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Heath, Robert L.; Lee, Jaesub; Ni, Lan
2009 Journal of Public Relations Research
doi: 10.1080/10627260802557415
To advance crisis communication theory and research, this article features communities of concern as the focal point and examines whether multiple voices are best to supply crisis information, evaluation, and advice to make communities more fully functioning. A funded study was conducted (606 completed calls) in three counties in the Houston, Texas (Metropolitan Statistical Area) MSA. The project features these concepts: concern/perception of risk and knowledge of response protocols, risk management/communication, crisis management/communication (precrisis, crisis event, postcrisis), cognitive involvement, fear/denial/efficacy (self, response, and community), and communication infrastructures. The basic question addressed was whether a diverse community becomes more fully functioning by having community emergency management planning and communication (law of requisite variety) reflect that diversity. Results indicate that approximately half of the persons surveyed do not feel adequately prepared to respond during these emergencies. Of those who do, diverse voices (source similarity and message sensitivity) increase residents' sense of self, expert, and community preparedness. If citizens have access to information that is from sources similar to them and stated in messages that are sensitive to them, they feel more prepared to deal with crisis emergency response.
2009 Journal of Public Relations Research
doi: 10.1080/10627260802557423
The dominant crisis communication literature has 3 limitations: its managerial bias, functionalistic orientation, and the erasure of marginalized voices by focusing on restituting the status quo. Due to these limitations, studies that aim to understand crisis experiences, interpretive processes, and communicative responses of the politically less powerful and resource-poor are scarce in the crisis communication literature. Drawing upon the subaltern studies literature, this article suggests an alternative approach (i.e., the subaltern studies framework) to aid crisis communication researchers to (a) expand the scope of the literature to nonmanagerial contexts, (b) speak to the discursive nature of crisis communication, and (c) attend to the issues of structure and agency in the interpretations of and responses to crises. A case study of grassroots activism in New Orleans is presented to illustrate how the application of the subaltern studies framework can provide a theoretical entry point for conceptualizing crisis communication from below and for facilitating academic self-reflexivity in crisis communication scholarship.
Holtzhausen, Derina R.; Roberts, Glen F.
2009 Journal of Public Relations Research
doi: 10.1080/10627260802557431
This study investigated the effectiveness of image repair strategies and contingency theory perspectives in crisis management. A content analysis of news releases and reports on sexual assaults at the Air Force Academy in 2002 found crisis communication is a dialectic process serving to change the perspectives of the institution and the media over the crisis period. A proactive approach was most effective in generating positive media coverage. Bolstering was the most effective image repair strategy and apologizing was ineffective. The study suggests a complexity approach to crises might better prepare communicative entities to deal with a crisis.
Avery, Elizabeth Johnson; Kim, Sora
2009 Journal of Public Relations Research
doi: 10.1080/10627260802557449
Precrisis information disseminated by public health information officers (PIOs) will play a critical role in preparing and safeguarding publics amidst a possible avian flu pandemic. This article analyzes avian flu press releases issued by leading health agencies, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Health and Human Services and the World Health Organization, to reveal their purposes and the nature of organizational response constructed therein. Results of this analysis indicate important considerations for practitioners may not manifest in the press releases they issued: The threat was not localized; outlets for publics to contact for more information were not always present, and there was inconsistency in how avian flu was referenced. There was a steady increase in the volume of releases since 2004, and PIOs generally seemed to recognize the importance of partnerships and timeliness in pandemic preparedness. Examining the possible pandemic flu situation may yield a more thorough understanding of audience psychology and behavior during health crises as well as enhance the salience of crisis communication models for public health emergencies when public safety is of utmost concern.
Choi, Yoonhyeung; Lin, Ying-Hsuan
2009 Journal of Public Relations Research
doi: 10.1080/10627260802557506
Drawn from attribution theory, this article introduces two types of emotion (i.e., attribution independent and attribution dependent emotion) and explores their role in the situational crisis communication theory (SCCT) model. A content analysis of consumer responses to the Mattel product recalls posted on online bulletin boards revealed that consumers experience a range of emotions from a crisis. A regression analysis suggests that crisis responsibility is a significant predictor of anger, fear, surprise, worry, contempt, and relief, and indicates that these are attribution dependent emotions. Alert and confusion were the most frequently expressed attribution independent emotions identified in this study. In testing a revised SCCT model, a significant negative relationship was found between alert, anger, and organizational reputation. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.
2009 Journal of Public Relations Research
doi: 10.1080/10627260802557548
Two studies examine media reports of chemical accident crises to explore the extent to which crisis communication strategies are included. Study 1 found that although reputation repair strategies were rarely included, about 1/4 of the reports included some combination of information-giving strategies attributed to organizational spokespersons. First responders were quoted more frequently than organizational representatives. Study 2 examined follow-up stories associated with the initial reports and revealed that, although reputation repair and information giving strategies appeared more frequently than in Study 1, they were only used in 24% and 60% of the cases, respectively. Overall, organizational spokespersons were not featured prominently in the media reports.
Caldiero, Christopher T.; Taylor, Maureen; Ungureanu, Lia
2009 Journal of Public Relations Research
doi: 10.1080/10627260802557589
Recently, leaders of some of the most well-known global companies have been found guilty of fraud and mismanagement. This article examines 17 fraud-related and mismanagement crises through the lens of Gandy's (1982) information subsidy and Benoit's (1995) image repair theories. The findings show that the content of news releases posted on organizational Web sites during a crisis is being integrated into the news coverage of the crisis. Organizations most frequently use the crisis response tactics of corrective action and bolstering. Background statements and direct quotes from the online news releases are being integrated into news stories and thus provide the opportunity for the organization to tell its side of the story. Implications and applications for communication managers are discussed to help organizations manage fraud and mismanagement crises.
Stephens, Keri K.; Malone, Patty C.
2009 Journal of Public Relations Research
doi: 10.1080/10627260802557605
This study expands crisis message strategies to include those used to communicate technical details and examines them across multiple new media. A content analysis of blogs, Web sites, news articles, and press releases from the 2007 pet food recall crisis reveals that when stakeholders affected by the crisis desire emotional support—most frequently found in blogs—they do not include any types of technical explanations in their messages. Yet when they want rectification—assurance that the crisis will not happen again—they use more elaborate forms of technical translation explanations. Organizational use of technical translation explanations differ between media with Web sites and news articles containing more elaborate technical translation than press releases. When technical translation details are used, dialogic links, such as Web site links, are included.
2009 Journal of Public Relations Research
doi: 10.1080/10627260802557621
In all of the communication literature on crisis communication, not one study has been done that looks at the unique situation of a religious person or organization in crisis. This article uses the infamous 1988 crisis of the televangelist Jimmy Swaggart as a case study for religious crisis communication. The theories of Fink (1986) and Benoit (1997) are used to analyze the situation and explain how Swaggart constructed his image repair campaign. The article also illustrates how these two theories can be used in conjunction to offer a more complete understanding of the crisis situation, and offers a unique look at how religion impacts crisis communication.
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