''Das Echo'' was a monthly
German-language
German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. It is a ...
newspaper
A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...
originally based in
Montreal
Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
,
Quebec
Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
, serving the
German-speaking community in Canada and the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
from 1978 to 2022.
[Alexander Freund. ]
Beyond the Nation?: Immigrants' Local Lives in Transnational Cultures
'. University of Toronto Press; 30 October 2012. . p. 176.
History
''Das Echo'' began as the ''Das Echo des Deutschen Hauses für die deutsch-kanadische Gemeinschaft'', founded by Paul Christian Walter in 1978. It first began printing as a quarterly newssheet for the German community in Greater Montreal. Like the majority of newspapers in Germany, it was a subscription publication with a comparably small number of freely-sold issues. ''Das Echo'' and the ''Deutsche Rundschau'' were the only newspapers by an ethnic minority (
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
) in Canada to have
stringers in most Canadian provinces and many European countries.
Das Echo faced the delocalization of its readers from Montreal and the rest of Quebec to other Canadian provinces. Like their English-speaking neighbours, many German-speaking
Quebecers left the province because of the political turmoil and changes that followed the
Quiet Revolution
The Quiet Revolution () was a period of socio-political and socio-cultural transformation in French Canada, particularly in Quebec, following the 1960 Quebec general election. This period was marked by the secularization of the government, the ...
. In 1979 Walter turned the news sheet into a bimonthly newspaper and two years later it became a monthly newspaper, reporting about the activities of and covering information for the German-speaking communities in the Canadian provinces. In 1982, the title was finally shortened to ''Das Echo'' featuring the subtitle ''von Küste zu Küste'', meaning ''from coast to coast''.
From 1984 to 1995 ''Das Echo'' experienced a period of extensive growth, exceeding a circulation of 80,000. The newspaper established itself as an independent source of information in central European affairs in North America. Beginning in the mid-1990s, ''Das Echo'' earned a steadily growing number of subscriptions from the United States.
A substantial loss of subscriptions during the late 1990s and early years of the new millennium forced the Walter family into restructuring to avoid a financial collapse; the result was more advertising in the newspaper in order to keep a low retail price. On the other hand, the editorial staff was required to reorient the paper towards its traditional central theme of German-Canadian affairs, to reinforce its distinguishing character as a
German-Canadian newspaper.
[Marianne Franchéo. ]
Langage et pouvoir en interaction: étude de quelques exemples
'. ENS Editions; 1995. . p. 165.
In about 2006, Das Echo started recovering subscription numbers, growing to an average monthly readership of about 100,000. The paper remained one of the largest nationwide German-language newspaper in Canada and the United States until its demise. Its largest regional readership was found in the
Canadian prairie provinces
The Canadian Prairies (usually referred to as simply the Prairies in Canada) is a region in Western Canada. It includes the Canadian portion of the Great Plains and the Prairie provinces, namely Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. These provin ...
of
Alberta
Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...
,
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...
and
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...
, provinces with high populations of
ethnic Germans
Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The constitution of Germany, implemented in 1949 following the end of World War ...
. In 2012, Das Echo received the award of the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada.
In January 2022, with its founder and longtime editor-in-chief Paul Christian Walter falling seriously ill, Das Echo produced its last issue and permanently closed.
Das Echo was a member of the globally active IMH network, the International Association of German Media (IDM), the National Ethnic Press & Media Council of Canada,
dpa, APA, SDA and
swissinfo
SWI swissinfo.ch is a Swiss Multilingualism, multilingual international news and information company based in Bern. It is a part of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR). Its content is Swiss-centred, with top priority given to in-depth ...
.
See also
*
List of newspapers in Canada
This list of newspapers in Canada is a list of newspapers printed and distributed in Canada. Daily newspapers
Local weeklies Alberta
* Bashaw – ''Bashaw Star''
* Bassano – ''Bassano Times''
* Beaumont – ''Beaumont News''
* Beaverlodg ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Echo, Das
1978 establishments in Quebec
German-Canadian culture in Quebec
Multicultural and ethnic newspapers published in Canada
Monthly newspapers
Newspapers published in Montreal
Newspapers established in 1978
German-language newspapers published in Canada