The word media hype is often used as rhetorical argument to dismiss waves of media attention as overblown, disproportional and exaggerated. But these explosive news waves, as well as - nowadays - the twitter storms, are object of scientific research, because they are an important phenomenon in the public area. Sometimes it is indeed 'much ado about nothing' but in many cases these media storms have play an important role in political issues, scandals and crises. Twitter storms sometimes ruin reputations within hours. Although different concepts are used, such as media hypes, news waves, media storms, information cascades or risk amplification, all the studies in this book refer to the same process in which key events trigger a chain of reactions and interactions, building up huge news waves in the media or rapidly spreading social epidemics in the social media. This book offers the first comprehensive overview of this important topic. It is not only interesting for scholars and students in media and journalism, but also for professionals in PR and communication, crisis communication and reputation management.

Racial hoaxes are becoming a popular discursive strategy to disguise racism, as well as a powerful means for triggering waves of fake news and outraged comments both on mainstream and social media. Built on grounds of plausibility and consistency with existing narratives, racial hoaxes may remain latent for a long time, and periodically emerge when negative stereotypes can be framed as actual news stories. Racial hoaxes have relevant political and social implications: spread across multiple channels, they can foster exclusionary discourse on immigration, migrants, refugees, and other minorities, with concrete consequences on people and policies. In particular, far-right movements embrace hoaxes as a great opportunity to advocate their claims and legitimate their calls for violent action.

In September 2012 the Dutch town of Haren witnessed a real-time version of a Project X party, starting with a Facebook event page and culminating in riots and substantial property destruction. The Cohen Committee studied the alleged mobilizing role of the news media and social media in the start-up phase. In this article a critical analysis will be made of the results and the methodology of this study. The results will be placed in the perspective of scientific research traditions on media and mobilization processes leading to large scale social disturbances. The Cohen Report tried to prove that a 'cross-media-hype' developed based on the critical mass on Facebook, but the empirical data contradict this position. They show that Facebook exploded after the first reports on Project X Haren in the news media. The concept of 'cross media interactions' leading to a powerful and comprehensive media hype is also quite problematic. It will be shown that new concepts are needed to analyze these complex interactions, combining different research paradigms on (online) media, youth culture and mobilization.

Between 2006 and 2011 more than forty empirical studies were published about the Dutch populist Geert Wilders and the role of the media. This article examines which methods and theories are dominant in these studies, and which media and which aspects of the relationship between Wilders and the media coverage are the topics of these researches. We also ask what kind of conclusions can be drawn from this large amount of research. At first glance, journalism studies academics use a variety of methods and theories but further analysis shows skewedness within this variety with content analysis of print media forming the bulk of the research. There is also a preference for framing research. The media attention for Wilders shows a wave-pattern, with a strong focus on deliberately created incidents. Media, however, seem to be unable to ignore these events.

Wilders and the role of the media Wilders and the role of the media Between 2006 and 2011 more than forty empirical studies were published about the Dutch populist Geert Wilders and the role of the media. This article examines which methods and theories are dominant in these studies, and which media and which aspects of the relationship between Wilders and the media coverage are the topics of these researches. We also ask what kind of conclusions can be drawn from this large amount of research. At first glance, journalism studies academics use a variety of methods and theories but further analysis shows skewedness within this variety with content analysis of print media forming the bulk of the research. There is also a preference for framing research. The media attention for Wilders shows a wave-pattern, with a strong focus on deliberately created incidents. Media, however, seem to be unable to ignore these events.

In 2009, the outbreak of a new flu virus in Mexico developed into the first pandemic in more than 40 years. For years the world had been warned about such a catastrophic global epidemic, but influenza A/H1N1 (also called swine flu or Mexican flu) turned out to be even milder than the common flu. This study is based on a content analysis of newspaper and television coverage from April to December 2009, and focuses on the volume and the content of the news coverage of the pandemic in the Netherlands. The research shows that media coverage was intensive and alarming, especially during the first and third stages of the epidemic. As it turns out, news sources had about the same share of alarming messages as the media. Therefore, although the media were indeed alarming in their coverage, they were so on the authority of their sources, the experts and the public health officials.

Twee jaar geleden diende zich met de komst van de Mexicaanse griep voor het eerst sinds de jaren zestig een nieuwe pandemie aan: een wereldwijde griepepidemie. Voor de media was de griep vervolgens maandenlang een groot nieuwsonderwerp dat vaak de voorpagina's domineerde. Bij het onderzoek naar de berichtgeving in de Nederlandse media over de Mexicaanse griep in 2009. De volgende vragen komen aan de orde:Hoe verliep de berichtgeving vanaf de uitbraak in Mexico in april 2009 tot en met eind december?Welke beeld(en) hebben de verschillende media in die maanden neergezet van de epidemie?Hoe was de toonzetting van de berichtgeving?Welke bronnen spelen daar een belangrijke rol bij?Is er een samenhang tussen de berichtgeving en de reacties (verontrusting) van het publiek?Dit onderzoek is gestart onder projectbegeleiding van Directie Kennisontwikkeling voor Openbaar Bestuur en Veiligheid (BZK) en per 1/1/2011 voortgezet onder projectbegeleiding van de afdeling Extern Wetenschappelijke Betrekkingen van het WODC.

De berichtgeving rondom de uitbraak van de Mexicaanse griep in het voorjaar van 2009 was intensief en verontrustend: de Mexicaanse griep zou zich kunnen ontwikkelen tot een gevaarlijke pandemie met veel (dodelijke) slachtoffers, ook in Nederland. Vergelijkingen met de Spaanse Griep en dagenlang nieuws over de wereldwijde verspreiding van het virus versterkten dat beeld. Hoewel de epidemie in Nederland een mild verloop had, was de berichtgeving ook in het najaar van 2009 toen enkele kinderen overleden aan de griep sterk verontrustend.

PETER L. M. VASTERMAN The Digital Pillory: The impact of the Internet on the development of scandals This article explores the consequences of the changing public arena for the way scandals develop. Scandals, defined as a process of public outrage over a (presumed) transgression of the dominant morality, used to be the domain of the professional mass media. The Internet seems to offer a more level playing field for actors who want to trigger a scandal by disclosing compromising information. But what exactly is the role of the Internet in the different stages of a scandal; which type of actors are dominant and how do media and these websites interact? A qualitative and quantitative analysis of four recent Dutch scandals shows that the Internet, more specifically semiprofessional weblogs can indeed play an important role in exposing, accusing and denouncing the culprit. But the professional media are still very important; when they refuse to adopt a disclosure by bloggers the scandal fails. The role of the Internet users is mainly reactive, but the scale of outrage on the Internet fuels the scandal process.

The Digital Pillory: The impact of the Internet on the development of scandals The Digital Pillory: The impact of the Internet on the development of scandals This article explores the consequences of the changing public arena for the way scandals develop. Scandals, defined as a process of public outrage over a (presumed) transgression of the dominant morality, used to be the domain of the professional mass media. The Internet seems to offer a more level playing field for actors who want to trigger a scandal by disclosing compromising information. But what exactly is the role of the Internet in the different stages of a scandal; which type of actors are dominant and how do media and these websites interact? A qualitative and quantitative analysis of four recent Dutch scandals shows that the Internet, more specifically semiprofessional weblogs can indeed play an important role in exposing, accusing and denouncing the culprit. But the professional media are still very important; when they refuse to adopt a disclosure by bloggers the scandal fails. The role of the Internet users is mainly reactive, but the scale of outrage on the Internet fuels the scandal process.

Journalism studies in the Netherlands: a research overview This article presents the results of a survey among journalism studies researchers from universities and schools of journalism in the Netherlands. It shows the themes they focus on, what they publish about, in what journals, books and book chapters, in what language, and what methods they generally apply in their research.

Journalism studies in the Netherlands: a research overview Journalism studies in the Netherlands: a research overview This article presents the results of a survey among journalism studies researchers from universities and schools of journalism in the Netherlands. It shows the themes they focus on, what they publish about, in what journals, books and book chapters, in what language, and what methods they generally apply in their research.

Disasters have always been breaking news, but in the current competitive media landscape the media have an interest in expanding the disaster into a news spectacle, spanning several weeks afterwards. After the immediate on the spot reporting, the media will concentrate on two major stories: human interest and the question of guilt and political responsibilities. The focus on the personal and emotional stories is the result of a major shift of perspective in journalism in which the experiences of the citizens have become equally important as the view of the official sources. The 'blaming' news flow can be linked to changes in the perception on risk and disaster, for which the government is held responsible at any time. The interaction between media, public and government in the aftermath of the disaster may create a process in which a specific risk, connected to the disaster, is amplified over and over again. This forces the government to take drastic action that may not be in proportion with the actual risk. Exposure to all these post-impact news waves sometimes contributes to stress-related health problems among survivors and rescue workers.

The media's coverage of risk issues is often criticized for neglecting the scientific perspective on risk. This criticism, however, ignores the social context in which journalists operate: they have to report on people's worries about health-threatening issues and they have to cover actions taken by the government to address these worries. The media have to report on such issues, irrespective of the fact that in terms of scientific risk assessment the risk may be negligible. In this article, a new evaluation model for media coverage of risk is developed on the basis of a content analysis of two risk issues - universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) base stations and fine particle pollution (FPP) - and extensive consultation with prominent journalists, scientists and stakeholders in the Netherlands. The model defines criteria regarding sources, frames, amplification, risk perception, scientific data and the language used in the coverage. This approach offers a concrete starting point for the reporters who cover these issues in the daily news pages.