Gazette van Detroit

The Gazette van Detroit ("Detroit Gazette") is a Flemish newspaper in Dutch and English, published in the United States since 13 August 1914. It targets Flemish immigrants and their descendants living in the United States and Canada. However, today there is also a growing number of subscribers in Europe - especially Belgium as well. The parent company is a 501(c)(3) U.S. Internal Revenue Service recognized non-profit called Belgian Publishing Inc. The current Chairman is David Baeckelandt. The newspaper is published by "Belgian Publishing Inc." at 18740 13 Mile Road in Roseville, Michigan.

The Gazette van Detroit first appeared as a weekly newspaper, later it became bi-weekly, and today it is a monthly paper. It is often referred to as the "only Belgian paper in America". The newspaper's mission statement, published in an article "Het Licht voor 't Volk" (A Light for the People) set forward the newspaper's aim as:

"The Gazette van Detroit is an unaffiliated, apolitical, non-profit organization written by and for North Americans of Flemish descent and Dutch-speaking Belgians. Its goal is to serve as a cultural bridge between North America and the Dutch-speaking region of Belgium. Simultaneously, the Gazette seeks cordial relations with all ethnicities and nationalities."^[1]

By 2004, celebrating its ninetieth birthday, it was still a popular newspaper among North Americans of Flemish ancestry and their relatives in Belgium. To date, the Gazette van Detroit has still many subscribers in North America and in Belgium. In 2006, the Flemish Government donated 12,500 euro to ensure the Gazette van Detroit could continue its operations.^[2]

References

Further reading

• Heckla, Cheryl, Keeping Your Interest For A Hundred Years: Writers and Agents of Detroit's Flemish Newspaper (2014).

External links

• Official website
• A short biographical note about Camille Cools, the founder of the newspaper
• (Dutch) Historic research about the Gazette
• 14 March 2006 the external affairs commission of the Flemish Parliament discussed whether subsidies should be granted to the Gazette:
  • (Dutch) Commission talks report at the website of the Flemish Parliament: PDF - HTML
• VRT news website flandersnews.be
  • 2 November 2006: Gazette van Detroit seeks photos
  • 12 December 2006: "Gazette van Detroit"
• The Gazette van Detroit at Flanders' House