The challenges of public sector communication in the face of the pandemic crisis: professional roles, competencies and platformization1

The pandemic crisis has led to a renew centrality of public sector communica-tion in a hybrid and convergent media ecosystems aiming at (re)building relation-ships based on trust between institutions and citizens. This contribution reflects on the strengths and fragility of the Italian public communication in the face of the pandemic, considering regulatory processes and paths of professionalization. It focuses also on the challenges of social media use in public sector, suggesting a critical approach towards the platformization of the public sector communication activities. The last part of this manuscript presents the different articles that com-pose the special issue.

Fighting disinformation. The impact of the Covid-19 on youth trust in European Institutions

The pandemic crisis and the linked infodemic are extraordinary cases to test the EU capability to manage the disinformation disorder, especially towards young people. This paper aims to analyse the impact of the EU communicative actions regarding disinformation about Covid-19, on trust and sense of belonging in young Italian and Spanish university students. The research presents an exploratory and quantitative study that uses a second-generation multivariate analysis method. The results show that trust can be very well the resource on which EU communicative actions may positively impact. Nevertheless, our study reveals that the EU in-stitutions measures have not increased sense of belonging in EU integration.

Public communication and the role of social media in enhancing democratic innovation: the case of the City of Bologna

Social media represents for public administration an important area to experi-ment forms of democratic innovation, however this potentiality is often unex-plored. This article, with a focus on the case of the city of Bologna aims to explore 1) whether and how public communication practices enhanced in local participa-tory processes can support a substantial form of participation; 2) which roles so-cial media specifically play in enhancing a participatory environment; 3) which kind of dynamics of interaction emerge between public administration and citizens and the challenges which need to be addressed by a public communication orient-ed to the public engagement.

Public communication and pandemic crisis: the case of the Municipality of Peccioli

In the last twenty years public communication has profoundly changed, and institutions have begun to increasingly use methods based on listening, participa-tion and citizen engagement. This paper explores public communication during the Covid-19 crisis, focusing on the local context of Peccioli. In light of the initiatives implemented by the Municipality, it addresses these research questions: how do citizens consider public communication during the emergency, and which channels have been mostly used to stay updated on municipal initiatives? How do citizens evaluate the emergency management by the municipality, and how do they sug-gest improving it in the event of a return of the virus? Through a quali-quantitative approach 268 structured interviews were conducted. Participants were selected from the municipal registry following a proportional allocation based on three so-ciodemographic variables: age, gender and place of residence. The findings high-lighted a) information practices based on the integration of official and unofficial channels and traditional media and digital platforms; b) preference for one-to-one communication, mediated and not; and c) highly positive perception of the work of the municipality.

A social struggle against Covid-19, crisis communication during the pandemic: trust and proximity of Italian public healthcare sector administrations

In the mediated construction of social reality, public institutions need to in-crease digital communication and build trust through proximity and relationality. During the crisis generated by Covid-19 this has become even more evident. In this paper we will explore some case study of social media communication in ten Italian Health Public Hospitals and Authorities, exploring them in the light of some key perspectives related to four dimensions related to space, time, relational-ity, digital communities and two objectives of public institutions: inclusion and popularity.

Public sector communication professions in the Twitter-sphere

The paper aims to critically analyze the debate on Public Sector Communication professions that has developed on Twitter with regard to its content and to the main actors involved. We focus on the themes and the words used, in order to explore how discourses about the reform are framed. Secondly, we aim at understanding whether and how different actors have appropriated the topic. While the core of our study adopts qualitative methods, we also provide basic quantitative metrics, which contribute to a better understanding of the dynamics characterizing the conversations addressing public sector communication (PSC). Quantitative analyses include activity metrics, patterns of influence, tweet flow variation over time, user activity, tweet popularity. We then perform a thematic analysis, aiming at identifying the pre-vailing issues, the goals, and the communication style adopted.

The hybridity of public communication: on old component still a sign of modernity in France

Public communication, as the communication of hybrid public organizations, appears to be recognized today in France. It is concerned by the theme of hybridi-ty because of the persistent specificities of the bureaucratic model, together with its forms of professionalization and the development of public management inspired by the private sector. So how can we scientifically understand this communication, whose organizational springs and models are hybrids between public, political and private?

Citizen engagement and the Covid-19 mask communication

This paper looks at the changing communication environment of public sector organizations and examines how the traditional understanding of citizen engage-ment is becoming outdated. Building on literature on customer engagement from marketing and civic engagement from the field of political science, this article es-tablishes the process of citizen engagement in the public sector. Our propositions for future citizen engagement include the following: (i) a willingness and empow-erment to engage from both sides, (ii) the potential for either positive or negative manifestations, (iii) realistic expectations for outcomes, (iv) an understanding of its process-form and (v) having the aim of improving society. We tested these propo-sitions in the context of young opinion leaders in Finland in the Covid-19 related communication aiming to engage citizens to wear protective face masks. Our data confirmed the five propositions, and two new ones also emerged from the data: citizen engagement (vi) occurs in the global information environment and (vii) is enforced by others in society.

Italian communication professionals: a comparison among public and private sector ones in search of sediments of innovation

The Covid-19 emergency has made evident the need for a new approach to public communication and, consequently, the update of the public sector commu-nicators skills. Starting from the analysis of the differences between professional condition, education, digital competence level and, especially, working activities carried out by public sector and private sector communicators who have partici-pated in an Italian media regulatory authority (AGCOM) survey, the goal of these contribution is to identify those elements of innovation in private sector communi-cators job that could be useful in shaping a new professional figure suitable for the evolution of the public communication role in a increasingly disintermediated in-formation environment.

If a picture is not worth a thousand words Digital infographics use during the Covid-19 pandemic crisis

This work aims to investigate the role played by public sector visual communi-cation within the specific context of an emergency. The analysis of the in-fographics divulged during the pandemic will focus on the meanings, themes, lin-guistic registers and narrative methods that have characterized the infor-mation divulged by the Ministry of Health and by Italian Regional Governments through institutional websites and social media accounts. The emergence of new idioms and language in the e-health management sector represents an opportunity to reflect on the roles and skills of public-sector communicators, and on emergen-cy communication as such.