- Throughout her 42-year career, she grew into one of the faces of 'Het Journaal'. She became one of the best-known news presenters in Flanders and was labelled "the mother of all news anchors" upon her retirement.
- She also received the honourary medal of the Flemish Community "for the mark she left on Flemish television journalism, not least through her correct and clear use of Dutch".
- After her death was announced tributes to Martine 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.
- 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 was not something she wanted to draw attention too".
- Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, tweeted in tribute: "Farewell to a beacon of confidence, a lady of class, but above all a warm human being. We would have wished you so many more beautiful moments. Goodbye Martine.".
- Her traditional closing line, (Bedankt dat u bij ons was) "Thank you for being with us", is etched in Flanders' collective memory.
- The journalist, who was well known in Flanders, had been ennobled on Thursday (20 July) -3 days before she passed away-, having been awarded the title of Commander of the Order of the Crown.
- 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. He said: "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".
- Martine Tanghe was VRT's (Flemish Television) news anchor for almost 42 years.
- In a country of many versions of the language, Martine, a student of Dutch, was a stalwart champion of correct, standard Dutch.
- For years, she chaired the Groot Dictee der Nederlandse Taal, the spelling competition between Flanders and the Netherlands.
- After her career, she remained active, including as jury chairman of the new Flemish Prize for Children's and Young People's Literature and as a theatre writer.
- Tanghe retired at the end of 2020. Her last Journaal broadcast is still the most watched Journaal ever with more than 2 million viewers.
- 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.
- She was also the regular face of VRT's election programmes.
- After studying German philology at KU Leuven and teaching Dutch to political refugees, Tanghe passed the journalism exam at the national broadcaster - then BRT - in 1977, aged 22. In February 1978, she joined the radio news service. Barely a few months later, she moved to television, becoming only the second woman to join the news service.
- In the early 1990s, Tanghe took a short break from public broadcasting to become a spokesperson for the Flemish Parliament, but she soon returned to VRT.
- For years, Tanghe combined reportage work with presentations in the studio.
- In 2011, Tanghe herself was diagnosed with breast cancer. She then disappeared from the screen for almost a year.
- For more than 42 years, Martine Tanghe was a journalist and news anchor at VRT. Tanghe, born in the East Flanders town of Bellem but raised in Bissegem near Kortrijk, joined the Flemish public news service as a 23-year-old. Barely a few months later, she presented her first newsreel.
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