The weekly news-paper started out as a 12-page tabloid in 1946.
By Jonathan Friedman / Assistant Editor
On May 2, 1946, Malibu residents were introduced to a new local newspaper. In its debut issue, The Malibu Times promised it would comply with what it called its “triple responsibility to the people”-“to inform, entertain and instruct.”
Since that day, less than one year after the conclusion of World War II, The Malibu Times has continued to be printed every week without interruption. Not even monstorous fires were able to prevent the printing of Malibu’s leading source of local information.
The weekly newspaper was founded by Reeves Templeman and William Macfadyen, with Templeman serving as editor and Macfadyen taking the position of publisher. They wrote in a joint comment in the debut issue that “It shall be our aim to make this newspaper the voice OF ALL the people and FOR ALL the people of Malibu Township, ever striving to keep our columns free of prejudice and partiality.”
Templeman had previously been covering Malibu news for a paper in Topanga, but as a Malibu resident since 1939, he decided that his area needed its own newspaper.
The original home for The Malibu Times was in a garage behind the post office in La Costa Plaza on Pacific Coast Highway off Rambla Vista. During the first year of the paper, it was actually printed in Santa Monica. But after that, The Malibu Times became the “Only Newspaper edited, printed and published in Malibu, California,” as was proudly written at the top of the front page. That continued to be the case for several decades. Today, the newspaper is printed in Gardena.
Not long after The Malibu Times was founded, Templeman and his first wife, Eileen, bought out Macfadyen and became the owners and publishers of the paper. They would continue to work as a husband-and-wife team at the helm until 1965, when Eileen died. Reeves Templeman later married Reta and she became his partner in charge of the paper.
The Malibu Times was sold to Arnold G. and Karen Portugal York in 1987. For several years after, Reeves Templeman remained with the paper as a columnist.
The Malibu Times found a new home on Las Flores Canyon Road in 1953. What was formerly the Associated Telephone Co. Exchange Building became The Malibu Times Building and remains as that to this day. However, for a period of years, the The Malibu Times kept a business office open on Pacific Coast Highway.
During the life of this newspaper, Malibu has seen radical changes. What was once an unincorporated county area of primarily weekend beach cottages spread out along the ocean, an occasional playground for the movie industry, and some small farms and cattle ranches has become an internationally famous city of more than 13,000 people.
There have been many battles covered in The Malibu Times, including the numerous conflicts between the people of Malibu and the county government as the county tried to bring a sewer system to the area. A sewer system in Malibu has been an ongoing fear for many in Malibu with the belief that it would lead to rapid development. After several close calls, the people of Malibu finally voted to break away from the claws of the county and became an independent city in 1991. But this only created a new series of conflicts, as different voices try to have their input in creating the identity of the young city.
There have been other proposals that never came to be, including attempts to build a freeway through Malibu or to transform Mulholland Highway into a high-speed express road. There was also a plan in the ’60s to build a nuclear power plant in Latigo Canyon. And it remains to be seen what will happen with liquefied natural gas terminals proposed to be built off the coast of Malibu.
This city has also seen several natural disasters, including fires that have destroyed large portions of the area, storms that have caused devastating damage to homes and roads through landslides and other damage, and floods that have caused chaos.
The Malibu Times has also been around to cover the good times too, such as the many local festivals like the Chili Cook-Off, Chumash Day and newer traditions.
Throughout the rest of the year, The Malibu Times will explore in-depth through pictures and articles Malibu’s long history and the newspaper that has covered it. It will be an opportunity to relive the past for some or, for the new residents and younger generations, a chance to learn about the long story of the place they call home.