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Matthew Vella
Ever heard of The Edge? Probably not. But for the last couple of months it has been a Gozitan mouthpiece of sorts, an uncontroversial, redtop newspaper edited by a lawyer aiming to bring Gozitan issues to the forefront.
Now it is being brought to an end, just months since it started being published, and editor and lawyer Alfred Grech is categorical about the demise of the newspaper. “The publisher was given a tender by the Ministry of Gozo… I cannot say that it involved the condition not to continue the paper, but after that the enthusiasm was dampened.”
But Johann Grech, the 26-year old director of Circle Communications, says there is no link between the contract from the ministry and the newspaper. Grech is a shareholder in Fresh Marketing Ltd, which owns a share in Circle Communications along with Alfred Grech.
Johann Grech was the mastermind behind Jimmy Magro’s unsuccessful bid for the European Parliament elections. The former Labour secretary general’s campaign fell flat when Magro did not even make it past the party delegates’ vote to elect the candidates for the election.
“The contract is a private matter and related to another company,” Grech told MaltaToday. “There is no link between the two, and there has been no contact with the minister. Giovanna never called me,” he said about Gozo’s all-knowing minister.
Grech, also the station manager at Calypso Radio at the time the Gozitan station went bust, claims the newspaper is only on hold until it is rebranded, although he could not confirm when it will be published next. “Circle Communications owns the paper but I am in charge of marketing. I have no say in the content of the newspaper. But the contract from the ministry concerns another company.”
Grech says he is a marketing consultant. He graduated from a London university, and after an internship stint with the British Labour Party, returned to Gozo. A former Super One employee, Grech went on to Calypso Radio and various other ventures.
Alfred Grech says he is hoping to surmount the internal difficulties at the newspaper, and get it back on its feet.
mvella@mediatoday.com.mt
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