Albert J. Beirens (May 1947 – 25 June 2020) was a Belgian radio producer and journalist.

Early life

Beirens was born in

Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...

in May 1947.

Career

In the 1970s, Beirens was a radio producer at various

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

stations, including

Radio North Sea International Radio North Sea International (RNI; ; ) was a European offshore radio station run by the Swiss firm Mebo Telecommunications, jointly owned by Swiss engineer Edwin Bollier and his business partner, Erwin Meister.. The company, registered in Swi ...

and Radio Atlantis, which were legal radio stations that broadcast from a ship Mebo II in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

. For nearly 4 years, every Sunday morning, A. J. Beirens broadcast the radio show "NorthSea Goes Dx" in several languages to thousands of listeners. For more than 30 years, he worked for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

and the VRT, the national Flemish broadcasting station, as a

correspondent A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is usually a journalist or commentator for a magazine, or an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, locati ...

. He also worked for Radio Nova in Italy, Radio Paradijs (Knokke-Heist), Radio Dynamo, ORO Nieuwsdienst and VRT. He was a radio correspondent for

Zeebrugge Zeebrugge (; from , meaning "Bruges-on-Sea"; , ) is a village on the coast of Belgium and a subdivision of Bruges, for which it is the modern port. Zeebrugge serves as both the international port of Bruges-Zeebrugge and a seafront resort with ...

and

Knokke-Heist Knokke-Heist (; ) is a municipality in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Heist-aan-Zee, Knokke, Duinbergen, Ramskapelle and Westkapelle. On January 1, 2006, Knokke-Heist had a total population o ...

. As a maritime journalist, AJ Beirens specialized in news about the port of Zeebrugge and the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

. He wrote several books including one about the refugee problems during World War II. A. J. Beirens supported the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

branch of the free radio campaign called "Offshore Echo's France" since 1974. In May 2020, his health deteriorated. He opted for

euthanasia Euthanasia (from : + ) is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different Legality of euthanasia, euthanasia laws. The British House of Lords Select committee (United Kingdom), se ...

and died on 25 June 2020 at age 73.

References

External links

Biography and works
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beirens, A.J. 1947 births 2020 deaths Belgian radio presenters 20th-century Belgian journalists Belgian male journalists Writers from Bruges Euthanasia in Belgium 21st-century Belgian journalists