Border echo

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Border echo
Logo of the daily newspaper GrenzEcho
description only German-language daily newspaper in Belgium
language German
publishing company Grenz-Echo AG
First edition June 4, 1927
Frequency of publication daily except Sundays
Sold edition 11,500 copies
Editor-in-chief Oswald Schröder
editor Ernst Thommessen
executive Director Olivier Verdin (COO)
Web link www.grenzecho.net
ZDB 1072878-8

The Grenz-Echo (spelling: GrenzEcho ) is a Belgian daily newspaper of Grenz-Echo AG. It is the only German-language daily newspaper in Belgium. The publishing house is in Eupen in the German-speaking Community of Belgium. The post of editor-in-chief that remained vacant after Lutz Bernard left in June 2016 was filled by Oswald Schröder on March 1, 2018 .

The distribution area of ​​the border echo extends mainly to the German-speaking community and the Aachen area. The newspaper is also available in numerous outlets in the interior of the country as well as in northern Luxembourg . At the time of its 85th anniversary in 2012, Grenz-Echo contributed around 35% to the publishing house's sales.

history

Publishing house on the market square in Eupen from 1950

As a predecessor of the GrenzEcho, the VoE "Union" was founded in 1926, a pro-Belgian association based in Weismes, which aims to promote the national awareness of the "New Belgians" (residents of the Eupen-Malmedy area ceded by Prussia to Belgium after the First World War ). had set the goal.

On June 4, 1927, Pierre Van Werveke and Henri Michel, who came from Eupen, founded the newspaper as a “Christian organ for the promotion of the economic interests of the New Belgian regions ” and published it once a week. Between 1903 and 1914 there was already a newspaper of the same name in Welkenraedt , but it had nothing in common with the new Grenz-Echo. The Catholic Party became the owner of the newspaper in 1929, and from 1932 to 1985 the newspaper belonged to the Catholic association "Action Catholique" in Verviers .

Because of its clear positioning against National Socialism , the Grenz-Echo was already banned on German territory in April 1933, seven years before the German attack on Belgium . The restart after the Second World War took place under the direction of the previous editor-in-chief Henri Michel, who had been released from the Sachsenhausen concentration camp and who held the post of editor-in-chief until November 1, 1965 and was succeeded by Heinrich Toussaint as editor-in-chief and director. In 1985 Heinz Warny (1945–2020) finally took over the reins of the Grenz-Echo editorial team. At the same time, the publishing management and editorial management were separated from each other. From then on, Alfred Küchenberg acted as Chairman of the Board of Directors and Publishing Director. From now on, together with Ernst Thommessen, Küchenberg was also the responsible editor.

From January 2005 to May 2, 2012, Gérard Cremer was editor-in-chief of Grenz-Echos, which replaced the retired Heinz Warny. A dual leadership with Lutz Bernhardt and Heinz Gensterblum was then appointed to head the editorial team. Cremer founded the Ostbelgien Direkt news portal just a few weeks after his dismissal. Bernard took over the post in full a few months later.

Grenz-Echo AG had its own printing plant in Eupen until March 2015, but operations were discontinued in April 2015 and newspaper printing was outsourced to the Rossel Group's rotary printing plant in Nivelles.

In June 2016, Lutz Bernard announced his resignation. The chemistry between the editor-in-chief and the editorial team has not been right for a long time, reported the Belgian radio. Only since March 1, 2018 has there been a new editor-in-chief in Oswald Schröder .

Other activities of Grenz-Echo AG

In addition to the daily newspaper, the activities of Grenz-Echo AG also include the book publisher “Grenz-Echo Verlag (GEV)” and the internet portal grenzecho.net (in cooperation with an agency for media design). In addition, Grenz-Echo is also the publisher of the magazine “votreRégion” which arose from the magazines “Welkenraedt-Magazine” and the “Journal d'Aubel”, of “New In Belgium” and the “Gastro, Shopping and EuregioGuides” In addition, PFD Pressefunk GmbH holds a 5% share in the private radio station 100'5 Das Hitradio .

At the beginning of 2017, 51 percent of the regional radio station " Radio Contact - the best mix " from Eupen was taken over. Grenz-Echo wants to upgrade its media offer and benefit from the advantages of a radio station such as live broadcast and range. In an interview, managing director Olivier Verdin clearly rejected the accusation that Grenz-Echo took over the radio station in order to compete with the public broadcaster BRF : “ We want to emphasize that this has nothing to do with competitive thinking. We will continue to work well with the BRF. It is not an attack on the BRF. "

literature

  • Heinz Warny u. a .: Two centuries of German-language newspaper in East Belgium . Grenz-Echo Verlag, Eupen 2007, ISBN 978-3-86712-016-6 .

Web links

Commons : House Marktplatz 8 (Eupen)  - Collection of images

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Oswald Schröder new editor-in-chief of GrenzEcho. Retrieved January 29, 2018 .
  2. ↑ grenzecho.be: Points of sale ( Memento of the original from February 26, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved April 22, 2016. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.grenzecho.be
  3. ↑ a b Alfried Schmitz: Daily newspaper for a minority: The only German-language daily newspaper in Belgium, the "Grenz-Echo", celebrates its 85th anniversary , report in the series Markt und Medien of Deutschlandfunk on June 2, 2012
  4. ↑ a b grenzecho.be: Company history. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on February 25, 2013 ; accessed on January 31, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.grenzecho.be
  5. ↑ grenzecho.net: On our own behalf. Retrieved May 3, 2012 .
  6. ↑ brf.be: Gérard Cremer leaves the border echo. Retrieved May 3, 2012 .
  7. ↑ brf.be: Gerard Cremer founds online magazine "Ostbelgien direkt" . Accessed on March 6, 2014.
  8. ↑ Grenz-Echo stops newspaper printing in Eupen - print jobs are outsourced - Ostbelgien Direkt . In: Ostbelgien Direkt . March 26, 2015 ( ostbelgiendirekt.be [accessed January 24, 2017]).
  9. ↑ GrenzEcho is looking for a new editor-in-chief. Retrieved January 24, 2017 .
  10. ↑ GrenzEcho takes over 51 percent of Radio Contact | Border echo . In: GrenzEcho . January 7, 2017 ( grenzecho.net [accessed May 10, 2017]).

Coordinates: 50 ° 37 ′ 51 ″  N , 6 ° 1 ′ 53 ″  E