| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Compact[1][2] |
| Owner | Koninklijke Wegener BV |
| Editor-in-chief | Peter Jansen[3] |
| Associate editor | Arie Leen Kroon |
| Headquarters | Park Veldzigt 35 4336 DR Middelburg |
| Circulation | 54.513 (2007)[4] |
| Official website | www.pzc.nl |
The Provinciale Zeeuwse Courant is a Dutch newspaper for the region of Zeeland. It is owned by Koninklijke Wegener BV. Founded in 1758, it is the third-oldest newspaper in the country.[5]
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The paper is a merger of a number of regional papers, the oldest of which was the Middelburgsche Courant, founded in 1758 in Middelburg. One of its scoops was hiring the first female reporter in the Netherlands, in 1885.[5] In 1933, this newspaper acquired a paper from Goes, the Goesche Courant. In 1939, it merged with the Vlissingsche Courant, founded 1869 in Vlissingen, and became the Provinciale Zeeuwsche Courant.[6] In 1998 the PZC also acquired the Zierikzeesche Nieuwsbode (from Zierikzee).[7] Its 250th anniversary was celebrated in 2008 in the presence of Beatrix of the Netherlands,[8] who received a copy of the commemorative book PZC 250 Jaar.[9]
In 2010, Wegener was fined 20 million Euros by the Dutch competition regulator, the Nederlandse Mededingingsautoriteit (NMa). Wegener also owns BN/De Stem, the regional newspaper for North Brabant, which also publishes a Zeeland edition. BN/De Stem had been acquired by Wegener in 2000 when it took over VNU, and it had been required to keep both papers editorially separate to continue to offer readers a choice between two independent newspapers.[10] In 2009, complaints had come in that Wegener had indeed combined operations as a cost-cutting measure (it "harmonized" them[11]), which led to the 2010 verdict. Also fined (a first in NMa history) were five individuals within Wegener, with fines ranging from 100,000 to 300,000 Euros. Wegener planned to appeal the decision.[12]
In 2006, PZC's circulation was 58,000, down 3% from the year before, following a trend among Dutch regional newspapers.[13] In 2007 and 2008 hovered around 52,000. The paper's reach is much greater than its circulation: visitors to the paper's website brought the total readership up to 250,000 in 2008.[14] Moreover, 48% of the paper's paid subscribers share the paper with their neighbors, the highest such number among Dutch newspapers.[5]