Brabants Dagblad
Encyclopedia
Brabants Dagblad is a daily Dutch
newspaper
. It is distributed in parts of North Brabant
, especially in 's-Hertogenbosch and Tilburg
and their surrounding regions. The paper's office is in 's-Hertogenbosch. The paper is owned by the Wegener
conglomerate, which owns a number of regional Dutch papers, and is since 2007 part of the Mecom Group
, which bought Wegener for 800 million Euros. The predecessor of the paper, the s-Hertogenbossche Dingsdagse (en Vrydagse) Courant, was founded in 1771, making it one of the oldest Dutch newspapers still in existence, surpassed only
by the Haarlems Dagblad
and the Leeuwarder Courant
.
. After more name changes, the paper, now called Provinciaal Dagblad and loyal to the monarchy, found itself in competition with two other local papers: the newly-founded Roman Catholic De Noord-Brabander, the likewise Catholic Nieuwe Noord-Brabanter (until 1872), and after 1869 with yet another city paper, Het Huisgezin. By 1910, De Noord-Brabander, Het Huisgezin, and the Noord-Brabanter - Noordbrabantsch Dagblad (1895) had merged, and in 1941, forced by the German occupiers, this paper merged with what was now called De Provinciale and became the Noordbrabantsche Courant. This paper was halted after Dolle Dinsdag
(September 5, 1944), and restarted after the war was over. In 1946, the paper received the name Provinciaal Noordbrabantsche Courant - Het Huisgezin. On January 3, 1959, the paper received its current name, and from a paper focused on the city of 's-Hertogenbosch it changed to a more regional paper.
, a decision which the board of directors could not condone.
The chief editor since January 2006 is Annemieke Besseling, who had worked for the paper since 1989 as a regional editor, and was an editor at the main office since 2001. When she was appointed as chief editor, she became the first woman to run a Dutch newspaper. In 2007, the newspaper's format was switched to tabloid, along with all other Wegener papers, a decision announced in 2005 already; in that year, the Brabants Dagblad reported a 3% increase in circulation. The change in format was intended to allow for greater commensurability between Wegener's newspapers as a cost-cutting measure, given the decline in advertising revenues and the falling numbers of newspaper circulations throughout the Dutch market. In 2006 Wegener announced the loss of 300 jobs.
Soon after Mecom's take-over of Wegener, it became clear that financially not all was well with the new parent company, which was looking for dominance in the European media market. In 2008, Besseling was one of seven editors of regional papers to sign a letter to Mecom's David Montgomery
complaining about a lack of resources devoted to those papers by the parent company. Proposed cost-cutting measures led to protests and threats of strikes
. In February 2009, Mecom's financial position was acknowledged to be weak (its stock had fallen 97%), and there were fears that the Brabants Nieuwsblad and the eight other Dutch papers owned by the group would cease to exist.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
. It is distributed in parts of North Brabant
North Brabant
North Brabant , sometimes called Brabant, is a province of the Netherlands, located in the south of the country, bordered by Belgium in the south, the Meuse River in the north, Limburg in the east and Zeeland in the west.- History :...
, especially in 's-Hertogenbosch and Tilburg
Tilburg
Tilburg is a landlocked municipality and a city in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of Noord-Brabant.Tilburg municipality also includes the villages of Berkel-Enschot and Udenhout....
and their surrounding regions. The paper's office is in 's-Hertogenbosch. The paper is owned by the Wegener
Wegener (media)
Wegener, is a Dutch media conglomerate. It is the "largest publisher of regional newspapers and door-to-door papers in the Netherlands".-History:In November 1903 Johan Frederik Wegener began in Apeldoorn with a news and magazine advertising business....
conglomerate, which owns a number of regional Dutch papers, and is since 2007 part of the Mecom Group
Mecom Group
Mecom Group plc is a newspaper publishing company headquartered in London, United Kingdom.It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index until 22 December 2008, when it became one of three media companies to fall out of the index.-History:The company was...
, which bought Wegener for 800 million Euros. The predecessor of the paper, the s-Hertogenbossche Dingsdagse (en Vrydagse) Courant, was founded in 1771, making it one of the oldest Dutch newspapers still in existence, surpassed only
by the Haarlems Dagblad
Haarlems Dagblad
The Haarlems Dagblad is a regional newspaper in Haarlem, the Netherlands. It makes claim to being the newspaper with the oldest publishing history in the world, even if this claim is based on its merger with another title....
and the Leeuwarder Courant
Leeuwarder Courant
The Leeuwarder Courant is the oldest daily newspaper in the Netherlands. Founded by Abraham Ferwerda, it first appeared in 1752. The Leeuwarder Courant was the first paper in the Dutch province Friesland and its capital Leeuwarden...
.
History, 1771-1959
The history of Brabants Dagblad begins on July 2, 1771, when two printers in 's-Hertogenbosch, L.J. Bresser and C.A. Viéweg, started the s-Hertogenbossche Dingsdagse (en Vrydagse) Courant, a city paper published on Tuesdays and Fridays. The paper underwent a number of name changes and was banned in 1810 under the French dominationKingdom of Holland
The Kingdom of Holland 1806–1810 was set up by Napoleon Bonaparte as a puppet kingdom for his third brother, Louis Bonaparte, in order to better control the Netherlands. The name of the leading province, Holland, was now taken for the whole country...
. After more name changes, the paper, now called Provinciaal Dagblad and loyal to the monarchy, found itself in competition with two other local papers: the newly-founded Roman Catholic De Noord-Brabander, the likewise Catholic Nieuwe Noord-Brabanter (until 1872), and after 1869 with yet another city paper, Het Huisgezin. By 1910, De Noord-Brabander, Het Huisgezin, and the Noord-Brabanter - Noordbrabantsch Dagblad (1895) had merged, and in 1941, forced by the German occupiers, this paper merged with what was now called De Provinciale and became the Noordbrabantsche Courant. This paper was halted after Dolle Dinsdag
Dolle Dinsdag
Dolle Dinsdag is a Dutch name for Tuesday 5 September 1944. On this day many rumours were spreading in the occupied Netherlands that the liberation by Allied forces was at hand...
(September 5, 1944), and restarted after the war was over. In 1946, the paper received the name Provinciaal Noordbrabantsche Courant - Het Huisgezin. On January 3, 1959, the paper received its current name, and from a paper focused on the city of 's-Hertogenbosch it changed to a more regional paper.
Since 1959
In 1991, the Brabants Dagblad (then owned by VNU, the present The Nielsen Company) took over the competing paper in Tilburg, the Nieuwsblad. Theo Temmink became chief editor in 1994 but gave up his position in 1995; he had refused to move away from his hometown, AmsterdamAmsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, a decision which the board of directors could not condone.
The chief editor since January 2006 is Annemieke Besseling, who had worked for the paper since 1989 as a regional editor, and was an editor at the main office since 2001. When she was appointed as chief editor, she became the first woman to run a Dutch newspaper. In 2007, the newspaper's format was switched to tabloid, along with all other Wegener papers, a decision announced in 2005 already; in that year, the Brabants Dagblad reported a 3% increase in circulation. The change in format was intended to allow for greater commensurability between Wegener's newspapers as a cost-cutting measure, given the decline in advertising revenues and the falling numbers of newspaper circulations throughout the Dutch market. In 2006 Wegener announced the loss of 300 jobs.
Soon after Mecom's take-over of Wegener, it became clear that financially not all was well with the new parent company, which was looking for dominance in the European media market. In 2008, Besseling was one of seven editors of regional papers to sign a letter to Mecom's David Montgomery
David Montgomery (newspaper executive)
David Montgomery is a British newspaper editor, executive, proprietor and media investor....
complaining about a lack of resources devoted to those papers by the parent company. Proposed cost-cutting measures led to protests and threats of strikes
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
. In February 2009, Mecom's financial position was acknowledged to be weak (its stock had fallen 97%), and there were fears that the Brabants Nieuwsblad and the eight other Dutch papers owned by the group would cease to exist.