scholarly journals Twitter Mediated Sociopolitical Communication During the COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis in India

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nishtha Jain ◽  
Preet Malviya ◽  
Purnima Singh ◽  
Sumitava Mukherjee

While Twitter has grown popular among political leaders as a means of computer-mediated mass media communication alternative, the COVID-19 pandemic required new strategies for socio-political communication to handle such a crisis. Using the case of India, which was one of the worst-hit countries and is also the world’s largest democracy, this research explicates how political leaders responded to the COVID-19 crisis on Twitter during the first wave as it was the first time such a crisis occurred. Theoretical frameworks of discursive leadership and situational crisis communication theory have been used to analyze interactions based on the usage patterns, the content of communication, the extent of usage in relation to the severity of the crisis, and the possible role of leaders’ position along with the status of their political party. The sample consisted of tweets posted by six prominent political leaders in India across the four consecutive lockdown periods from 25th March to 31st May 2020. A total of 4,158 tweets were scrapped and after filtering for retweets, the final dataset consisted of 2,809 original tweets. Exploratory data analysis, sentiment analysis, and content analysis were conducted. It was found that the tweets had an overall positive sentiment, an important crisis management strategy. Four main themes emerged: crisis management information, strengthening followers’ resilience and trust, reputation management, and leaders’ proactiveness. By focusing on such discursive aspects of crisis management, the study comprehensively highlights how political interactions on twitter integrated with politics and governance to handle COVID-19 in India. The study has implications for the fields of digital media interaction, political communication, public relations, and crisis leadership.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie McGuinty

The practice of crisis communication has evolved since the rise of digital technologies and social media. Defined as an unexpected and non-routine event with high levels of uncertainty, crisis management plans and strategies are essential for organizations’ successes. Failure to strategically manage crises through both traditional and digital media may result in significant damages and losses. This MRP examines a recent corporate crisis - the case of Chipotle Mexican Grill during the 2015-2016 E. coli outbreak across the United-States - and looks at how the social media strategy (namely Twitter) influenced the outcome of the case. Using a combination of data analytics, company financials, and theoretical frameworks, this research brings to light the importance of measuring online data, and makes suggestions on how companies may use social media to manage various types of crises. Keywords: crisis communication, crisis theory, crisis management, crisis strategies, image repair, social media, crisis and technology, brand equity


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-161
Author(s):  
Festy Rahma Hidayati

The presence of digital media, such as social media allows us to connect without any limitations of space and time. Consumption of social media brings changes in various aspects of life, including the habits of communicating and interacting in today's network society. In the political field, social media creates opportunities for political leaders to carry out political communication. As a strategic political communication channel, social media plays a role in receiving and responding to public aspirations. In fact, the use of social media for campaigns by political leaders shows a trend of increasing popularity and electability due to the influence of branding on social media. The use of social media by political leaders in building specific branding is at the core of this article. Political leaders optimize their personal social media accounts for political communication. The positive perception of the public allows for an increase in popularity and electability which brings to the national political stage. This article is a conceptual paper that analyzes the concept of branding in politics in the era of digital political communication by utilizing social media. The author uses relevant literature reviews from previous studies. This article reveals that several political leaders that have been studied have optimized social media to carry out political communication to their citizens. They display digital content to gain public support and trust, and display branding as a populist, professional, humanist, and responsible political leader.


Prologia ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 324
Author(s):  
Shani Indira Natio ◽  
Sinta Paramita

Reputation is an important factor in maintaining a company's success. Having a good reputation means that the company will get many benefits, one of them is consuments loyalty. The existence of Public Relations is the spearhead to maintain the reputation, image, and public trust that will have a positive effect on the company's sustainability. The purpose of this research is to know the efforts of DX Entertainment Public Relations in Maintaining JKT48 Reputation. The theory used in this research is communication theory, public relations, and reputation. The research method uses qualitative with case studies. Data collection methods are obtained through interviews, participant observation , library research, and online data search. Research results show that DX Entertainment applied nine reputation management and public relations have significant influence on JKT48's reputation.Reputasi merupakan faktor penting dalam mempertahankan kelangsungan hidup suatu perusahaan. Memiliki reputasi yang baik akan mendapatkan lebih banyak keuntungan salah satunya loyalitas konsumen. Adanya Public Relations menjadi ujung tombak untuk menjaga reputasi, image, dan kepercayaan publik yang akan memberikan efek positif bagi kelanjutan perusahaan. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah mengetahui upaya Public Relations DX Entertainment Dalam Mempertahankan Reputasi Grup Musik JKT48.Teori yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah teori komunikasi, public relations dan reputasi.Metode penelitian menggunakan kualitatif dengan studi kasus.Metode pengumpulan data didapatkan melalui hasil wawancara, observasi partisipan, studi pustaka, dan penelusuran data online.Hasil penelitian menunjukan bahwa DX Entertainment mengangkat sembilan manajemen reputasi dan public relations memiliki pengaruh yang signifikan terhadap reputasi JKT48.


Author(s):  
Soo Kwang Oh ◽  
Kyung-Hyan Yoo ◽  
Jennifer Owlett

Based on the theoretical frameworks of situational crisis communication theory (SCCT) and person-centered messages (PCMs), this interdisciplinary study conducted a 2 x 3 experiment to examine the role of PCMs in crisis management on social media. Our findings suggest that crisis type (victim, preventable) has an effect on people’s perceptions/reactions toward an organization and that PCM levels (low, medium, and high person-centered messages) in crisis communication on social media influence organizational reputation and participants’ intention to post negative feedback about the organization in crisis. We suggest that when organizations are responding to crisis online, they provide additional attention to the interpersonal dynamics of those interactions. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.


SEEU Review ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 72-85
Author(s):  
Demush Bajrami ◽  
Albrie Xhemaili

Abstract The human history relates to the history of communication, which has also been a co-driver of human development. Communication integrates the knowledge, organization and power of a society. Today, there is an increasing debate over the importance of politicians' mutual communication, communication with voters and the media, the role of public relations in politics, and communication with the civil society. Thus, political communication and the creative use of the media remain the essential component of any individual involved in politics or even of a political group. In this study, political communication in North Macedonia is presented in the context of political efforts into the integration process in European Union (EU), by observing all the stages within the process so far. From the content and the issues addressed, it is clear that policymakers face the challenges of communication (as is the case in many countries aspiring the European integration). In this paper, the premises of genuinely political communication strategy are analyzed separately, assessing them in the context of the political communication theory. It will be shown that successful communication is an important tool for convincing citizens that EU provides a better quality of life and work.


2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Jim Macnamara ◽  
Robert Crawford

Welcome to the first issue of Public Communication Review. Borrowing an approach from journalism, it is appropriate in this first issue to briefly explain the who, what, where, when, why and how of this publication. Who and where? Public Communication Review is published by the Australian Centre for Public Communication (ACPC) at the University of Technology Sydney. Why? The Centre was established in 2002 to facilitate research in the field of public communication and to engage with industry and the professions through the dissemination of research and stimulation of debate on important issues, encouraging innovation, and promoting ethical practice. The ACPC is very much a result of UTS’ vision and goal to integrate theory and practice. Along with undertaking partnership and contract research, hosting seminars on key issues, and conducting short courses, the Centre decided that a quality journal is a key channel for achieving its objectives. When we asked the question ‘why launch another journal’, the members and the Advisory Board of the Australian Centre for Public Communication agreed that integration of theory and practice and our holistic view of the field of public communication fill a gap in the field. What? While recognising and respecting the specialist disciplinary fields of public relations, advertising, journalism and media studies, we use the title ‘public communication’ to draw focus to the interrelated and inter-dependent nature of a range of public communication practices. We define public communication as comprising advertising, public relations, organisational and corporate communication, and political communication including campaigns and engagement in the public sphere, as well as media communication generally. These practices are also closely inter-connected with journalism – albeit, sometimes in a tensioned relationship. We believe that this holistic view brings a new perspective and vantage point for exploring public communication. It recognises convergence and an increasing blurring of boundaries between practices of production, practices of distribution, and practices of consumption in the ‘Second Media Age’, and it facilitates discussion of common concerns and interests across practices of public communication. When? We intend to publish two issues a year. How? We have decided that Public Communication Review will be an e-journal as this allows research to be distributed more quickly than print publications and it enables the journal to respond to topical issues. Furthermore, it reflects the practices of the digital media age which are a focus of this journal. On behalf of the Centre and the University of Technology Sydney, I thank the distinguished scholars who have agreed to be members of the Editorial Board and welcome you to Public Communication Review.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie McGuinty

The practice of crisis communication has evolved since the rise of digital technologies and social media. Defined as an unexpected and non-routine event with high levels of uncertainty, crisis management plans and strategies are essential for organizations’ successes. Failure to strategically manage crises through both traditional and digital media may result in significant damages and losses. This MRP examines a recent corporate crisis - the case of Chipotle Mexican Grill during the 2015-2016 E. coli outbreak across the United-States - and looks at how the social media strategy (namely Twitter) influenced the outcome of the case. Using a combination of data analytics, company financials, and theoretical frameworks, this research brings to light the importance of measuring online data, and makes suggestions on how companies may use social media to manage various types of crises. Keywords: crisis communication, crisis theory, crisis management, crisis strategies, image repair, social media, crisis and technology, brand equity


2021 ◽  
pp. 026732312199953
Author(s):  
Paul K Jones

Political communication studies has a long tradition of ‘crisis talk’ regarding the fate of public communication. Now, however, the field itself faces a kind of existential crisis as its core assumptions of ‘normal’ political communication are daily undermined. This ‘liberal normalcy’ shares much with orthodoxies in populism studies, most notably a tendency to bracket out demagogic communication, both in historical fascist regimes and democracies. Yet correcting these failings is not simply a matter of rejecting liberal models for left-populist ones. Rather, both fields need to broaden their historical parameters and deepen their theoretical frameworks. The article draws on the Weberian conception of modern demagogy and its revision in the wake of 'modern media' by Shils and Adorno. It further argues that a critical reworking of Hallin and Mancini’s media systems approach could benefit both fields. For Hallin and Mancini’s socio-historical use of Weberian ideal-typification complements Worsley’s never-completed plan for an ideal-typification of modes of populism and demagogic leadership.


2021 ◽  
pp. 2046147X2199601
Author(s):  
Diana Zulli ◽  
Kevin Coe ◽  
Zachary Isaacs ◽  
Ian Summers

Public relations research has paid considerable attention to foreign terrorist crises but relatively little attention to domestic ones—despite the growing salience of domestic terrorism in the United States. This study content analyzes 30 years of network television news coverage of domestic terrorism to gain insight into four theoretical issues of enduring interest within the literature on news framing and crisis management: sourcing, contextualization, ideological labeling, and definitional uncertainty. Results indicate that the sources called upon to contextualize domestic terrorism have shifted over time, that ideological labels are more often applied on the right than the left, and that definitional uncertainty has increased markedly in recent years. Implications for the theory and practice of public relations and crisis management are discussed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta N. Lukacovic

This study analyzes securitized discourses and counter narratives that surround the COVID-19 pandemic. Controversial cases of security related political communication, salient media enunciations, and social media reframing are explored through the theoretical lenses of securitization and cascading activation of framing in the contexts of Slovakia, Russia, and the United States. The first research question explores whether and how the frame element of moral evaluation factors into the conversations on the securitization of the pandemic. The analysis tracks the framing process through elite, media, and public levels of communication. The second research question focused on fairly controversial actors— “rogue actors” —such as individuals linked to far-leaning political factions or militias. The proliferation of digital media provides various actors with opportunities to join publicly visible conversations. The analysis demonstrates that the widely differing national contexts offer different trends and degrees in securitization of the pandemic during spring and summer of 2020. The studied rogue actors usually have something to say about the pandemic, and frequently make some reframing attempts based on idiosyncratic evaluations of how normatively appropriate is their government's “war” on COVID-19. In Slovakia, the rogue elite actors at first failed to have an impact but eventually managed to partially contest the dominant frame. Powerful Russian media influencers enjoy some conspiracy theories but prudently avoid direct challenges to the government's frame, and so far only marginal rogue actors openly advance dissenting frames. The polarized political and media environment in the US has shown to create a particularly fertile ground for rogue grassroots movements that utilize online platforms and social media, at times going as far as encouragement of violent acts to oppose the government and its pandemic response policy.


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