The Gazette van Detroit first appeared as a weekly newspaper, later it became bi-weekly, and finally monthly. It had become an online-only paper before its ultimate demise. It was the longest lasting Belgian American newspaper, outlasting the Gazette van Moline at Moline, Illinois (1907–40). The newspaper's original mission statement, published in an article entitled "The Light for the People" (Het Licht voor 't Volk) set forward the newspaper's aim:
