This paper analyzes the NBA's communications efforts from June 4 to July 30, 2020 as it prepared for an unprecedented season restart in the early days of a global pandemic. While scholars have examined the media's framing of the NBA in this period, there is a gap in the literature when looking at the official NBA communications strategy of the organization itself. As the first study to use risk communication theory in a sports scenario while also employing corporate social advocacy as the second theoretical basis of analysis, this qualitative study is a thematic and textual analysis of 14 NBA press releases and three existing video interviews of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. Findings show that risk communication theory holds up in a sports context as the NBA employed effective use of widely accepted risk communication criteria. The study also puts forth a basis for CSA in sports communication regarding social justice.

The present study looks at how companies use corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate social accountability (CSA) messages differently. This study uses Discovery Channels Shark Week as an example by utilizing a grounded deductive analysis of Discovery's X, formerly known as Twitter, posts from 2015-2020. This timeline was chosen thanks to Discovery partnering with the non-profit organization Oceana in 2010 to create more informed and conservation minded content. The posts on Discovery's X account during each Shark Week from 2015-2020 were examined. Each were coded for themes, Other, CSA, or CSR, and additional frames for those themes. The frames gathered consisted of education, conservation, what you can do to help, entertainment, engagement, sensational, and promotion. This study concluded that the definitions of CSA and CSR in previous literature discounted for instances like the one studied here with Discovery instead focused on either CSA or CSR messages and tactics, and usually in a more political context. This study showed that organizations can use both simultaneously and in a more light-hearted fashion, like focusing on conservation efforts rather than politics. An unexpected conclusion from this study focused on the nature of social media as a marketing tool as one week was studied over the course of five years with little to no consistency in the tone, style and content posted each year.

Black Lives Matter (BLM) has been a concern in the US since 2013, thereby becoming an increasing interest. Several US corporations’ attention has been drawn to BLM due to its radical strategy on social media to facilitate engagements. Research shows that a company's engagement in activism by taking a stance on socio-political issues often records growth. Also, scholars have focused on corporate responses to BLM through the lenses of the implications or intentions of the brand’s engagement. This study, however, analyzes 236 corporate Instagram BLM posts through the lenses of the attributes of their responses. It is assumed that brand responses should be significant in respect to clarity and intentionality. Therefore, to answer the research questions, a five-coding scheme was created. Results suggested that a brand’s frequency of responses to BLM, direct reference to BLM, and response content influence followers’ engagement and speak volumes of their stance while addressing BLM.