Exploration of Crisis Communication Strategies in American and Chinese Colleges

This study exploressimilarities and differences between American and Chinese colleges' crisis communication strategies.Italso examines how American and Chinese colleges use social media in crisis communication.The in-depth interviews focus on the com-parison of the crisis communication strategies in both American and Chinese universities.

Matching Consequences and Causes in Crisis Public Relations

This exploratory study examines the phenomenon of consequence cause matching,which is based on the representativeness heuristic,from cognitive psychology,upon crisis management and public relations.A 2(Large Scale Crisis vs.Small Scale Crisis)×2(Large Scale Cause vs.Small Scale Cause)mixed factorial design experiment was conducted based upon a hypothetical crisis scenario.This study found initial evidence that consequence cause matching is a phenomenon that can impact the process of attribution for a crisis.It highlights a potential new area of theoretical growth for the situational crisis communication theory.

Impact of Crisis Communication Strategies on People's Attitudes toward Behavioral Guidelines Regarding COVID-19 and on Their Trust in Local Officials

Situational Crisis Communication Theory(SCCT)guides responses of corporations in crises.We tested how COVID-19 related crisis communication strategies affect trust in mayors and the acceptance of behavioral measures.A total of 561 participants(53%female)with a mean age of 50 years took part in an online experiment in which we systematically manipulated the mayor's crisis communication strategy(deny crisis,diminish role in crisis,rebuild relationship after taking responsibility,bolster reputation,no response)and pre-crisis reputation(good past crisis management,bad past crisis management).Age,gender,and education served as covariates.We also tested the predictive power of personal concern regarding the COVID-19 pandemic,as well as internal and external control convictions.In our preregistered analysis,we found that crisis communication strategies had no significant effect on participants'ratings of behavioral measures,but they affected participants'trust in the mayor.The deny crisis strategy resulted in the most unfavorable ratings,while the effects of the other strategies were moderated by the mayor's precrisis reputation.Additional exploratory analyses showed that individual concern and trust were important predictors for the acceptance of behavioral measures.Even though we did not find any effects of communication strategies on behavioral measures,our results support SCCT's utility in guiding communication strategy during a pandemic.

Ready or Not: Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte and Her Crisis Response Strategy During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Using Situational Crisis Communication Theory(SCCT)by Coombs(2007),this study analyses the case of Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte’s CoViD-19 Crisis and her crisis response strategy to address the situation.The study looks at the crisis communication of Quezon City on issues stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic.The SCCT provides a framework for the organization facing a different complex case of crisis to protect the reputational organization’s assets.The organization’s ability to select the most appropriate and beneficial response helps them deal with an emergency and crisis(Coombs,2007).Simultaneously,in this paper,SCCT was used to examine the stakeholder’s perceptions about the organization’s action and response by Mayor Belmonte on the crisis.This paper concludes Mayor Belmonte did not follow the recommendations of SCCT by combining Deny,such as Attacks the Accuser,Deny and Scapegoat tactics,and Diminish strategies such as Excuse and Justice tactics,to respond to the wide variety of stakeholder’s groups.Mayor Belmonte’s crisis response strategies and tactics do not align with the SCCT.The theory recommends corrective action and response such as Rebuild as well as Bolstering strategies are“considered as the most effective communication of crisis response strategy when an organization perceived a strong attribution of crisis responsibility and results in a severe reputational threat”(Coombs,2007).By reviewing the situation that Mayor Belmonte faced,this paper concludes that she was under severe threat.Mayor Belmonte’s CoViD-19 crisis is the preventable cluster based on the overall stakeholder’s perception of the crisis.The preventable cluster considered her primary,secondary,and additional stakeholders.It depicted an organizational misdeed with and without injuries,and the appropriate responses to adapt to re-establish the organization’s reputation is a Rebuild strategy because interventions such as Compensation and Apology should work to improve the organization’s reputation.Conversely,Mayor Belmonte chose to frequently employ Deny strategy(Attacks the Accuser and Scapegoat)and Diminish strategy(Excuse and Justice)to respond to various stakeholders.

Anger as a Predictor of Active Public Protest： Extended Application of the Situational Theory of Publics to a Health Crisis

This study applies the situational theory of publics （STP） to a health crisis by exploring the effect of anger on public behavior. The results of a survey administered on the case of the candlelight rallies on the U.S. beef imports in South Korea in 2008 demonstrated that involvement, problem recognition, and constraint recognition predicted communication behaviors as well as various issue-related online and offline behaviors. In addition, anger was found to be a significant driving force for publics to perform the behaviors. The segmented publics showed significantly different levels of anger, information processing and seeking, online behaviors, and participation in the candlelight rallies

Hidden Crises and Communication： An Interactional Analysis of Hidden Crises

In this paper I describe the ways in which the communication discipline can make a hidden crisis transparent. For this purpose I examine the concept of crisis entrepreneurship from a communication point of view. Using discourse analysis, I analyse the discursive practices of crisis entrepreneurs in the domain of education in the Netherlands. This paper is part of my Ph.D. project in which I examine the dilemmas encountered by crisis entrepreneurs and the interactional solutions they choose in addressing a crisis. In my Ph.D. project I have analysed how crisis entrepreneurs use discursive practices： （1） to show thefactuality of the problem. For example, the way the problem is presented is too theoretical and is not a problem in reality; （2） to present the credibility of the messenger as an authentic, legitimate spokesman. Crisis entrepreneurs may be accused of wanting to attract attention to their own cause; （3） to create the accountability for the problem and the solution. For example, crisis entrepreneurs can be accused of nursing personal grievances or of drawing attention to the issue without actively attempting to solve it. The conclusion is that a communication professional is able to recognize a problem raised by crisis entrepreneurs. Knowledge of interactional dilemmas helps communication professionals understand the potential of crisis entrepreneurs. A communication professional can therefore contribute to the recognition of crises by acknowledging that a crisis entrepreneur is someone who can have a strong hand in the public agenda, i.e., public affairs that are important to the authorities.

To Club or Not to Club, That Is the Question Debating the Meaning of Catholic Identity for Universities in Today’s World

This case study presents the dilemma faced by a French university with Christian identity regarding a students’request to officially approve a club for the LGBTQ+community:which would be the most prudent response considering all matters involved?The case is disguised:it combines elements taken from very similar cases impacting today more than a few Catholic universities around the globe.Part A describes this university:history,principles and values,academic and financial information,relations with its stakeholders,etc.This part also describes its religious context and some relevant statistics regarding the LGTBQ+community.Finally,a series of opinions regarding the issue and how to answer the students’request presented in the form of an open discussion at the university’s steering committee provides different arguments in favor or against the approval.Part B offers some guidelines useful to take a prudent response considering all matters involved:legal,ethical,governance,and communicative.These guidelines are divided in three chapters:what should be the framework for such a discussion,strategic recommendations,and practical suggestions.Their aim is to provide a sort of a blueprint for university heads and administrators,to design a tailor-made response fitting the identity and stakeholders’map of their own university.

Image Repair Strategies in the Pricey Prawn Scandal of Qingdao

The pricey prawn scandal of Qingdao in the 2015 National Day Holiday,not only violates the principle of integrity management,but also seriously damages the image of Qingdao—World Famous Tourist City.This study applies image repair strategies to Qingdao municipal government departments' attempt to restore its damaged image in crisis communication.Through a discourse analysis,it is found that the government departments mainly adopt the following strategies: denial,evasion of responsibility(defeasibility),reduction of offensiveness(bolstering,compensation),corrective action and mortification.Then we evaluate the effectiveness of this image repair effort.

Semiotic Resourcefulness in Crisis Risk Communication: The Case of COVID-19 Posters

The unprecedented outbreak of COVID-19 presents a public health crisis on a global scale.Various measures have been taken to communicate crisis risks to the general public.These measures are meant to keep the public well informed,stay alert,and take precautionary measures to help curb the spread of the virus.The current study is part of an ongoing project aimed at exploring patterns of communication in the COVID-19 crisis discourse.Based on a collection of posters designed for public use during the outbreak,this paper analyses the richness of semiotic resources that combine to construct and convey the intended message of the posters.Drawing from scholarly insights into understanding the situatedness of meaning-making,the paper revisits some of the classical concerns about the relationship between text and image in semiotic artefacts and reveals the meaningmaking patterns in the semiotic designs of risk communication posters.The patterns are found to rest upon a host of textual and graphic features that contribute to the essential semiotic encoding of entity,condition,action,and sentiment.The findings are summarized by conceptualizing the assemblages of resources in the poster as a semiotic ensemble where the coordination and collaboration among semiotic resources can work to reduce potential ambiguities and amplify the communicative effect.

Reducing Social Media Attention Inequality in Disasters:The Role of Official Media During Rainstorm Disasters in China

Unequal social media attention can lead to potentially uneven distribution of disaster-relief funds,resulting in long-term inequality among regions after disasters.This study aimed to measure inequalities in social media attention to regions during disasters and explore the role of official media in reducing such inequality.This is performed by employing social media,official media,and official aggregated statistics regarding China's rainstorm disasters.Through a set of panel-data regressions and robustness tests,three main conclusions were drawn:(1)There were inequalities among regions regarding social media attention they received during rainstorm disasters.For disasters of the same magnitude,regions with low economic outcome per capita received less attention on social media.(2)Official media can reduce inequality in social media attention during disasters.Official media statements can encourage netizens to pay attention to disaster-stricken areas,and especially the overlooked underdeveloped areas.(3)Of all the measures taken by official media,timely,accurate,and open disclosure of disaster occurrences proved to be the most potent means of leveling the playing field in terms of social media attention;contrarily,promotional or booster-type messages proved futile in this regard.These findings revealed the vulnerabilities within social media landscapes that aff ect disaster relief response,shedding light on the role of official guidance in mitigating inequalities in social media attention during such crises.Our study advises social media stakeholders and policymakers on formulating more equitable crisis communication strategies to bridge the gap in social media attention and foster a more balanced and just relief process.

Is Being Funny a Useful Policy?How Local Governments' Humorous Crisis Response Strategies and Crisis Responsibilities Influence Trust,Emotions,and Behavioral Intentions

This study is the first to investigate how a local government’s humorously framed response strategy on social media to a low-severity crisis influences people ’s trust in the local government and their crisis-related behavioral intentions,specific ally when considering the government’s responsibility for the crisis.Based on the situational crisis communication theory,we examined the mediating role of experienced positive or negative affect on people’ s responses to a local government’s crisis communication strategy.Further,we exploratorily examined the predictive power and moderating role of demographics,sense of humor,disposition to trust,and the respective crisis scenarios.A total of517 people participated in an online experiment in which they were confronted with three randomly presented fictive crisis scenarios where the local government’s crisis responsibility(high versus low) and the framing of their crisis response strategy(in form of humorous versus rational Twitter posts) were systematically varied between subjects.First,the results mostly corroborate earlier findings about the degree of crisis responsibility(that is,when a government’s crisis responsibility is high,people have less trust and behavioral intentions) and about the mediating role of experienced affect.Second,we found that humorously framed strategies negatively influence trust and positive affect(but not behavioral intentions).In contrast to earlier findings,the crisis responsibility × framing interaction was not significant.Altogether,the results advise against using humor in crisis communications on social media,even in lowseverity crisis.Exploratory analyses indicate that further investigations should focus on specific crisis characteristics and potential moderators.

The Role of Social Media in Providing Crisis Information in China:A Critical Evaluation of the Tianjin Fire Incident

This paper focusses on the information asymmetry in crisis news after a serious incident in Tianjin, China, in 2015. The incident caused enormous damage and resulted in societal unrest because of the lack of reliable information from the formal media channels. Social media — micro blogs —played a major role in reporting on crisis situations. We divided netizens(i.e., the citizens of the net)into high and low types according to their information-critical level to the crisis news. The data shows information deterioration on the crisis news, related to the netizens’ information-critical level. For the traditional media there is the opportunity to use information quality distortion to make more marginal profits. This is possible only if the citizens’ information stays under a certain quality level. The result is overprovision of low quality news and high quality news driven out of the market, whereupon adverse selection(i.e., a lack of symmetric information) appears. However, by adopting a process view, we found self-correcting mechanism(i.e., dying out of rumors) of the social media communities in China.We provided a agent-base model and simulation to show that the more media exist in the market, the faster speed of the information deterioration, but also the capacity to ‘discuss’ rumors.