<p>In this essay I want to investigate how the <em>poodle strategy</em> affects a person’s credibility when he or she uses it. The <em>poodle strategy</em> is a strategy, which someone uses when he or she is scrutinized by the media. It’s primary purpose is to suppress further media coverage but it is also a strategy for defending oneself and hence rescuing one’s reputation either as a private person or as an official.</p><p>The essay’s research questions are:</p><ul><li>How has the strategy been applied for defensive purposes and what are the results?</li><li>To which extent can the Stasis theory and Benoit’s theory on Apologia be connected to the strategy?</li><li>Does the strategy affect the user’s credibility?</li></ul><p>To answer these questions four cases from the political sphere in Sweden where persons have been said to have “done a poodle” have been analyzed. In order to analyze the strategy and to judge how successful it has been these cases have been connected to the Stasis theory, Benoit’s theory on apologia and theories about credibility and trust.</p><p>Additionally this essay investigates how applicable the Stasis theory is as a model for analyses and how relevant analyses based on stasis theory are today. Furthermore it investigates wheteher a fusion of the Stasis theory and Benoit´s theory on Apologia can be profitable.</p><p>An important conclusion is that the <em>poodle strategy</em> is a strategy, which is more complicated than one might first think. Whether the strategy works depends on a series of factors; for example the person’s initial credibility (or ethos) and the morality of the actions. These factors need to be assessed before the strategy is put into use.</p>

In this essay I want to investigate how the poodle strategy affects a person’s credibility when he or she uses it. The poodle strategy is a strategy, which someone uses when he or she is scrutinized by the media. It’s primary purpose is to suppress further media coverage but it is also a strategy for defending oneself and hence rescuing one’s reputation either as a private person or as an official. The essay’s research questions are: How has the strategy been applied for defensive purposes and what are the results? To which extent can the Stasis theory and Benoit’s theory on Apologia be connected to the strategy? Does the strategy affect the user’s credibility? To answer these questions four cases from the political sphere in Sweden where persons have been said to have “done a poodle” have been analyzed. In order to analyze the strategy and to judge how successful it has been these cases have been connected to the Stasis theory, Benoit’s theory on apologia and theories about credibility and trust. Additionally this essay investigates how applicable the Stasis theory is as a model for analyses and how relevant analyses based on stasis theory are today. Furthermore it investigates wheteher a fusion of the Stasis theory and Benoit´s theory on Apologia can be profitable. An important conclusion is that the poodle strategy is a strategy, which is more complicated than one might first think. Whether the strategy works depends on a series of factors; for example the person’s initial credibility (or ethos) and the morality of the actions. These factors need to be assessed before the strategy is put into use.

SYFTE Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur föreningen Stockholm Pride kommunicerade efter pridefestivalen 2011. Festivalen gjorde ekonomisk förlust och föreningen kunde inte betala alla sina räkningar. (Enligt årsbokslutet gick man back med 3,9 miljoner kronor.) Man kan tänka sig att en sådan situation hotar förtroendet för Stockholm Pride hos festivalens besökare, volontärer, sponsorer, artister, olika aktörer och intressenter. Frågan hur man försöker återvinna förtroendet blir intressant. Hur kommunicerar Stockholm Pride? Hur försöker Stockholm Pride återskapa förtroende? TEORI Att återskapa förtroende är centralt för en organisation i kris. Trovärdighet, ethos, är kopplat till retorik och kan kommuniceras. Teorier om förtroende, kriskommunikation, försvarstal, försvarsstrategier och retorik används. METOD Fyra meddelanden publicerade på Stockholm Prides hemsida analyseras med image repair theory, en typologi om försvarsstrategier som grundar sig på den antika retoriken. Typologin undersöker hur en organisation försöker återskapa förtroende i en kris. RESULTAT Stockholm Pride gör ett på flera sätt välgjort försvarstal och agerar i enlighet med forskares rekommendationer: man går själv ut med information om situationen, bemöter medial kritik och intygar att man ska göra allt man kan för att ställa situationen tillrätta. Kanske undviker man en kris tack vare sin kommunikation. Dock kommunicerar inte organisationen med enad front och tar inte på sig skulden. Man ber inte om ursäkt utan att i samma veva försvara sig. Man framställer sig som ansvarig men oskyldig och skickar därmed dubbla budskap. Stockholm Pride gör inte en så kallad pudel.