diff --git a/Makefile.am b/Makefile.am
index 9fa749b..49dfbec 100644
--- a/Makefile.am
+++ b/Makefile.am
@@ -8,6 +8,10 @@ pkgconfigdir = $(libdir)/pkgconfig
 pkgconfig_DATA = libfreefare.pc
 
 dist-hook:
+	@if ! grep -q "$$(LC_ALL=C date +'%d %b %Y' | tr '[[:upper:]]' '[[:lower:]]')" NEWS; then \
+	    printf "\033[31;1mBEWARE!  The first line from the NEWS file does not contain the current date!\033[0m\n"; \
+	    sleep 3; \
+	fi
 	@if test -d "$(srcdir)/.svn"; then \
 	    echo "Creating ChangeLog..." && \
 	    ( cd "$(top_srcdir)" && \