Het mysterieuze voortbestaan van de ZENDTIJD POLITIEKE PARTIJEN

This article researches the origin of party political broadcasts (ZPP/ZENDTIJD POLITIEKEPARTIJEN) and endeavours to find an answer to the questions: why does it exist in the first place,and why does it continue to survive despite the low viewing figures, the low ratings and the bad experiences of the political parties involved? The article shows that the ZPP is, on the one hand, an unintentional and, for the large parties, unnecessary inheritance from the time ofpillarization and the resulting allocation of broadcasting time, yet, on the other hand, is very important for smaller parties. Furthermore, the ZPP is a special opportunity to make controlled publicity available in a time when ‘media logic’ is increasing in political debates. Lastly, the article considers the attitude of Dutch politics to the introduction of new kinds of media.