Читать книгу Theorizing Crisis Communication - Timothy L. Sellnow - Страница 14

The following chapters present, describe, and critique a wide range of theories that have utility in explaining how communication functions before, during, and after a crisis. We include explanations of various communication channels, audience behavior and responses, agency coordination, image and reputational repair, and crisis management. This body of theory is highly diverse and interdisciplinary, taking many forms and coming from many disciplinary perspectives. Some are grounded in more general qualitative and social constructivist assumptions, while others are more specific and related to logical positivist epistemologies. This effort to represent a broad sampling of theory allows for a much more comprehensive understanding of the role of communication in crisis and also provides the researcher and the practitioner a broader array of tools. In addition, these theories comment on one another, providing and demonstrating how theory has developed within one particular area of focus. We have grouped these theories into nine chapters. Each chapter represents a family of theory in terms of similar focus or structure.

The chapters are presented roughly in a developmental system. We begin with Chapter 2, a discussion of theory. Chapter 3 presents theories of communication and warning as primary processes occurring when a crisis first emerges. Warnings, including evacuations, are central tools in limiting harm with many types of events. Theories of communication and crisis development are presented in Chapter 4. Failures of communication are closely associated with the onset of crisis, and specific communication processes are associated with each stage of crisis development. Theories of communication and crisis outcomes (Chapter 5) and theories of communication and emergency response (Chapter 6) examine efforts to explain, model, and respond to the post-crisis conditions. Communication is generally recognized as an essential tool for agencies and communities seeking to mount an effective response. Theories of communication and crisis (Chapter 7) describe efforts to characterize and explain the role of legacy media. Chapter 8 focuses specifically on theories dedicated to explaining the role of social media in crisis communication. Chapter 9 explores theories of influence, including persuasion and rhetorical approaches to crisis communication. Theories of communication and risk management, covered in Chapter 10, draw on the very well-developed body of scholarship in risk communication. Theories of communication and ethics (Chapter 11) reflect our belief that crisis always involves questions of good and bad, right and wrong, and desirable and undesirable. Finally, in Chapter 12, we explore the ways in which crisis communication theory can be applied and expanded.