Leeuwarder Courant
Daily newspaper | |
| Owner(s) | Mediahuis |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1752 |
| Political alignment | Centrist[citation needed] |
| Headquarters | Leeuwarden, Netherlands |
| Website | leeuwardercourant |
The Leeuwarder Courant is the oldest daily
History
Abraham Ferwerda was a
After Ferwerda's death, his son-in-law, Doeke Ritske Smeding, took over and guided the paper though the French occupation of the early nineteenth century (during which many Dutch papers were shut down by the occupier). Smeding died in 1814; Pieter Koumans Smeding, his nephew, ran the paper until 1854. His heirs owned the newspaper until 1947.[4]
In 2013 Leeuwarder Courant was awarded the European Newspaper of the Year in the category of regional newspapers.[6]
Contents
While initially publishing mainly business and international news, in the nineteenth century the paper improved in quality and layout, and began publishing more news and stories related to Friesland. Important in this respect was the column "Mengelwerk," a kind of Frisian miscellany, which was published every Tuesday starting February 2, 1830, and included anecdotes and stories, and usually Frisian matters. Most of these anecdotes were written in Dutch, though the occasional West Frisian entry was printed.[4]
In the early to mid nineteenth century, the Leeuwarder Courant began to publish literary reviews. Jacob van Leeuwen (1787-1857) and Wopke Eekhoff (1809-1880) wrote most of the reviews, in most cases without a byline, and in one case Eekhoff recommended a poetry collection he had written himself. The literary criticism in the Leeuwarder Courant is especially significant since its readership was to be found in the upper circles of Frisian society—the bookbuying public, the notables who were greatly interested in matters of language, literature, and culture, and helped determine their society's tastes and predilections. Additionally, it is the only source of theoretical observations about contemporary Frisian literature. From 1830 to 1848, for instance, it published 140 literary reviews, most by Frisian authors, and 46 articles on literary topics, sixteen of which on Frisian authors (twelve out of those sixteen on authors who wrote before 1800): the literary reviews and articles provide valuable insight in West Frisian (and Dutch) literature and contemporary attitudes toward the literary past.[4][7]
Only some of the content of "Mengelwerk" was in West Frisian, and today still the paper publishes mostly articles written in Dutch; it was estimated that only around 5% of its content (and that of its main competitor, the Friesch Dagblad) is in West Frisian.[8][7]
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8108-5627-1.
- ISBN 978-90-272-2224-4. P. 393 n. 1.
- ISBN 978-90-429-1623-4.
- ^ ISBN 978-90-6550-638-2.
- ISBN 978-90-6550-677-1.
- ^ "15th European Newspaper Award". Adnative. 15 November 2013. Archived from the original on 4 June 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
- ^ a b "Frisian languages, alphabets and pronunciation".
- ISBN 978-1-85359-929-3.
Bibliography
Studies of the paper
- Broersma, Marcel (2002). Beschaafde vooruitgang: De wereld van de Leeuwarder Courant, 1752-2002. Leeuwarden.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Broersma, Marcel; Gitte Brugman (2002). De Nieuste Tydingen. Leeuwarder Courant 250 Jaar. Leeuwarden.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
200th anniversary publication
- Witsen Elias, J.W.J.; Jan Piebenga (1952). Twee eeuwen Leeuwarder Courant. Stichting Leeuwarder Courant.
External links
