This study examines how an organization can use social media to solve preventable crises. Focus groups with a total of 14 moms are conducted to discuss a controversial Motrin babywearing advertisement and how Johnson & Johnson should have responded to the social media backlash. The results are explored based on dialogic public relations theory and its five components. Additional insights regarding the use of different social media channels and culture jamming YouTube videos suggest theoretical and practical implications on organizational responses on social media during preventable crises. The study also explores how people with high- and low-context cultures might respond differently to offensive advertising.

On September 18, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Standards Agency (EPA) filed a Notice of Violation of the Clean Air Act to the Volkswagen Group regarding software used to intentionally deceive the EPA’s emissions tests. Social media is an efficient way for organizations to release information and respond quickly during a crisis. Not only are organizations posting on social media sites, but consumers are increasingly turning to social media sites, such as Twitter, during crises to share information and opinions. The VW crisis may impact Germany’s nation brand, as predicted by more recent country-of-origin literature. The country-of-origin effect occurs when the reputation of a country impacts consumer perceptions of products produced by that country. When consumers had favorable perceptions of a country, Xu and Wu (2015) found the country’s products were more likely to receive positive after-crisis reactions. German products are considered to be of high quality. “So, in the case of Germany, the development of its national brand identity is an integral part of the growth and development of its exports, the ‘Made in Germany’ label that has a world-class reputation,” (Joseph, 2014, p. 4). A content analysis was performed to examine the international conversation on Twitter through the analysis of tweets that included at least one of the following hashtags: #VWGate, #DieselGate, #VWscandal or #Volkswagenscandal.

Master of Science / Department of Journalism and Mass Communications / Xiaochen Zhang / This study examined crisis communication on social media applying relationship management theory. There are few credibility checks on social media platforms, and some say publics no longer believe messages through this type of media (Domonoske, 2016; Ho, 2012). However, many people get news from social media platforms and trust the information they read (Turcotte, York, Irving, Scholl, & Pingree, 2015). Crisis theories suggest strong relationships are less affected by crisis situations, and relationships are heavily based on trust (Broom, Casey, & Ritchey, 1997; Coombs, 2000; Coombs & Holladay, 2006; Ledingham, 2003). Through a survey, this study found a statistically significant positive relationship between perceived organization-public relationship, trust and, credibility in crisis communication on social media within the Millennial and Generation Z groups. These generations are the most active on social media, and this study challenged the claim that they do not believe information online (Richards, 2017; Statista, 2016).

This master thesis deals with analysis of crisis communication of the Volkswagen Group in the Czech Republic and its presentation in media. The theoretical part presents particular components of public relations and the crisis communication and its rules as a part of them. Then some basic principles in media analysis and marketing research are presented. The practical part starts with an in-depth overview of the emission scandal as a crisis situation for Volkswagen with an analysis of selected PR components impact of several indicators and also analysis of the media picture of the company. The research focuses on customer s attitude towards the emissions issue and VW s reaction. Finally the SWOT analysis is assembled and on its basis the solution for post-crisis communication is offerred.

The aim of the following thesis was to create a set of principles for crisis communication on Facebook. Presence in social media has become a standard part of any promotional mix. However, not every company fully recognizes the advantages and drawbacks of this tool. Once something goes wrong, the reputation of a company can be seriously endangered. The potential harm grows, when dealing with the issue is presented publicly. The thesis provides an analysis of how the emergence of social media changed the classical PR and a theoretical frame for a company's communication in case of negative publicity. In the analytical part two surveys were conducted, one within consumers to analyze their attitude towards making complaints on Facebook and the other one with social media experts by discussing their experience and opinions on this issue. Based on these findings, a set of 10 recommendations for crises on Facebook were formulated.

Title: Media framing of the Norilsk oil spill Author: Daria Tsymbal Supervisor: Mgr. Jan Miessler, Department of Media Studies, Institute of Communication Studies and Journalism (ICSJ) Abstract: This study examines how the Norilsk oil spill in May 2020 was framed within four factors of Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT): 1. Severity of the damage; 2. Crisis responsibility; 4. Crisis history; 5. Relationship history. Also, this study examines how media ownership and closeness of the media to the government influence the framing of Norilsk Oil Spill. Using content analyses, three Russian newspapers were analyzed - Novaya Gazeta, Rossiyskaya Gazeta, and Kommersant. The results demonstrated differences in usage and frequency of frames according to media ownership and closeness to the government. Also, findings revealed that there are differences in framing concerning time frame. This thesis provides evidence that four factors in SCCT concepts (Severity of the damage, Crisis responsibility, Crisis history, Relationship history) can serve as frames in media framing analyses of crises. In addition, this study provides information for crisis managers and media professionals on how one particular crisis may be differently framed in different newspapers. Keywords: Media, crisis communication,...

The research explored the public support towards the political communication carried out during COVID-19 in India. Through the means of a structured questionnaire based on Easton's dimensions of public support, responses were collected from 200 respondents, 100 each from the academic background of journalism and psychology. To determine the support towards the government performance during the crisis times based on the political communication done by the current regime in India. The results suggested that the public support is quite less from the respondents of journalism background. However, the psychology respondents showed relatively high support towards the political communication done by the Indian government in the COVID-19. It suggests that the public support is not one but scattered and also the academic background could play a major role in one's understanding of the political communication and lending of the support. The research demonstrated how respondents from different backgrounds show almost the opposite support towards political communication in the times of crisis. This gives out a good comparison and also concludes the public support. Keywords: COVID-19, pandemic, political communication, crisis communication, public support, India.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(工学) / 甲第19694号 / 工博第4149号 / 新制||工||1640(附属図書館) / 32730 / 京都大学大学院工学研究科都市社会工学専攻 / (主査)教授 小林 潔司, 教授 藤井 聡, 准教授 松島 格也 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Philosophy (Engineering) / Kyoto University / DFAM

On February 14, 2007, JetBlue Airways experienced a major blow to their well-respected reputation when ten planes were delayed with passengers stranded on board for up to eight hours each. Through intense coverage and negative reporting from the media, JetBlue launched a multi-pronged crisis communication response strategy to repair the damage. Using Situational Crisis Communications Theory (SCCT) as a framework, the research in this study demonstrated the importance of crisis communications planning, corporate apologia, corporate impression management, and image restoration within an organization. A discourse analysis was utilized to identify the types of messages delivered by the media, the crisis response strategies and tactics implemented by JetBlue, and stakeholder reactions to the JetBlue responses. Content from the messages were then placed in appropriate categories identifying the type of strategy and tactic utilized. Category definitions, examples of comments, and the identifying attributes were included to help support that JetBlue was successful in repairing and recovering their reputation

This study was a year-long longitudinal qualitative research project using the case study of Mayfield, KY after the catastrophic tornado event that impacted their community on December 10, 2021. Oral histories were collected from 18 participants who lived in or were closely connected to Mayfield at the six month and 1.5 year marks after the disaster. Later, after the oral histories were archived and made available to the public, the transcripts were used to extract the crisis narratives from the oral histories and the data was thematically analyzed using the existing theory and theoretical framework of Narratives of Crisis: Telling Stories of Ruin and Renewal by Seeger and Sellnow (2016). The themes were analyzed to better understand how crisis narratives change over time and to determine if there were differences between the leadership of Mayfield and their stakeholders, the public. A major finding in this area was the intertwining of one of more themes within the same passage of narrative, including the intertwining of traditionally competing themes. This extends the theory of Narratives of Crisis. The Discourse of Renewal by Ulmer and Sellnow (2002) was also used to analyze how narratives may differ between those in the community who are considered leaders, and those who represent a general cross-section of the community. The major finding in this analysis was the lack of up-to-date information between leaders and the public. By not creating a bridge of communication, many of the successful steps taken by leaders may not have reached their intended audience. One of the components of the Discourse of Renewal, organizational learning, was specifically used to find lessons learned discussed by community leaders in Mayfield, and to explore how these learned lessons can be applied for practitioners to better understand disaster recovery and renewal in the future.