Politics at the Table: The role of Talkshows in the 2025 Dutch Election Campaign

Politics at the Table: The Role of Talk Shows in the 2025 Dutch Election CampaignIn a healthy democracy, citizens need reliable, independent, and diverse information to make informed political choices (Esser et al., 2012). By selecting and contextualising political information, the media shape public debate and, particularly during election campaigns, journalistic diversity is vital to mirror the fragmented Dutch political landscape (Strömbäck & Esser, 2014; Schuck et al., 2013). Yet Dutch media have been accused of partisan tendencies and contributing to polarisation (Soontjes et al., 2023).In 2025 these debates centered on television talk shows, both public and commercial. As de Volkskrant (4 September 2025) observed, “Talk shows on public broadcasting are shifting to the right: the fear of being too left-wing has played a major role for years.” Talk shows occupy a prominent place within the hybrid media landscape (Chadwick, 2017), combining journalism, entertainment, and political debate.Against this backdrop, we study whether Dutch talk shows display political bias during the 2025 parliamentary campaign, focussing on guests and topics discussed and compare public and commercial broadcasters, which operate under distinct institutional and market logics (Bardoel & Brants 2003; Gravesteijn et al 2024).Central research question: To what extent can political bias be observed in talk shows of public and commercial broadcasters during the 2025 Dutch election campaign?Sub-questions:To what extent is political bias visible in the guest composition of talk shows?Which topics dominate talk-show coverage during the campaign, and how do these relate to parties’ issue ownership?