This research aims to provide insight into how regional newspapers in the Dutch-German border region of Euregio Rhine-Waal deal with their unique geographical position: their location on the border. The significance of this position extends beyond the local context, as it links national and European ambitions for European cooperation with everyday life at the local level. Various methods were employed for this research: 1) frequency analysis, 2) analysis of geographical place references, 3) content analysis and 4) interviews with editorial teams. The results show that there is a correlation between distance from the border and the extent of reporting on the neighbouring country in regional daily newspapers, but that this correlation manifests itself differently in the Netherlands and Germany and, moreover, varies between the front pages and regional sections. The manner of reporting on the neighbouring country also differs between the two countries. Furthermore, it appears that regional media define the border region on either side of the border more narrowly than the administrative area of the Euregio. The perceived border region is thus smaller than the administrative one. The European reality of cross-border Euregios therefore does not yet correspond to the Euregional representation in the newspapers of the Dutch-German border region.
Heidi de Ruiter (1984) was born in Utrecht. From 2002 to 2005, she studied for a Bachelor’s degree in German Language and Culture at Utrecht University and the Ruhr University Bochum. She subsequently completed a Master’s degree in Intercultural Communication and Translation (2005–2007) cum laude in Utrecht. During an internship in 2006, she first became acquainted with the Euregio Rhine-Waal. She has lived and worked in Kleve since 2007. At the end of 2008, she joined the Euregio Rhine-Waal as a policy officer. In November 2023, she was appointed deputy secretary. Since 2018, she has been affiliated with Radboud University Nijmegen as an external PhD candidate. In her thesis, she examines the role of regional media in the border region. This theme stems from her observation that German regional media pay more attention to the Netherlands than vice versa, whilst economic and geopolitical relations would suggest the opposite. This observation forms the basis for this thesis.