The Sirocco Times

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The Sirocco Times
The Sirocco Times masthead
Sirocco Times (July 2012)
Format Online
Type News website
Owner The Sirocco Times Corporation
Established 9 March 2009
Former name The Andersonian Times
(9 March 2009 – 3 October 2010)
Motto Sirocco's Most Trusted News
Political allegiance None
Language English
Website times.fcsirocco.org
Distributed in Sirocco
Associated news agency Consolidated Wire and Press

The Sirocco Times is a Siroccan news service published since 9 March 2009 by The Sirocco Times Corporation and published on WordPress. It is the main source of news within Sirocco and one of the major media outlets of the MicroWiki community, and is also the oldest news outlet still in operation within the community.

History

The Sirocco Times was originally founded as The Andersonian Times on 9 March 2009 as the official newspaper of the Glorious Dictatorial Republic of Andersonia (GDR). Articles were usually somewhat sensationalist and aggressive in nature, with a strong bias towards the government and its policies. Conflict was welcomed by the paper, as evidenced by the 16 September 2010 issue, which bore the headline "Triumph for Andersonia! New Hollandia and Fiori lay down arms and surrender".[1] Although apparently independent, such was the close relationship between the newspaper and the government that for the most part it was nearly impossible to discern a difference between the two.

The transition from Andersonia to Sirocco in mid- to late 2010 saw a major shift in the nature of the paper. While articles pertaining to the GDR retained their pro-government stance, those related to the 'new' Andersonia (later Sirocco) adopted a policy of strict neutrality, reflecting the moderate, democratic aims of the new state. Indeed, with the GDR gradually being dismantled, the Times published its last GDR-style article on 17 September, announcing that two of the nation's allies had changed sides in the war with the Anti-Andersonian Alliance;[2] from 18 September onward, all articles were written in an independent, apolitical manner. With the decision on 3 October that the GDR's successor state would be named Sirocco, the Times was renamed to suit, becoming The Sirocco Times. The paper's motto, "Sirocco's Most Trusted News", is adapted from its Andersonian predecessor, which used "Andersonia's most trusted news since 2009" as its motto.

On 15 November 2010, the Times officially launched a subsidiary news service, the Alston Picayune, which focused on opinion and news from the National Capital District and Jellicoe province. Despite proposals for further news services in the (former) provinces of the Auckland Suburban Region and Camina and also for North and South Tasman, a lack of activity saw the Picayune closed down on 10 July 2011, with posts being moved to the Times website.

The Sirocco Times was a member of the Micronational Press Council from March 2012 until the effective disbandment of the organisation later that year, and is a founding member of the Consolidated Wire and Press news agency.

Role in Operation Electrolight

The Times is particularly notable for its role in breaking the story of Operation Electrolight, having reported on tensions between A1 and St. Charlie in the days prior, being the first media outlet to have reported the declaration of war, and the first to have reported the fictitious nature of the operation.[3] The Times documented the operation extensively, and is considered by some authorities to be the paper of record for the period.[4] The completeness of this coverage can be partially attributed to the decision made by combatant parties to inform the Times of the true nature of the operation before the wider community, although domestic political factors meant that events in St. Charlie and A1 were already being closely followed by the newspaper at the time.

Logos

The Times has undergone a number of logo changes since its creation, most recently in mid-2015 when it adopted its present 1950s-style masthead, which features the paper's traditional Northland and Auckland logo in front of a rising sun. The design is based on the masthead used by The Northern Advocate, a Northland newspaper, between 1935/36 and 1991/92.[5]

  • 3 October 2010 - 15 November 2010

    3 October 2010 - 15 November 2010

  • 15 November 2010 - 10 July 2011

    15 November 2010 - 10 July 2011

  • 10 July 2011 - January 17, 2012

    10 July 2011 - January 17, 2012

  • 17 January 2012 - 23 September 2013

    17 January 2012 - 23 September 2013

  • 23 September 2013 - 13 July 2015

    23 September 2013 - 13 July 2015

  • 13 July 2015 – present

    13 July 2015 – present

Times of the Century

Times of the Century is a project run by the Times that presents an alternate world history from 1859 as presented by Times front pages. Real-world events are presented as though they occur in the world's micronations, such as the federation of Zealandia in 1901 and the Sabioveronese Civil War in 1958 (which parody the real-world Federation of Australia and Cuban Revolution). On occasion a micronational event will occur, presented in the context of its era. Within the context of the project as a whole, 9 March 1859 was chosen as the start date as it is exactly 150 years before the Times' real-world foundation, and is also around the time that many of New Zealand's major newspapers were founded, such as the Otago Daily Times (1861) and The New Zealand Herald (1863).

Most micronations serve as geographical or cultural replacements for their real-world counterparts, such as Austenasia for the British Empire and Überstadt for Cascadia. Sirocco serves as a replacement for New Zealand (and from 1912, South Africa through Zona), and also as the Atomic Age-era United States from 1945 to 1965. Despite replacing a culturally British nation, the newspapers mimic the style of American newspapers, for example featuring news on the front page (which is implied to be a sales gimmick when introduced in 1859).

The following table lists publication dates of the Times of the Century project. Note that the front pages are published on the same day of the year as the pages read, with the exception of 2 December 1889, which was published two days late on 4 December 2016.

Year Issue date Topics
2015 24 December 1958 Christmas 1958, Sabioveronese Civil War, SBC begins colour television service.
2016 1 January 1901 Beginning of the 20th century, Federation of Zealandia.
23 February 2011 2011 Tyrshavn earthquake.
23 November 1963 Assassination of James F. Kendall, President of Ladonia.
2 December 1889 Opening of Alston's tramway network.
2017 1 January 2000 Year 2000 celebrations.

References

  1. ↑ Triumph for Andersonia! (2010, September 16). The Andersonian Times, A1.
  2. ↑ Allies switch sides: Southeast on alert (2010, September 17). The Andersonian Times, A1.
  3. ↑ A1, St.Charlie at war, Sirocco joins in. (2011, April 1). The Sirocco Times.
  4. ↑ Michael Sander (2011, May). "On TASPAC’s role in the recent conflict". Speech presented at TASPAC chambers.
  5. ↑ Jennings, R., and The Northern Advocate (1970, March 18). Kamo pupil's mural for school library [Photograph]. Retrieved from http://raymondjennings.com.


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