How Sercan Seref explored the media’s portrayal of drugs

For Sercan Seref, choosing the JADS Master’s in Data Science in Business and Entrepreneurship was not only about deepening his technical knowledge. He wanted to understand how data can help explain real-world issues. His master’s thesis, supervised by Professor Ana Barros, did just that by examining how Dutch newspapers have portrayed drug-related news over the years.

Before arriving in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Sercan’s journey had already taken a few turns. Born in the Netherlands, he moved to Turkey with his family at a young age, where he studied mathematics and later worked as a mathematics teacher.

“I enjoyed mathematics, but I wanted to specialize further,” he says. “When I found the JADS Master’s program, I liked that it combined technical knowledge with the business perspective. That combination really appealed to me.”

Returning to the Netherlands was made easier by family. His sister had moved back a year earlier and offered him a place to stay while he completed his studies. Now that he has graduated, he hopes to remain in the Netherlands and is looking for a position as a data consultant.

Looking beyond the headlines

For his master’s thesis, Sercan teamed up with Professor Ana Barros to study a question that has become increasingly relevant. As discussions about drugs have become more visible in society, how has the Dutch media portrayed these topics over time?

Rather than studying individual articles, Sercan developed an automated analysis pipeline that processed a large collection of newspaper articles. The goal was to identify patterns in both the tone of reporting and the way drug-related stories were framed.

“We wanted to see whether there had been a shift in how drugs were discussed in the media,” he explains. “Were they mainly presented as a criminal issue, or did newspapers also discuss them in the context of entertainment, popular culture or public health?”

The results revealed a remarkably consistent picture. Throughout the years, reporting on drugs remained predominantly negative. At the same time, the analysis showed clear differences between substances.

“Cannabis and cocaine were generally portrayed less negatively than harder drugs, such as stimulants,” Sercan says. “I hadn’t expected cannabis and cocaine to be represented so similarly.”

The research also highlighted notable differences between newspapers. While De Telegraaf most frequently framed drug-related news through the lens of crime, de Volkskrant more often placed stories in an entertainment or popular culture context.

“That was one of the findings that surprised me most,” he says. “I expected differences between newspapers, but not such distinct framing.”

Media shapes public perception

Although the project focused on analysing newspaper content rather than measuring public opinion, Sercan believes the findings matter because media coverage influences how people perceive complex societal issues.

“The way news is framed can shape the public debate,” he says. “Newspapers naturally write for their own audiences, which makes sense. At the same time, media also influences how people think about certain topics.”

One striking observation was that relatively few articles approached drugs from a public health perspective, despite Dutch policy often emphasizing harm reduction, education and prevention.

The analysis pipeline developed during the project can now be reused for other research questions. Instead of manually analysing thousands of articles, researchers can apply the same methodology to different topics, larger datasets or other media sources.

“There are many directions this research could take,” Sercan says. “For example, it would be interesting to compare regional newspapers. Do newspapers in Brabant frame drug-related news differently from newspapers in Amsterdam or Rotterdam? That’s something future research could explore.”

The work also connects to the JADS Center for Data and AI against Organized and Subversive Crime, led by Professor Ana Barros. Understanding how media presents organized crime and drugs offers valuable context for researchers studying the broader societal impact of criminal activity.

More than lectures

Looking back, Sercan says one of the biggest surprises about JADS had little to do with the curriculum. “I came from very large universities, so I was initially skeptical about the relatively small campus,” he says. “But I quickly started to appreciate the close-knit community.”

Instead of simply participating, he became actively involved in student life. Together with fellow students, he helped organize activities ranging from pub quizzes and table tennis tournaments to a Halloween horror movie night in the Mariënburg chapel. “I’m quite proud of what we built together,” he says. “Those activities really brought people together.”

Academically, he especially appreciated the opportunity to work with companies on real business challenges. “The projects with organizations helped me understand how data science is applied in practice,” he says. “You learn the technical side, but also how to communicate with stakeholders, manage expectations and create value for an organization.”

Among his favourite courses were Data Consultancy in Action, Process Mining and Deep Learning, each offering a different perspective on applying data science in real-world settings.

Looking ahead

After graduating, Sercan hopes to start a career as a data consultant, working across different sectors and learning how organizations can use data and artificial intelligence responsibly to improve decision-making.

“What attracts me is the variety,” he says. “Every organization has different challenges. I enjoy understanding how they work and finding ways data can help.”

His advice to prospective students is straightforward: “If you’re interested in both the technical side of data science and how it creates value for organizations, JADS is a great place to study. You develop technical skills, but you also learn how to apply them in practice.”

For Sercan, that balance between technology, business and societal relevance is what made his master’s experience worthwhile.