Crisis Communication and the Public Health - by Matthew W. Seeger, Timothy Sellnow & Robert L. Ulmer

The epidemic of the disease COVID-19, in Požeština in relation to China, where it originated in other parts of Croatia, appeared somewhat later, while Požega-Slavonia County in terms of total share in relation to other counties in Croatia remained relatively well , 16th place, out of a total of 20 counties, ie a smaller number of patients was recorded. In the conditions of public health danger to the health and lives of people with expressed uncertainty, citizens around the world were flooded with numerous information, about the disease, ways of prevention, treatment that at one point threatened to turn into an infodemia, as warned by the WHO. The importance of crisis communication in such conditions is of great importance, and how governments and headquarters communicate messages about the crisis to the public, which is discussed in the first parts of the paper and points out several inconsistencies and illogicalities in the actions of the state headquarters. prohibition and permission to make recommendations contrary to the epidemiologist’s recommendations. But more important than the recommendations of headquarters and governments, today are the recommendations and news transmitted by digital media, and especially the local ones that bring news and recommendations for the area where we live. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to investigate in the central part the significance of the local 034 Portal in the Corona crisis, and its monitoring of the crisis and its impact on the public. Research through several segments, it was found that the portal maintained the level of reporting on regular events and adjusted reporting on the Crown to the conditions and situation in the county, not leading to sensationalism, concern, fear, but was a carrier of preventive activities and a good ally in the fight. against the epidemic, that is, he followed the guidelines for informing the WHO and did not contribute to the creation of an infodemia.

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Editor’s Essay: The Multi-Disciplinary and Diverse Field of Crisis and Risk Communication Research

Journal of International Crisis and Risk Communication Research ◽

10.30658/jicrcr.4.3.0 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (3) ◽

pp. 439-450

Author(s):

Audra Diers-Lawson ◽

Florian Meissner

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Public Relations ◽

Risk Communication ◽

Political Science ◽

Public Interest ◽

Crisis Communication ◽

Communication Research ◽

The Public ◽

Diverse Field ◽

Common Perception

The field of crisis and risk communication research has always been multidisciplinary bringing together researchers from many fields like business, public relations, political science, sociology, psychology, journalism, tourism, and public health. However, there is often a common perception outside the fields of crisis communication that is a corporate discipline focused mostly on helping organizations manage their reputations. As the pieces in this issue demonstrate, our field serves the public interest in many ways and is a growing global field of study.

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Examining Social Media Crisis Communication during Early COVID-19 from Public Health and News Media for Quality, Content and Corresponding Public Sentiment

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18157986 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (15) ◽

pp. 7986

Author(s):

Melissa MacKay ◽

Taylor Colangeli ◽

Daniel Gillis ◽

Jennifer McWhirter ◽

Andrew Papadopoulos

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

News Media ◽

Crisis Communication ◽

Emotional Response ◽

Protective Measure ◽

Health News ◽

The Public ◽

Public Sentiment ◽

Guiding Principles ◽

Negative Sentiment

Rising COVID-19 cases in Canada in early 2021, coupled with pervasive mis- and disinformation, demonstrate the critical relationship between effective crisis communication, trust, and risk protective measure adherence by the public. Trust in crisis communication is affected by the communication’s characteristics including transparency, timeliness, empathy, and clarity, as well as the source and communication channels used. Crisis communication occurs in a rhetorical arena where various actors, including public health, news media, and the public, are co-producing and responding to messages. Rhetorical arenas must be monitored to assess the acceptance of messaging. The quality and content of Canadian public health and news media crisis communication on Facebook were evaluated to understand the use of key guiding principles of effective crisis communication, the focus of the communication, and subsequent public emotional response to included posts. Four hundred and thirty-eight posts and 26,774 anonymized comments were collected and analyzed. Overall, the guiding principles for effective crisis communication were inconsistently applied and combined. A limited combination of guiding principles, especially those that demonstrate trustworthiness, was likely driving the negative sentiment uncovered in the comments. Public health and news media should use the guiding principles consistently to increase positive sentiment and build trust among followers.

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