The report on the riots at Haren are being published today. On behalf of the “Project X” Haren Committee of Inquiry, University of Twente media experts Jan van Dijk, Lidwien van de Wijngaert and Sanne ten Tije investigated the role of the media in this birthday party that got way out of hand. “Our approach focused on the young people themselves. What was it that either did or did not prompt them to turn up and misbehave?” After examining 50,000 Facebook posts and 500,000 tweets, as part of an investigation involving 855 young people and hundreds of interviews, the investigators now have the answers.
This Friday, the “Project X” Haren Committee of Inquiry presents its report at Haren, in the province of Groningen. Jan van Dijk is one of the committee members. Together with two staff members from his department, Lidwien van de Wijngaert and Sanne ten Tije, he was commissioned to investigate the role of the media in this Project X riot. The reports can be downloaded from the University of Twente website (in Dutch): Main report, Report 2.
Essential question
Prof. Van Dijk recounts that “On the Monday after the riots, I was asked if I would be prepared to carry out this investigation. I was approached because of my reputation as an expert in social media and an authority on the network society. We were tasked with investigating the parts played by the mass media, the traditional mass media, and communications by the authorities.”
The researchers structured their investigation to spotlight the points of view of the young people involved. “It seemed to us that tackling the media first would be a fundamentally flawed approach. It is more important to start with the young people involved, and with what it was that prompted them to go to Haren. Far too often, it is all about the other groups involved. Too little consideration is given to the essential question of what is it that drives young people to do these things and how do they organize these events?”
855 young people
For this reason, the investigators carried out a web survey among 855 young people in the northern provinces of the Netherlands. Dr Van de Wijngaert explains that “We wanted to find out what motivated people to go Haren, or to avoid the place. After 21 September, the debate focused mainly on the role of the media, as if the media is all-powerful when it comes to influencing what young people do, or do not do.” Prof. Van Dijk adds “We clearly drew that distinction in the investigation. We investigated whether young people were indeed influenced by the mass media, or whether they were swayed much more by Facebook and by their friends.”
The investigation
The three researchers worked on this investigation, virtually full time, for several months. Lidwien van de Wijngaert feels privileged to have been given this opportunity. “All sorts of factors and people were involved. There was a socially contentious issue, as well as the interaction between traditional and social media. In addition, individuals from a wide range of different research disciplines cooperated harmoniously on the same project. They ranged from cultural sociologists to communication scientists, to police experts.”
The University of Twente’s branch of the “Project X” Haren Committee of Inquiry consisted of four extensively interlocked parts. In addition to the web survey, the University of Twente researchers investigated the roles played by social media, traditional media and the authorities.
Social media
Dr Van de Wijngaert’s own line of investigation involved the social media. This was an enormous task. “We analysed the messages posted on the Project X Haren Facebook page, which numbered more than 50,000 in all.” The researcher also examined the contents of more than 500,000 tweets from that period. Her line of investigation also involved a comprehensive network analysis. Lidwien van de Wijngaert asks “Who is communicating with whom? Were there some individuals at the very centre of the web? Also, which groups communicated at an early stage, and which ones did so much later? We specifically looked for structures within the network.”
Communications by the authorities
Sanne ten Tije points out that “It was my job to examine communications by the authorities.” “In what ways did the mayor, local authority staff, and the police communicate via the social and traditional media? The analysis focuses on what was discussed internally and how that was disseminated to the outside world. You have to make a series of analyses at given points in time, about what was discussed and what action was ultimately taken.”
Traditional media
Prof. Van Dijk’s own line of enquiry dealt with the role of the traditional media. “I've spoken to the editors of daily newspapers, television broadcasting organizations, and radio stations who were responsible for the coverage of this event. Where possible, I spoke to the copy editors, although I also spoke to the chief editors of the TV news programmes, NOS Journaal and RTL nieuws.”
Jan van Dijk also analysed the contents of 34 types of media. “We examined the content of the news coverage. Was it favourable, unfavourable, or entirely neutral? We then focused mainly on trends. Was what they had to say motivational, or was it demotivational?”
Length of the investigation
Some people have complained that, in their view, the investigation took far too long. While they are aware of this, these researchers indicate that, if anything, the work was carried out very quickly indeed. They worked on this investigation virtually full time. Ms ten Tije responds forcefully, “It might seem a long time to someone who does not understand what scientific research involves, however the work was actually carried out incredibly quickly. An enormous amount of work was completed in a very short period of time.” Prof. van Dijk adds that “If it is to be fully underpinned with sound arguments and conclusions, any decent and independent investigation will take at least a couple of months to complete. Hundreds of people had to be interviewed, and numerous pieces of information had to be collated. That’s not something you can do overnight.”
“Project X” Haren Committee of Inquiry
Aside from Prof. Jan van Dijk (Professor of Communication Science and New Media, University of Twente), the Committee of Inquiry consisted of Mr Job Cohen (Chairperson), Prof. Gabriel van den Brink (Professor of Public Administration, Tilburg University), Dr Otto Adang (lecturer in Public Order and Risk Management, Apeldoorn Police Academy) and Thomas Boeschoten (student of New Media & Digital Culture, Utrecht University). At 11:00 on Friday 8 March 2013, the Committee presented the report of its investigation at Haren Town Hall. You can access the overall report here.
