copies daily. It helps that literacy rates, around 54 per cent for men and 31 per cent for women in 1975, have risen to 99 per cent today.
To mark its birthday, and the next stage of the newspaper's evolution, Al Ittihad changes its masthead colour from blue to red. That is, it has reverted back to red, the colour in which the newspaper first published six decades ago.
And so everything old is new again.
plangton@thenational.uae
