| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Compact[1][2] |
| Owner | DPG Media |
| Editor-in-chief | Peter Jansen[3] |
| Associate editor | Arie Leen Kroon |
| Headquarters | PZEM-centrale Edisonweg 37E 4380KA Vlissingen |
| Circulation | 54.513 (2007)[4] |
| Website | pzc.nl |
TheProvinciale Zeeuwse Courant is a newspaper for the province ofZeeland,Netherlands, published and owned byDPG Media ofBelgium. Founded in 1758, it is the third-oldest newspaper in theNetherlands.[5]
The paper is a merger of a number of regional papers, the oldest of which was theMiddelburgsche Courant, founded in 1758 inMiddelburg. One of its scoops was hiring the first female reporter in the Netherlands in 1885.[5]
In 1933, theMiddelburgsche Courant merged with a paper fromGoes, theGoesche Courant. In 1939, it merged with theVlissingsche Courant, founded in 1869 inVlissingen, and became theProvinciale Zeeuwsche Courant.[6]
In 1946, anotherGoes newspaper,Vrije Stemmen: Dagblad voor Zeeland, merged into the Provinciale Zeeuwse Courant. Vrije Stemmen started as an underground newspaper duringWWII. In 1973, the proper namePZC was adopted, an abbreviation of Provinciale Zeeuwse Courant in colloquial language. In 1998,PZC took over the subscriber base of theZierikzeesche Nieuwsbode, founded in 1844 byPieter de Looze ofZierikzee.[7]
In 2006,PZC's circulation was 58,000, down 3% from the year before, following a trend among Dutch regional newspapers.[8] In 2007 and 2008 hovered around 52,000. Visitors to the paper's website brought the total readership up to 250,000 in 2008.[9]
In 2008, PZC celebrated its 250th anniversary in the presence ofBeatrix of the Netherlands,[10] who received a copy of the commemorative bookPZC 250 Jaar.[11]
In 2010, Wegener was fined 20 million Euros by the Dutchcompetition regulator, the Nederlandse Mededingingsautoriteit. Wegener also ownedBN/De Stem, a regional newspaper in WestNorth Brabant that published a Zeeland edition.BN/De Stem had been acquired by Wegener in 2000 when it took overVNU, and it had been required to keep both papers editorially separate to continue to offer readers a choice between two independent newspapers.[12] In 2009, complaints arose that Wegener had merged operations to reduce costs, which led to the 2010 verdict.[13]
In 2010, 48% of the paper's paid subscribers shared the paper with their neighbors, the highest such number among Dutch newspapers.[5] In 2012, circulation was down to 49,948 copies. In 2015, Wegener was sold to theDe Persgroep ofBelgium, now known asDPG Media.