 | |
 Office of theTageblatt in Esch-sur-Alzette. | |
| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Compact |
| Owner | Socialist Trade Unions |
| Publisher | Editpress |
| Founded | 1 July 1913 (asEscher Tageblatt) |
| Political alignment | Centre-left |
| Language | German |
| Headquarters | Esch-sur-Alzette |
| Circulation | 10,400 (2020)[1] |
| Website | www.tageblatt.lu |
Tageblatt (German pronunciation:[ˈtaːɡəˌblat]ⓘ,Luxembourgish:[ˈtaːɡəˌblɑt]) is aGerman languagedaily newspaper published inEsch-sur-Alzette,Luxembourg byEditpress.
Tageblatt was established in 1913.[2][3] The paper is the country's second-most popular newspaper,[1] behind the rivalLuxemburger Wort.Tageblatt describes itself as theZeitung fir Lëtzebuerg (Luxembourgish forthe newspaper for Luxembourg). Although it is mainly published in German, it has also sections published inFrench language.[2]
The daily is owned by socialist trade unions.[3][1] The publisher is Editpress Luxembourg SA,[4] which also publishesLe Jeudi andLe Quotidien.[5] As of 2007 the daily had close relations with theSocialist Party (LSAP).[1]
The newspaper received €1,659,554 in annualstate press subsidy in 2009: more than any other newspaper.[6]
The circulation ofTageblatt was 27,081 copies in 2003.[4] In 2004, the paper had a daily circulation of 17,106: about one-quarter that ofLuxemburger Wort. In the mid-2000s its readership was 61,100, or just over one-third that of its rival.[7]
Historically, theEscher Tageblatt considered itself an instrument in the political battle for theLeft Bloc which dominated Luxembourgish politics from 1908 to 1916.[8]: 9 This bloc was composed of democrats and young liberals, who were less conservative than the liberals who had dominated political life in the Grand Duchy for the 19th century.[8]: 9 The democrats also called themselves social democrats since the foundation of the social-democratic party in 1903 aroundMichel Welter (1856- 1924).[8]: 9 The majority that the Bloc had in theChamber of Deputies since 1908 consisted of Deputies from the cantons ofEsch,Luxembourg-Ville andLuxembourg-Campagne, in other words, the main industrialised cantons comprising the most important localities in the country.[8]: 9
Elections to the Chamber took place using amajoritarian system with two rounds up until 1919. The constituencies were the cantons. The candidates stood for election individually, but in the most populous cantons, alliances could come about as early as the first round, but almost always in the second round.[8]: 9
The canton of Esch had the highest population and was allocated 15 Deputies (out of 51) in 1914.[8]: 9 The group that would win the canton of Esch was certain to have a political force in the Chamber. It was to this end that theEscher Tageblatt was founded in 1913.[8]: 9
However, the Left Bloc lost its majority to theParty of the Right in 1917.[8]: 9 In 1919, a new proportional representation system with party lists was introduced, with four constituencies (South, Centre, North, East).[8]: 9 The South constituency formed from the cantons of Esch and Capellen is still to this day the constituency with the highest population, and has the highest number of deputies.[8]: 9 TheEscher Tageblatt could therefore continue to function with its "regional" title, while still making efforts to win over readers from the centre through agencies in the capital, first in the Rue Chimay, then in 6 Rue de la Reine.[8]: 9
On 2 May 1947 it renamed itself theTageblatt, while retaining the French sub-title of "journal d’Esch", which it carried since 1918.[8]: 9 This sub-title disappeared on 2 January 1973, as regional differences faded.[8]: 9 Soon, the south was no longer exclusively industrial (after thesteel crisis of the 1970s), nor were the north and east exclusively focused on farming or wine-growing.[8]: 9 Helped by mobility, living conditions were increasingly similar from one constituency to another.[8]: 9
The founder of the newspaper was Paul Schroell (1879-1939), who came from a family of printers, book-sellers and editors from Echternach and Diekirch.[8]: 9 His cousin Emile Schroell (1863-1934) was the owner of theLuxemburger Zeitung, a moderate liberal newspaper (1868-1941) created by Théophile Schroell (1829-1893) in the capital.[8]: 9 In 1911 he had rejected the offer by Paul Schroell (also the editor of theLandwirt, published in Diekirch) to merge their printing companies.[8]: 9 In creating theEscher Tageblatt, Paul Schroell then founded a competing company in the canton of Esch, home to the steel industry and the economic centre of the country.[8]: 9 Clearly more combative than the venerable daily newspaper of Emile Schroell, theEscher Tageblatt had from the start a more polemical and feisty tone in political debates.[8]: 9
The history of theTageblatt consists of two stages, which are distinct in some ways, but show some continuity, embodied by the founder's plan to bring together the various components of the political and intellectual left wing of the country. The first stage was from 1913 to 1927, the second from 1927 to the present day. It was in 1927 that the independent trade unions and the Worker's Party bought the newspaper and printing works belonging to Paul Schroell for 1 million Luxembourgish francs, while renting the office spaces in Esch and with the obligation, imposed by the seller, to keep on the hitherto employed staff.
In 1913 theEscher Tageblatt had a circulation of around 2,000. It was, then, a newspaper with a lower circulation than the two largest newspapers, theLuxemburger Wort (circulation 8,000) and theLuxemburger Zeitung (6,000).
