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Men with a Hobby: Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs, News Media and Image Politics

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Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs and Street Gangs

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Risk, Crime and Society ((PSRCS))

Abstract

‘Men with a hobby’ is the Dutch expression that fits the way club members of outlaw motor gangs are sometimes represented in news media. On the other hand, there are frames of organized crime that are used. The first one has the risk of looking too soft, the second the risk of exposing yourself too much as a criminal. Managing a fine balance between these two frames is hard work for club members. In this chapter the authors show which rhetorical strategies are used to keep the fine balance between tough criminals and innocent men with a hobby.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The commonly used English term is Outlaw Motorcycle Gang (OMG) . Others use the term ‘one percenter motorcycle clubs or gangs’. We have opted here for the term ‘outlaw motorcycle club’, which in our view covers better the spectrum from the radical to the more conservative clubs; the members of the latter group feel particularly drawn to the mentality and atmosphere within the club, while radicals are more deeply attracted to criminality and entrepreneurialism (Barker 2007; Wolf 1991; Lowe 1988).

  2. 2.

    In this respect , some remarkable work has been done by Beare and Hogg, who, by using tapped reports of street gangs , were able to analyse communication between members which was not directed by the presence of a journalist or camera (Beare and Hogg 2013).

  3. 3.

    With thanks to Master’s students in the Criminology and Journalism and New Media programmes at Leiden University. See, respectively, Bakker 2017, Schutte 2016, Witsen 2016 and Dekker 2015.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands

    Willem Koetsenruijter & Peter Burger

Authors
  1. Willem Koetsenruijter
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  2. Peter Burger
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Oslo, Blindern, Oslo, Norway

    Tereza Kuldova

  2. University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Martín Sánchez-Jankowski

Appendix: Framing Matrix Outlaw Motor Gangs in Dutch News Media

Appendix: Framing Matrix Outlaw Motor Gangs in Dutch News Media

Frame name

Reasoning devices

Framing devices

 

Problem definition

Cause

Solution

Moral ground

Verbal devices

Stereotypes

Images

Organized crime

Motor clubs are seen as organized crime

Anti-social behavior

Prohibit or discourage organized clubs

Organized crime undermines the rules of law

Massive numbers, superior numbers, intermingling of cash flows, mentioning club-affiliation, laundering, network

Stereotypes from popular culture, movies like Easy Rider, South Park, The Wild One, Sons of Anarchy

Huge groups of bikers, club members photographed from the back, prominent presence of gear and bikes

Counterframe: clubframe

Motor clubs are represented in an unjust and unfair way

Sensationalism of news media and the urge to score of justice

Journalists should do their work better; law enforcement must be more honest and leave OMC’s alone

Everybody has the right on a fair treatment and fair balanced journalism

Lies, fairytales, gezelligheid (cosiness), innocence, brotherhood, club activities, just going for a ride.

NOT choirboys, soft boiled eggs, boy scouts, sissies, etc.

Toy runs, manifestations, gatherings, rides

Club life, manifestations

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Koetsenruijter, W., Burger, P. (2018). Men with a Hobby: Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs, News Media and Image Politics. In: Kuldova, T., Sánchez-Jankowski, M. (eds) Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs and Street Gangs. Palgrave Studies in Risk, Crime and Society. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76120-6_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76120-6_6

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