The Bulletin (Belgian magazine)For other uses, see Bulletin.

The BulletinCover of The BulletinCategoriesnewsmagazineFirst

issue1962CompanyBulletin Media SRLCountryBelgiumBased
inBrusselsLanguageEnglishWebsitewww.thebulletin.be
The Bulletin is an English-language news magazine based in Brussels, Belgium.
Founded in 1962 as a weekly magazine, it is the oldest media outlet in English in
Belgium and remains one of the oldest English-language publications in Continental
Europe. Today it claims a monthly online audience of 150,000 unique readers[1]
mostly from the large expatriate community of the European Union's capital.
Publication became quarterly in 2012.
Regular contributors in the past have included the author and one-time British
Labour MP Dick Leonard, who wrote about Belgian politics, and John Palmer, formerly
Europe Editor of The Guardian (London) and former Political Director of the
European Policy Centre.

History[edit]
"From now on, non-Belgian, English-speaking residents have a voice of their own.
That voice: The Bulletin. YOUR weekly." - Monique Ackroyd, 1962
On 21 September 1962, Monique Ackroyd successfully completed the first issue of The
Bulletin. Created in the basement of her Uccle home, it was 8 pages and cost 5
Belgian francs. The publication was greeted enthusiastically by the English-
speaking community: by the second issue, it had grown to 12 pages. Although things
were going well with The Bulletin, it wasn't until 1967 with the move of NATO
headquarters from Paris to Brussels that readership really took off. With a new
office in Uccle, the magazine's circulation grew and the number of pages doubled to
48. By 1969, circulation had grown to 3,000, enabling yet another relocation of The
Bulletin office to the Sablon area, above the Vieux St. Martin restaurant.
In 1971, one of The Bulletin's freelance writers, Sunday Times journalist John
Lambert, encouraged by the then editor, Aislinn Dulanty, decided to launch a
campaign to ban traffic in the Grand-Place. A petition resulted in a partial
success in March 1971, when drivers were banned from parking, but through traffic
was still allowed. The Bulletin kept fighting. The staff organized a protest
picnic held on 25 June. "Bring your children, your grandmother, your umbrella (just
in case)," urged the posters. The response was sensational, and hugely successful.
Due to such positive campaigns as well as the expansion of the EEC and expatriate
community in Brussels, Ackroyd Publications launched What's On, an entertainment
guide, in 1975. Three years later, the growing company moved into new offices,
located on Avenue Louise.
The Bulletin was on a roll in the 1980s. It was a recognized publication, producing
serious journalism that reflected the changing urban scene. It had Cleveland
Moffett's reflective Rambler columns covering many aspects of urban life, Dick
Leonard explaining the nuances of Belgian politics and Geoff Meade's wry stories on
living in Belgium with his Meadelets and catlets. By 1986, its cash flow was
healthy enough to pay for a smart corner mansion on Avenue Molière.
In the 1990s there was a change of editor, from Aislinn Dulanty to her daughter,
Brigid Grauman. The Bulletin continued its successful ascent by recruiting new
journalists, and launching several titles, including a design magazine called Look
and an inflight magazine for the Belgian national airline Sabena.
Between 1992 and 1994, The Bulletin reported on a campaign led by expats of
differing nationalities against BBC's Radio 4. It was thought that the service was
to be stopped, causing outrage amongst its listeners. Even though the true
situation came to light as being just a switch from long waves to FM, a protest
organization was still founded. North Europe Save Radio 4 sent petitions and faxes
until BBC agreed to keep the programme on long wave.
In 2007, Ackroyd Publications was acquired by Corelio, the Flemish media group now
known as Mediahuis that publishes several Belgian dailies in both Dutch and French.
Derek Blyth then became editor-in-chief. In 2011, Deborah Forsyth became acting
editor-in-chief, followed later in the year by Tamara Gausi as editor-in-chief.
In 2012, The Bulletin announced it was printing its final edition in July. This was
stated in a letter to subscribers that offered a refund for those who had signed up
to a longer term subscription. The announcement stated that due to changes in the
market, including the role played by the internet, The Bulletin would no longer be
a printed magazine but would continue as an online publication. This online
publication was previously an offshoot of The Bulletin called xpats.com. Since
then, The Bulletin has continued to publish a quarterly print edition.
In 2022 - The Bulletin's 60th anniversary year - the title was acquired by Bulletin
Media SRL,[2] a company led by previous editor-in-chief, Sarah Crew, who assumed
the role of publisher-editor. Under new independent ownership, The Bulletin
announced that it would "reinforce its role as a community-focused source of news
and information".

See also[edit]
List of magazines in Belgium
References[edit]

^ "Thebulletin.be Traffic Analytics & Market Share | Similarweb".

^ "The Bulletin announces new independent ownership in its 60th anniversary year".
March 2022.

External links[edit]
Web site of The Bulletin