• Most research on media rituals is based on the assumption that they fulfil a `natural' need in keeping society together. Recently, different scholars have questioned this `neo-Durkheimian' approach, stating that media rituals should not be interpreted as subservient to an existing society, but as active constructors of social order. This article tries to analyse how national identity is being constructed in the longest-running entertainment programme on Dutch television: Te Land ter Zee. The case study shows how images of the nation come about through interaction and negotiation between various parties. The organization plays a key role in the media ritual, but is still dependent for the end-result on the cooperation of the power configurations, participant performance and the appropriation of the programme by the audience. •
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