The death of Martine Tanghe was announced on Sunday. The former VRT TV News anchor died at the age of 67 after a long battle with cancer. Martine worked for VRT News for 42 years and for many was the face of VRT’s TV News bulletin.
Tributes to Martine have flooded in, from colleagues, politicians and viewers. For many people the news came as a personal shock. It was as if they had lost somebody close, even though they had never met Martine.
Viewer Els summed up the feelings of many: “You entered our living room every day bringing news good and bad. I’m experiencing your departure as the leave-taking of a favourite granny, somebody who was always there, a beacon of calm in a world of chaos”.
In a country of many versions of the language, Martine, a student of Dutch, was a stalwart champion of correct, standard Dutch. Viewers Raymond and Martina say “Martine presented the world news in a Dutch that few of us master. You were an icon”.
Martine started treatment for breast cancer in 2011 and relapsed in 2016. Colleague and friend Phara de Aguirre says Martine would go to hospital one day and present the news the following day: “It’s not something she wanted to draw attention too".
Martine also championed VRT’s cancer fundraiser “Kom Op Tegen Kanker”. Former VRT weather presenter Frank Deboosere, who lost his sister Paskal to the disease, is now the president of the charity: “She didn’t talk about it a lot, but she thought it was important to support the fundraiser. She illustrated the disease can affect every one of us, but also that you can battle against it”.
Belgian prime minister Alexander De Croo (Flemish liberal) was one of many dignitaries to take to Twitter. “This is a leave-taking from a beacon of trust” he wrote. “A lady of class, but above all a woman with a warm heart. We would have wished you could have enjoyed so many more beautiful moments”.
The royal palace tweeted: “An icon of Flemish journalism left us today. Her virtuous use of language and great efforts for society at large we will always remember. Our feelings are with her family, friends and colleagues”. The tweet also included recent footage of a meeting between Martine and King Filip.