Netherlands: First issue of Dutch-German newspaper published

Posted by Lauren Drablier on September 26, 2008 at 9:40 AM

The first issue of Buren (Neighbours) was launched around Enschede, on the Dutch-German border. The paper has an initial circulation of 400,000 and was launched to celebrate fifty years of collaboration between the border communities. According to NRC, it demonstrates a changing attitude, the "European spirit is really taking hold..."

Buren is a combined effort by the Dutch regional newspaper Twentsche Courant Tubantia, and the German titles Westfälische Nachrichten and Grafschafter Nachrichten. Journalists that work for the three newspapers will also translate for each other's articles in Buren.

Jan Haverkate, one of the Dutch journalists working on the project, illustrated just how deeply integrated the Dutch and Germans are in the area, "1,600 Dutch-German couples get married every year. And how many Germans go to Enschede to study? Some 3,000 a year. And 30,000 Dutch people live on the German side of the Euro-region border while 40,000 Germans have homes on this side. And 160,000 Dutch people use Munster airport every year".

Buren illustrates a shifting dynamic in news reporting - the integration of languages and cultures as borders become more fluid in areas such as the European Union.

Sources: NRC Handelsblad via European Journalism Centre