THe handbook of crisis communication

The Handbook of Crisis Communication


Handbooks in Communication and Media
This series aims to provide theoretically ambitious but accessible volumes
devoted to the major fields and subfields within communication and media
studies. Each volume sets out to ground and orientate the student through a
broad range of specially commissioned chapters, and also to provide the more
experienced scholar and teacher with a convenient and comprehensive overview
of the latest trends and critical directions.
The Handbook of Children, Media, and Development, edited by Sandra L.
Calvert and Barbara J. Wilson
The Handbook of Crisis Communication, edited by W. Timothy Coombs and
Sherry J. Holladay
Forthcoming
The Handbook of Critical Intercultural Communication, edited by
Rona Halualani and Thomas Nakayama
The Handbook of Global Communication and Media Ethics, edited by
Robert Fortner and Mark Fackler
The Handbook of Global Research Methods, edited by Ingrid Volkmer
The Handbook in International Advertising Research, edited by Hong Cheng
The Handbook of Internet Studies, edited by Robert Burnett, Mia Consalvo,
and Charles Ess
The Handbook of Rhetorical and Public Address, edited by Shawn Parry-Giles


The Handbook of Crisis
Communication

Edited by
W. Timothy Coombs and Sherry J. Holladay

A John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Publication


This edition first published 2010
© 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The handbook of crisis communication / edited by W. Timothy Coombs and
Sherry J. Holladay.
p. cm. — (Handbooks in communication and media)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4051-9441-9 (hbk. : alk. paper) 1. Crisis management.
2. Communication in management. I. Coombs, W. Timothy.
II. Holladay, Sherry J.
HD49.H35 2010
658.4′5—dc22
2009041493
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Set in 10/13pt Galliard by Graphicraft Limited, Hong Kong
Printed in Singapore
01 2010


Contents

Notes on Contributors
Preface
Acknowledgments

Introduction
Robert L. Heath
Part I Crisis and Allied Fields
1
2
3

Parameters for Crisis Communication
W. Timothy Coombs
Crisis Communication and Its Allied Fields
W. Timothy Coombs
Crisis Communication Research in Public Relations Journals:
Tracking Research Trends Over Thirty Years
Seon-Kyoung An and I-Huei Cheng

Part II Methodological Variety
Case Studies
4 Organizational Networks in Disaster Response: An Examination
of the US Government Network’s Efforts in Hurricane Katrina
Gabriel L. Adkins
5 Regaining Altitude: A Case Analysis of the JetBlue Airways
Valentine’s Day 2007 Crisis
Gregory G. Efthimiou
Textual Analysis
6 The Press as Agent of Cultural Repair: A Textual Analysis
of News Coverage of the Virginia Tech Shootings
Mohamad H. Elmasry and Vidhi Chaudhri

ix
xxvi

xxviii
1

15
17
54

65

91

93

115

141


vi

Contents

Content Analysis
7 Are They Practicing What We Are Preaching? An Investigation
of Crisis Communication Strategies in the Media Coverage of
Chemical Accidents
Sherry J. Holladay
Experimental
8 Examining the Effects of Mutability and Framing on Perceptions
of Human Error and Technical Error Crises: Implications for

Situational Crisis Communication Theory
W. Timothy Coombs and Sherry J. Holladay
9 How Do Past Crises Affect Publics’ Perceptions of Current
Events? An Experiment Testing Corporate Reputation During
an Adverse Event
J. Drew Elliot
10 Crisis Response Effectiveness: Methodological Considerations for
Advancement in Empirical Investigation into Response Impact
Tomasz A. Fediuk, Kristin M. Pace, and Isabel C. Botero
Part III The Practice
11 “We tell people. It’s up to them to be prepared.” Public
Relations Practices of Local Emergency Managers
Robert Littlefield, Katherine Rowan, Shari R. Veil, Lorraine
Kisselburgh, Kimberly Beauchamp, Kathleen Vidoloff, Marie L.
Dick, Theresa Russell-Loretz, Induk Kim, Angelica Ruvarac,
Quian Wang, Toni Siriko Hoang, Bonita Neff, Teri Toles-Patkin,
Rod Troester, Shama Hyder, Steven Venette, and Timothy L. Sellnow
12 Thirty Common Basic Elements of Crisis Management Plans:
Guidelines for Handling the Acute Stage of “Hard” Emergencies
at the Tactical Level
Alexander G. Nikolaev
Part IV Specific Applications
Organizational Contexts
13 Oil Industry Crisis Communication
Michelle Maresh and David E. Williams
14 Educational Crisis Management Practices Tentatively Embrace
the New Media
Barbara S. Gainey
15 FEMA and the Rhetoric of Redemption: New Directions in
Crisis Communication Models for Government Agencies

Elizabeth Johnson Avery and Ruthann W. Lariscy

159

181

205

221

243

245

261

283
285

301

319


Contents
Crisis Communication and Race
16 Effective Public Relations in Racially Charged Crises: Not Black
or White
Brooke Fisher Liu
17 Public Relations and Reputation Management in a Crisis

Situation: How Denny’s Restaurants Reinvigorated the Firm’s
Corporate Identity
Ali M. Kanso, Steven R. Levitt, and Richard Alan Nelson
Part V Technology and Crisis Communication
18 New Media for Crisis Communication: Opportunities for
Technical Translation, Dialogue, and Stakeholder Responses
Keri K. Stephens and Patty Malone
19 Organizational and Media Use of Technology During Fraud Crises
Christopher Caldiero, Maureen Taylor, and Lia Ungureanu
20 Organizational Use of New Communication Technology in
Product Recall Crises
Maureen Taylor
Part VI Global Crisis Communication
21 Crisis Communication, Complexity, and the Cartoon Affair:
A Case Study
Finn Frandsen and Winni Johansen
22 Crisis Communication and Terrorist Attacks: Framing a Response
to the 2004 Madrid Bombings and 2005 London Bombings
María José Canel and Karen Sanders
23 Negotiating Global Citizenship: Mattel’s 2007 Recall Crisis
Patricia A. Curtin
24 Celebrating Expulsions? Crisis Communication in the Swedish
Migration Board
Orla Vigsø

vii

335

359

379
381
396

410

423
425

449
467

489

Part VII Theory Development

509

25 Crisis Communicators in Change: From Plans to Improvisations
Jesper Falkheimer and Mats Heide
26 Contingency Theory of Strategic Conflict Management:
Directions for the Practice of Crisis Communication from a
Decade of Theory Development, Discovery, and Dialogue
Augustine Pang, Yan Jin, and Glen T. Cameron
27 Crisis-Adaptive Public Information: A Model for Reliability
in Chaos
Suzanne Horsley

511

527

550


viii

Contents

28 Communicating Before a Crisis: An Exploration of Bolstering,
CSR, and Inoculation Practices
Shelley Wigley and Michael Pfau
29 Who Suffers? The Effect of Injured Party on Attributions of
Crisis Responsibility
Sun-A Park and María E. Len-Ríos
30 The Dialectics of Organizational Crisis Management
Charles Conrad, Jane Stuart Baker, Chris Cudahy, and
Jennifer Willyard
31 Exploring Crisis from a Receiver Perspective: Understanding
Stakeholder Reactions During Crisis Events
Tomasz A. Fediuk, W. Timothy Coombs, and Isabel C. Botero
32 Credibility Seeking through an Interorganizational Alliance:
Instigating the Fen-Phen Confrontation Crisis
Timothy L. Sellnow, Shari R. Veil, and Renae A. Streifel
Part VIII Future Research Directions
33 Future Directions of Crisis Communication Research:
Emotions in Crisis – The Next Frontier
Yan Jin and Augustine Pang
34 Complexity and Crises: A New Paradigm

Dawn R. Gilpin and Priscilla Murphy
35 Considering the Future of Crisis Communication Research:
Understanding the Opportunities Inherent to Crisis Events
through the Discourse of Renewal
Robert R. Ulmer, Timothy L. Sellnow, and Matthew W. Seeger
36 Toward a Holistic Organizational Approach to
Understanding Crisis
Maureen Taylor
37 What is a Public Relations “Crisis”? Refocusing Crisis Research
Michael L. Kent
38 Crisis and Learning
Larsåke Larsson
39 Pursuing Evidence-Based Crisis Communication
W. Timothy Coombs
Afterword
Name Index
Subject Index

568

591
607

635

657

675
677
683

691

698
705
713
719

726
728
732


Notes on Contributors

Gabriel L. Adkins (MA, Wichita State University) is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Oklahoma. His research interests include organizational
communication, interorganizational networking, intercultural communication,
crisis communication, and communication technology. His other forthcoming
publications examine issues such as the role of communication and technology in
business continuity planning, employee resistance to organizational control of nonwork-related behaviors, and the role of communication technology in advancing
monoculturalism and cyborgism in postmodern society. His most recent work
involves an examination of the role of collaborative relationship building among
interorganizational networks in disaster planning and the development of resistant and resilient communities.
Seon-Kyoung An (PhD, University of Alabama) is a research assistant at the
University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Her research interests include crisis
communication, organizational response strategies, anger and emotion management, new technologies and online communication, advertising and public relations
effects, news frames, entertainment-education campaigns, and health communication. Her work has appeared in Public Relations Review, Korean Journal of
Journalism and Communication Studies, Korean Journal of Public Relations
Research, and Speech and Communication. Before joining the doctoral course in the
University of Alabama in 2006, she was an instructor in Kyung Hee University

and Seoul Women’s University, and participated as a research fellow in various
research projects sponsored by the Korean Broadcasting Institute, Brain Korea 21
Project, Korean Broadcasting Advertising, and Government Youth Commission.
Elizabeth Johnson Avery (PhD, University of Georgia) is an Assistant Professor
in the School of Advertising and Public Relations in the College of Communication and Information at the University of Tennessee. Dr. Avery’s research
utilizes persuasion and public opinion theory to enhance public relations practice
and research, specifically in political and public health campaign contexts, including


x

Notes on Contributors

negativity in political campaigns, young voters’ political involvement, reaching disparate populations with health information, health crisis communication, practice
of public information officers at health departments, and use of new technology
for health information. Her research has been published in the Journal of Public
Relations Research, Public Relations Review, Public Relations Journal, Journalism
and Mass Communication Educator, Health Communication, Journal of Current
Issues and Research in Advertising, Journal of Advertising, Cancer Control, and
Information, Communication and Society.
Jane Stuart Baker (MA, University of Houston) is a doctoral candidate in organizational communication at Texas A&M University and will begin a faculty
position at the University of Alabama in fall 2009. Her current research program
addresses issues of diversity and group communication in organizations. Her
dissertation is titled, “Are We Celebrating Diversity or Conformity? A Bona Fide
Group Perspective of Corporate Diversity Networks.” Her work has appeared in
Rhetorical and Critical Approaches to Public Relations and Applied Health
Communication. In 2006, she was granted the John “Sam” Keltner Award for
Most Outstanding Student Paper by the Peace and Conflict Division of the National
Communication Association.
Kimberly Beauchamp (BS, North Dakota State University) is currently a graduate student at NDSU with specific interests in risk and crisis communication,

health communication, emergency preparedness, food safety, and food protection
and defense. She is completing a double MS degree in mass communication and
food safety at NDSU. Beauchamp is a 2007–9 National Needs Fellow through
the Great Plains Institute of Food Safety. She currently serves as the Budget Director
and Information Officer for the Risk and Crisis Communication Project Office –
NDSU site under the direction of Robert S. Littlefield, and participates in
research funded by the Department of Homeland Security.
Isabel C. Botero (PhD, Michigan State University) is an assistant professor in the
School of Communication at Illinois State University. Her research interests include
understanding dynamic functions and communication behaviors of leaders in teams,
perceptions of justice in work teams, voice and silence as information sharing mechanisms in the organization, and influence processes in the organization. Her work
has appeared in Communication Monographs, Journal of Management Studies, and
Management Communication Quarterly.
Christopher Caldiero (PhD, Rutgers University) is an Assistant Professor of
Communication Studies at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, NJ. His
research interests include crisis communication, organizational communication,
and rhetorical analysis. His work has appeared in the American Communication
Journal, Public Relations Review, and the Journal of Public Relations Research.
Glen T. Cameron (PhD, University of Texas) is Gregory Chair in Journalism
Research and Professor of Family and Community Medicine, University of MissouriColumbia. Cameron has authored more than 300 articles, chapters, conference


Notes on Contributors

xi

papers, and books on public relations and health communication topics. His newest
book, Public Relations Today: Managing Competition and Conflict (2008),
focuses on strategic conflict management across the lifecycle of public relations
issues. Cameron’s best-selling Public Relations: Strategies and Tactics is adopted

at over 250 universities in the US, with translations in Chinese, Spanish, Russian,
Hindi, Romanian, Latvian, Serbian, and Greek. His Health Communication
Research Center participates in over $38 million of external funding, from
sources such as NIH, NCI, Missouri Foundation for Health, USDA, CDC, NIDR,
the US Department of Defense, and Monsanto.
María José Canel (PhD, University of Navarra, Spain) is Professor of Communication and Public Relations at Madrid Complutense University, Spain. She
has published nationally and internationally on government communication and
related matters (relations with the media, media effects, corporate communication strategies): Opinión Pública, Comunicación Política, Retrato de la profesión
periodística, Morality Tales: Political Scandals in Britain and Spain in the 1990s
(co-authored); Comunicación de las instituciones públicas. Her work has also
appeared in Local Government Studies, Journal of Political Communication,
European Journal of Communication, and Journalism: Theory, Practice and
Criticism. She is Vice-President of the Political Communication Section of the
International Association for Mass Communication Research (IAMCR) and
President of ACOP (Asociación de Comunicación Política). She has practical
experience in strategic communications for public institutions, having served as
Chief of the Minister’s Cabinet for the Spanish Minister for Education, Culture,
and Sport (2000–4).
Vidhi Chaudhri (MA, Purdue University) is a doctoral candidate in organizational
communication and public relations at Purdue University. Her research interests
include corporate social responsibility, business ethics, globalization, and organizational rhetoric. Her work has appeared in Management Communication
Quarterly, Journal of Corporate Citizenship, and Place Branding and Public
Diplomacy. She was also named a 2009 Alan H. Monroe Graduate Scholar for professional scholarship by the Department of Communication, Purdue University.
I-Huei Cheng (PhD, University of Missouri-Columbia) is Assistant Professor in
the Department of Advertising at the National Chengchi University (NCCU), Taipei,
Taiwan. Dr. Cheng’s research interests center around health communication, information processing, and public relations, including risk management, communication ethics, and academic–industry relationships. Her work has appeared in
Journalism and Mass Communication Educator, Public Relations Review, and Journal
of Public Relations Research. Forthcoming publications include research in the
International Journal of Advertising, Journal of Health Communication, and
Health Communication. Prior to joining NCCU, she was on the faculty at the

University of Alabama and also taught at the University Kansas.
Charles Conrad is Professor of Communication at Texas A&M University and
former editor of Management Communication Quarterly. He teaches classes


xii

Notes on Contributors

in organizational communication, organizational rhetoric, and communication,
power, and politics. His research focuses on the symbolic processes through
which organizations influence popular attitudes and public policies. He currently
is working on two book manuscripts, Organizational Rhetoric: Resistance and
Domination, and In the Long Run We’re All Dead: Organizations, Rhetoric, and
Health Policymaking.
W. Timothy Coombs (PhD, Purdue University) is a Professor in the Department
of Communication Studies at Eastern Illinois University. He is the 2002 recipient
of the Jackson, Jackson, & Wagner Behavioral Science Prize from the Public
Relations Society of America for his crisis research, which has led to the development and testing of situational crisis communication theory (SCCT). He has
conducted crisis-related work for the federal government and lectured on crisis
communication in the US, Europe, Australia, and Asia. Dr. Coombs has published
widely in the areas of crisis management and preparedness, including articles in
the Journal of Public Relations Research, Public Relations Review, International
Journal of Strategic Communication, Journal of Public Affairs, Management Communication Quarterly, Journal of Business Communication, Journal of Communication Management, and Corporate Reputation Review. His award-winning
books include Ongoing Crisis Communication and Code Red in the Boardroom:
Crisis Management as Organizational DNA, It’s Not Just Public Relations:
Public Relations in Society (co-authored with Sherry J. Holladay), and Today’s
Public Relations (co-authored with Robert Heath). He and Sherry have also
co-authored PR Strategy and Application: Managing Influence. He also edited the
PSI Handbook of Business Security.

Chris Cudahy is a doctoral student at Texas A&M University.
Patricia A. Curtin (PhD, University of Georgia) is Professor and SOJC Endowed
Chair of Public Relations at the University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon. Dr. Curtin’s
research interests include international and cross-cultural public relations, agenda
building, ethics, and critical/cultural public relations theory. Her work has
appeared in a number of journals and books, including the Journal of Public Relations
Research, Public Relations Review, Journal of Communication Management,
Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, Communication Yearbook, and
the Handbook of Public Relations. She is co-author of International Public
Relations: Negotiating Culture, Identity and Power.
Marie L. Dick (PhD, Purdue University) is currently an Associate Professor in
the Department of Mass Communications at St. Cloud State University. Professor
Dick’s previous industry experience includes print journalism, public relations, and
upper management in corporate training/development. Her research interests are
in risk/crisis communication, health communication, and science communication.
In addition to her academic work, she and fellow artist Keith Fox have created a
series of 21 acrylic paintings based on various aspects of Professor Dick’s and
Professor Fox’s academic work. “GynTalk: Visual Fiction” has been featured in
various galleries nationwide.


Notes on Contributors

xiii

Gregory G. Efthimiou (MA, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) is a
Communications Manager for Duke Energy in Charlotte, North Carolina. He
specializes in corporate communications relating to renewable energy, sustainability,
and environmental issues. Prior to this role, he worked for Accenture as a change
management and communications consultant. His professional interests include

crisis communication, reputation management, corporate social responsibility, and
stakeholder relations. He has contributed to the book Corporate Communication
and to PR Strategist magazine.
J. Drew Elliot (MA, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) works in
corporate communications for Progress Energy, a Raleigh, NC-based Fortune
500 regulated utility with approximately 3.1 million electric customers in the
Carolinas and Florida. His research interests include crisis communication, new
media, and reputation management. Before accepting a Roy H. Park Fellowship
to UNC Chapel Hill, Mr. Elliot worked as an advisor to legislators in both Houses
of Congress in Washington, DC.
Mohamad H. Elmasry (MA, University of Minnesota) is a Presidential Fellow
and doctoral candidate in journalism and mass communication at the University
of Iowa. His dissertation about news production in Egypt is expected in summer
2009. Mr. Elmasry’s research interests include the sociology of news, national and
global press systems, western portrayals of Islam and Muslims, and Islam and the
public sphere. He has accepted an assistant professor position at Qatar University
and is scheduled to start work there in fall 2009.
Jesper Falkheimer (PhD, Lund University) is Associate Professor of Media and
Communication Studies and Communication Management at Lund University,
Campus Helsingborg, Sweden. Dr. Falkheimer’s research interests include crisis
communication, news management, communication strategy, and place branding.
His work has appeared in Public Relations Review, Journal of Contingencies
and Crisis Management, Nordicom Review, and Event Management – an
International Journal. He is editor of Geographies of Communication: The Spatial
Turn in Media Studies and has published several textbooks in Sweden on public
relations and crisis communication.
Tomasz A. Fediuk (PhD, Michigan State University) is an Assistant Professor in
the School of Communication at Illinois State University. His research interests
include strategic communication, crisis communication strategy effects, persuasive
communication, public communication campaigns, and research methods. His work

has appeared in Communication Monographs, Human Communication Research,
and Journal of Applied Communication Research.
Finn Frandsen (mag. art., Åarhus University) is Professor of Corporate Communication and Director of the ASB Center for Corporate Communication at Åarhus
School of Business, Åarhus University in Denmark. His primary research interests
are crisis communication and crisis management, environmental communication, public relations, marketing communication, organizational communication,


xiv

Notes on Contributors

organization and management theories, rhetorics, and discourse analysis. His work
has appeared in the International Journal of Strategic Communication, Rhetorica
Scandinavica, LSP and Professional Communication, Hermes: Journal of Language
and Communication Studies, the Handbook of Crisis Communication, and the
Handbook of Pragmatics. He is the co-editor or co-author of Medierne og sproget
(1996), International markedskommunikation i en postmoderne verden (1997), Hvor
godt forberedte er de? (2004), and Krisekommunikation (2007).
Barbara S. Gainey (PhD, University of South Carolina) is Associate Professor
of Communication, Public Relations, at Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw,
Georgia. Her research interests include crisis communication/crisis management
(particularly in educational settings), public relations, public engagement, and
leadership. Dr. Gainey was the founding faculty advisor for Kennesaw State
University’s PRSSA chapter. In 2007, she was awarded the George Beggs Advisor
of the Year award. Dr. Gainey also is a member of the KSU Honors Program
faculty. She has more than 20 years of professional communication experience,
primarily in public relations in the public and corporate sectors. She has authored
chapters in New Media and Public Relations and the Handbook of Crisis
Communication and has made numerous presentations at the Association for
Education in Journalism and Mass Communication and International Public

Relations Research conferences.
Dawn R. Gilpin (PhD, Temple University) is Assistant Professor of Public
Relations at the Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona
State University in Phoenix, Arizona. Dr. Gilpin’s research interests include
crisis communication, issues management, social and new media, and reputation.
She is particularly interested in using theories of complexity combined with
network and narrative analysis to examine the relationships between and among
organizations, and the meanings produced by these interactions within the
broader social, political, and economic context. Her work has appeared in Public
Relations Review as well as several edited volumes, including Public Relations Theory
II. She is co-author of Crisis Management in a Complex World (2008).
Robert L. Heath (University of Illinois, 1971) is Professor Emeritus at the
University of Houston and Academic Consultant, University of Wollongong,
Australia. Heath has published 17 books including Handbook of Crisis and Risk
Communication (2009), Strategic Issues Management (2nd edition, 2009),
Rhetorical and Critical Approaches to Public Relations II (2009), Terrorism: Communication and Rhetorical Perspectives (2008), Today’s Public Relations (2006),
Encyclopedia of Public Relations (2005), Responding to Crisis: A Rhetorical Approach
to Crisis Communication (2004), and Handbook of Public Relations (2001).
Heath also recently co-edited Communication and the Media (2005), volume 3
of the series Community Preparedness and Response to Terrorism. He has contributed
hundreds of chapters, articles, and conference papers on issues management,
public relations, crisis communication, risk communication, environmental


Notes on Contributors

xv

communication, emergency management, rhetorical criticism, and communication
theory.

Mats Heide (PhD, Lund University) is Associate Professor of Media and Communication Studies and Communication Management at Lund University, Campus
Helsingborg, Sweden. Dr. Heide’s work focuses on crisis communication, communication in change processes, and organizational communication. His research
has appeared in Corporate Communication: An International Journal, Journal of
Contingencies and Crisis Management, and Nordicom Review. Heide has published
several textbooks in Sweden on crisis communication, communication in change
processes, and organizational communication.
Toni Siriko Hoang is a doctoral candidate at the University of Oklahoma and
Visiting Lecturer at the University of Houston Downtown. Her dissertation
focuses on seeking hurricane risk information through web communication. Toni
is a former research associate with the Institute for Communication Research, where
she investigated risk communication and emergency management. Toni was also
a research assistant for a website communication investigation, which was funded
by Blackbird Technologies. She is currently assisting Dr. Dan O’Hair and the Center
for Risk and Crisis Management in their study of communication of hurricane
information, which is funded by the National Science Foundation. Toni’s work
has appeared in the Journal of Health Communication: International Perspectives.
Sherry J. Holladay (PhD, Purdue University) is Professor of Communication at
Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, Illinois. Dr. Holladay’s research interests
include crisis communication, corporate social responsibility, activism, reputation
management, and stakeholder relations. Her work has appeared in the Journal of
Public Relations Research, Public Relations Review, Management Communication
Quarterly, Journal of Communication Management, International Journal of
Strategic Communication, and Encyclopedia of Public Relations. She is co-author
of It’s Not Just PR: Public Relations in Society and Public Relations Strategies
and Applications: Managing Influence, and co-editor of the Handbook of Crisis
Communication.
Suzanne Horsley (PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) is Assistant
Professor of Public Relations at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
Dr. Horsley’s research interests include disaster response organizations, crisis
communication, government public affairs, and public relations history. Her

work has appeared in the Journal of Public Relations Research, International
Journal of Strategic Communication, Journal of Applied Communication Research,
Journal of Communication Management, and Journal of Business and Technical
Communication. She also published a book chapter in Women’s Use of Public
Relations for Progressive-Era Reform: Rousing the Conscience of a Nation.
Shama Hyder has an M.A. in Organizational Communication from the University
of Texas at Austin. She runs an online marketing firm, Click To Client, based in
Dallas, Texas.


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Notes on Contributors

Yan Jin (PhD, University of Missouri-Columbia) is Assistant Professor of Public
Relations at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia. Dr. Jing’s
research interests include crisis communication, strategic conflict management, and
the effects of emotions in publics’ decision-making processes. She has published
in the Journal of Public Relations Research, Public Relations Review, Journal of
Contingencies and Crisis Management, Copenhagen Journal of Asian Studies,
Journal of International Communication, Journal of Interactive Advertising,
Newspaper Research Journal, and Sphera Publica. She has co-authored several book
chapters, including “Contingency Theory: Strategic Management of Conflict in
Public Relations” in Public Relations: From Theory to Practice. Dr. Jing also received
a grant from the Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations for her study
“Emotional Leadership as a Key Dimension of PR Leadership: A Strategic
Conflict Management Perspective.”
Winni Johansen (PhD, Åarhus School of Business) is Associate Professor at
the ASB Center for Corporate Communication at Åarhus School of Business,
Åarhus University, Denmark, and Director of the Executive Master’s Program in

Corporate Communication. Dr. Johansen’s research interests include crisis management and crisis communication, change communication, environmental
communication, public relations, marketing communication, and visual communication. Her work has appeared in the International Journal of Strategic
Communication, Rhetorica Scandinavica, LSP and Professional Communication,
Hermes: Journal of Language and Communication Studies, and the Handbook of
Pragmatics. She is the author or co-author of International markedskommunikation
i en postmoderne verden (1997), Kultursignaler i tekst og billede (1999), Hvor godt
forberedte er de? (2004), and Krisekommunikation (2007).
Ali M. Kanso (PhD, Ohio University) is Professor of Communication at the
University of Texas at San Antonio. Dr. Kanso’s research interests include
strategic planning in public relations, issues management, global corporate
communication, international advertising and marketing, and cross-cultural communication. His work has appeared in Asia Pacific Public Relations Journal,
International Journal of Advertising, International Journal of Commerce and
Management, International Marketing Review, Journal of Advertising Research,
Journal of Hospitality and Leisure Marketing, Journal of Marketing Communications,
Journal of Promotion Management, Journal of Website Promotion, Marketing
Intelligence and Planning, Service Business: An International Journal, and other
leading scholarly journals. He has also contributed to the International Encyclopedia
of Communication and five public relations research books. Dr. Kanso conducts
regular training workshops and is recognized for his consulting expertise overseas.
Michael L. Kent (PhD, Purdue University) is Associate Professor at the Gaylord
College of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Oklahoma,
Norman, Oklahoma. Kent conducts research on new technology, mediated communication, dialogic public relations, and internal public relations. His research


Notes on Contributors

xvii

has appeared in Communication Studies, Critical Studies in Media Communication,
Gazette, Public Relations Review, Public Relations Quarterly, and a number of other

journals, books, and encyclopedias, including the Encyclopedia of Public Relations.
Kent was a Fulbright Scholar to Riga, Latvia, in 2006, and has lectured and conducted research in Bosnia, the Czech Republic, and Italy.
Induk Kim (PhD, Purdue University) is Assistant Professor of Communication
at Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois. Her research focuses on the discourse and strategies of activist communication in the context of globalization.
Her recent project investigates the resistive public relations strategies of South
Korean peasant activists against the Korea–US Free Trade Agreement. Dr. Kim’s
work has appeared in the Journal of Public Relations Research and Journal of Asian
Pacific Communication. She teaches undergraduate- and graduate-level public
relations courses and is a faculty advisor of the Public Relations Student Society
of America chapter at NIU.
Lorraine Kisselburgh (PhD, Purdue University) is Assistant Professor of Communication at Purdue University and is affiliated with CERIAS (Information
Security), the Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering, and the Homeland
Security Institute at Purdue University. Her research interests include privacy,
social structures of online communities, collaboration and organization in online
learning environments, gender and STEM careers, cyborgian identities, and
security organizations and policies. She has received internal and external funding for her research, and has been recognized for her advocacy for women and
her service learning initiatives. She has published in Communication Yearbook,
Management Communication Quarterly, Communication Studies, the Journal of
Motor Behavior, and Acta Psychologica, and has work forthcoming in two
books on Destructive Organizational Communication and Communication for
Social Impact.
Ruthann W. Lariscy (PhD, University of Missouri-Columbia) is a Professor
in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations in the Grady College
of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Georgia, Athens. Dr. Lariscy’s
research interests center on persuasive media messages in primarily health and political contexts and include health and media literacy, health socialization, online
social media as information sources in both health and political elections, the impact
of negative information on perceptions of corporate investors, consumers, and
employees as well as how negative advertising impacts voters. Her work appears
in the Journal of Public Relations Research, Journal of Advertising, Public
Relations Review, Current Issues and Research in Advertising, Journal of Health

Communication, Health Marketing Quarterly, International Journal of Strategic
Communication, Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, Journalism and
Mass Communication Quarterly, Journal of Health and Human Services, Political
Communication, and in numerous chapters in books, such as the Handbook of
Health Communication.


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Notes on Contributors

Larsåke Larsson (PhD Göteborg/Gothenburg University) is Professor of
Media and Communication Science at Örebro University, Sweden. Dr. Larsson’s
research is within the fields of journalism, public relations, and crisis communication. His articles have been published in Journalism Studies, Journal of
Communication Management, and Nordicom Review. He also contributed to Public
Relations: Critical Debates and Contemporary Practice. Opinionsmakarna (“The
Opinion Makers”) is the result of a larger Swedish PR project. He has carried out
research projects on many severe crisis situations for Sweden, among them the
Estonia ferry wreck, the Gothenburg fire, the September 11, 2001 terrorist
attacks, the murder of a foreign minister, and the tsunami followed by a severe
hurricane in 2004–5. He has published several academic textbooks on public
relations and crisis communication.
María E. Len-Ríos (PhD, University of Missouri-Columbia) is an Assistant
Professor of Strategic Communication at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Dr. Len-Ríos’s research interests include crisis communication, underrepresented
audiences, and health communication. Her work has appeared in the Journal of
Communication, Public Relations Review, Journalism and Mass Communication
Quarterly, Journalism and Mass Communication Educator, Newspaper Research
Journal, Journal of Promotion Management, and the Encyclopedia of Public
Relations. She serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Public Relations

Research, Public Relations Review, and the International Journal of Strategic
Communication.
Steven R. Levitt (PhD, Ohio State University) is Associate Professor and Chair
of Communication at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Dr. Levitt’s
research interests include crisis communication, corporate social responsibility and
cause-related marketing, organizational teamwork, and conflict resolution. He has
presented numerous workshops on gender communication, and is certified in conflict
resolution and mediation. His work has appeared in Service Business, American
Journal of Sexuality Education, Industry and Higher Education, and the Journal
of Broadcasting and Electronic Media and as chapters in many edited books.
Robert Littlefield (PhD, University of Minnesota) is Professor of Communication and Director of the Risk+Crisis Communication Project at North Dakota State
University in Fargo. Dr. Littlefield’s research interests include risk and crisis
communication, intercultural communication, and emergency management. His
work has appeared in the Journal of Applied Communication Research, Journal
of Intercultural Communication Research, Communication, Culture & Critique,
and Argumentation and Advocacy. He is co-author of Effective Risk Communication: A Message-Centered Approach, and has published several monographs for
researchers and scholars working with multicultural publics.
Brooke Fisher Liu (PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) is an
Assistant Professor of Public Relations at the University of Maryland, College Park,
Maryland. Dr. Liu’s research focuses on how government organizations manage


Notes on Contributors

xix

communication during crisis and non-crisis situations. Her research has been published in the Journal of Communication Management, Journal of Public Relations
Research, Natural Hazards Review, and Public Relations Review. Since 2005,
Dr. Liu has been an active public affairs volunteer for the American Red Cross,
providing public relations counsel and research support for various chapters.

Patty Malone (PhD, University of Texas at Austin) is Assistant Professor of Human
Communication Studies at California State University Fullerton. Dr. Malone’s
research interests include crisis communication, dysfunctional communication
in organizations, and organizational communication. Her work appears in the
Journal of Business Communication, Journal of Public Relations Research, and Case
Studies for Organizational Communications. She also worked in television news
as a TV news anchor for many years and in industry. She has won numerous awards
for her work in academia, TV news, and corporate communications.
Michelle Maresh (PhD, University of Nebraska) is Assistant Professor of
Communication at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. Dr. Maresh’s research
interests include crisis communication, industry-specific crisis model development, stakeholder relations, civic engagement, and instructional communication.
Her work has appeared in the American Communication Journal and Texas Speech
Communication Journal. She has also actively presented her work at meetings
of the National Communication Association, Central States Communication
Association, Texas Speech Communication Association, and various colloquia.
Portions of Dr. Maresh’s contribution are taken from her master’s thesis (MA,
Texas Tech University, 2006), titled “The Aftermath of a Deadly Explosion:
A Rhetorical Analysis of Crisis Communication as Employed by British Petroleum
and Phillips Petroleum.”
Priscilla Murphy (PhD, Brown University) is Professor of Strategic and Organizational Communication at Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her
research interests include complexity and game theories, social and semantic
networks, crisis communication, and reputation. Her work has appeared in the
Journal of Public Relations Research, Public Relations Review, Health Communication, Science, Technology and Human Values, Science Communication, Journal
of Communication Management, Canadian Journal of Communication, and
the Journal of Applied Communication Research. She is co-author of Crisis
Management in a Complex World (2008), in which complexity theory is used
to model the emergence and resolution of crises in corporations, government
agencies, and NGOs. Prior to her academic career, Dr. Murphy was Vice-President
of Public Relations for PaineWebber Group, Inc., in New York.
Bonita Neff, PhD (University of Michigan) and IEL Fellow (Institute for

Educational leadership-Washington D.C.) is an Associate Professor heading the
public relations major at Valparaiso (university received Senator Simon’s international award). Neff ’s co-edited book, Public Relations: From Theory to Practice,
received the 2008 PRide Award from the National Communication Association’s


xx

Notes on Contributors

PR Division. Bonita established PR Divisions for NCA and CSCA and as a team
member established ICA’s PR division and Miami’s International Research
Conference. She heads the PR/ Corporate track for IABD and previously chaired
the mentioned association PR units, including AEJMC. She contributed research
as a member of the Commission for Undergraduate and Graduate Education
over a nine-year period. Appointed a visiting professor in Croatia (five years) and
South Korea, Neff advises VU’s PRSSA chapter/student agency selected to hold
two regional conferences.
Richard Alan Nelson (PhD, Florida State University) is Professor of Media and
Public Affairs in the Manship School of Mass Communication at Louisiana State
University and editor of Journal of Promotion Management. His research interests
include integrated marketing communications, public relations/public affairs, as
well as strategic and global business ethics issues. Nelson is immediate past-president
of the International Management Development Association (www.imda.cc) and
author of A Chronology and Glossary of Propaganda in the United States and
the forthcoming Propaganda: A Reference Guide. He also co-authored Issues
Management: Corporate Public Policymaking in an Information Society (with
Robert L. Heath). Nelson’s research has been published in International
Marketing Review, Journal of Advertising Research, Journal of Marketing,
Journal of Marketing Communications, Public Relations Review, Service Business:
An International Journal, and other leading scholarly outlets.

Alexander G. Nikolaev is an Associate Professor of Communication in the
Department of Culture and Communication at Drexel University, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. He earned his doctorate from Florida State University, where he
also taught for four years. His areas of research interest and expertise include such
fields as public relations, political communication, organizational communication,
international communication, international negotiations, international news coverage, and discourse analysis. He has authored articles in these areas in trade and
scholarly journals as well as book chapters in the United States and overseas. He
has years of practical work experience in the fields of journalism and public relations in the United States and Eastern Europe. He is the author of International
Negotiations: Theory, Practice, and the Connection with Domestic Politics. He also
edited Leading to the 2003 Iraq War: The Global Media Debate with E. Hakanen.
Kristin M. Pace (MA, Illinois State University) received her BA in Communication from the University of the Pacific and currently is a graduate student
at Michigan State University. Her research interests include understanding the effects
of crisis communication strategies, how stakeholders cognitively process public communication campaigns, and how persuasion is used in communication campaigns.
Augustine Pang (PhD, Missouri) is an Assistant Professor at the Division of Public
and Promotional Communication, Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and
Information, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Dr. Pang’s research
interests include crisis management and communication, image management and


Notes on Contributors

xxi

repair, public relations, journalism, and media sociology and systems. Besides
contributing book chapters to leading public relations and communication
textbooks, his works have appeared in the Journal of Contingency and Crisis
Management, Copenhagen Journal of Asian Studies, Journal of Communication
Management, Journal of International Communication, Asia Pacific Media
Educator, Sphera Publica, and the International Encyclopedia of Communication.
He has won top paper awards at leading international conferences including the

Corporate Communications International Conference (2008), the Association of
Educators in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) conference (2007),
and the International Public Relations Research Conference (2004 and 2005).
Sun-A Park (MA, University of Missouri) is a doctoral student in strategic
communication at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Sun-A Park’s research
interests include crisis communication and health communication. Her work has
appeared in Public Relations Review and Newspaper Research Journal.
Michael Pfau (PhD, University of Arizona) was Professor and Chair of the Department of Communication at the University of Oklahoma from 2001 until his
passing in March 2009. Prior to that, he was Professor and Director of Graduate
Studies at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of
Wisconsin-Madison. His research interests concerned mass media influence and
resistance to influence, particularly the uses of inoculation. Pfau co-authored and/or
edited seven books. The most recent include: Mediating the Vote: The Changing
Media Landscape in US Presidential Campaigns (2007), The Handbook of
Persuasion: Theory and Practice (2002), and With Malice Toward All? The Mass
Media and Public Confidence in Democratic Institutions (2000). He authored or
co-authored more than 100 journal articles and book chapters. His publications
have won the National Communication Association (NCA) Communication and
Social Cognition Division’s Distinguished Book Award and Distinguished Article
Award, NCA’s Golden Anniversary Monographs Award, and the Southern
Communication Association’s Rose B. Johnson Award.
Katherine Rowan (PhD, Purdue University) is Professor of Communication at
George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Her research on science, risk, and
crisis communication has appeared in Health Communication, Risk Analysis,
Communication Education, and the Journal of Applied Communication Research
and in books such as the Handbook of Risk and Crisis Communication,
Communicating Uncertainty, and the Handbook of Communication and Social
Interaction Skills. Her most cited work describes strategies for explaining complex science. Recent projects include work for a National Academy of Science study
committee, Health Canada, the National Library of Medicine, the National
Cancer Institute, and the US Environmental Protection Agency. She has received

teaching awards from the American Society of Newspaper Editors, the Poynter
Institute of Media Studies, the Central States Communication Association, and
Purdue University.


xxii

Notes on Contributors

Theresa Russell-Loretz (Purdue University, 1995) is an Associate Professor of
Communication at Millersville University in Pennsylvania, where she teaches a
graduate course in crisis and risk communication as an associate of MU’s Center
for Disaster Research and Education. Additionally, she serves on the Faculty Steering
Committee for the Software Productization Center at Millersville, has served as
a consultant for a number of nonprofits in the Lancaster area, and is an instructor
for MU’s Nonprofit Resource Network. Her research focuses on organizational
identity, feminist interpretations of public relations messages, nonprofit public relations strategies, and Pennsylvania Emergency Manager’s public relations strategies.
Angelica Ruvarac (MA, Purdue University) is a PhD candidate at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana. Her research interests include crisis communication, ethical communication, relationships with publics, corporate reputation, and
organizational motivation. She is co-author of “Secrecy and Organization–Public
Relationships: The Processes and Consequences of Secrecy-Communication
Strategies” (in progress), co-author of “Fraternity Drinking as Edgework: An Analysis
of Perspectives on Risk and Control” for Health Communication (in press), and
co-author of “We Tell People: It’s Up to Them To Be Prepared” for the Handbook of Crisis Communication (in press).
Karen Sanders (PhD, Navarra) is head of the Department of Advertising and
Institutional Communication at CEU San Pablo University (Madrid) and
Associate Professor at the IESE Business School. She was a member of the
Department of Journalism at the University of Sheffield from 1995 to 2006. She
has published a number of books, including Ethics and Journalism (2003) and
Communicating Politics in the 21st Century (2009) as well a wide range of articles in the fields of ethics and communication and political communication. She
was a founding member of the Institute of Communication Ethics in 2002 and

of the Association of Political Communication in 2008. She was previously director of media and parliamentary relations for the British Chamber of Shipping.
Matthew W. Seeger (PhD, Indiana University) is Professor and Chair of the
Department of Communication at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan.
Seeger’s research interests concern crisis and risk communication, crisis response
and agency coordination, health communication, and ethics. He has worked with
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on issues of pandemic influenza
preparedness and with the National Center for Food Protection and Defense. His
work on crisis has appeared in the Handbook of Crisis and Risk Communication,
International Encyclopedia of Communication, Journal of Health Communication
Research, Communication Yearbook, the Handbook of Public Relations, Handbook
of Applied Communication Research, Public Relations Review, Communication
Studies, the Southern Communication Journal, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal
of Business Communication, Management Communication Quarterly, Journal of
Applied Communication Research, and the Journal of Organizational Change
Management.


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xxiii

Timothy L. Sellnow (PhD, Wayne State University) is Professor of Communication at the University of Kentucky, where he teaches courses in research methods,
organizational communication, and risk and crisis communication. Dr. Sellnow’s
research focuses on bioterrorism, pre-crisis planning, and communication strategies for crisis management and mitigation. He has conducted funded research
for the Department of Homeland Security, the United States Department of
Agriculture, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Sellnow
has published numerous articles on risk and crisis communication and has
co-authored four books. His most recent book is entitled Risk Communication:
A Message-Centered Approach. Dr. Sellnow is the former editor of the National
Communication Association’s Journal of Applied Communication Research.

Keri K. Stephens (PhD, University of Texas) is Assistant Professor in the
Department of Communication Studies at the University of Texas at Austin.
Dr. Stephens’ research focuses on combinatorial ICT use by studying the consequences of working in organizations containing a multitude of ICT options.
The major applications of her work are in the areas of workplace technology use,
organizational meetings, and crisis and safety communication. Her published and
forthcoming work appears in Communication Theory, Management Communication Quarterly, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, Communication Education, Journal of
Business Communication, Journal of Health Communication, Informing Science,
and Case Studies in Organizational Communication. She is a co-author of the book
Information and Communication Technology in Action: Linking Theory and
Narratives of Practice.
Renae A. Streifel (MS, North Dakota State University) resides in Powers Lake,
North Dakota, with her husband and two children. She currently is a stay-at-home
mother. Previously, Renae worked in fundraising for Prairie Public Broadcasting,
Inc., and Plains Art Museum, both in Fargo, North Dakota.
Maureen Taylor (PhD, Purdue University) is Professor and Gaylord Family
Chair of Strategic Communication in the Gaylord College of Journalism at the
University of Oklahoma. Dr. Taylor’s research interests include international
public relations, crisis communication, activism, and new communication technologies. Her work has appeared in the Journal of Public Relations Research, Public
Relations Review, Management Communication Quarterly, Human Communication
Research, Communication Monographs, and the Journal of Communication.
Terri Toles-Patkin is Professor of Communication at Eastern Connecticut State
University.
Rod Troester (PhD from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, 1986) is
an Associate Professor of Communication at The Pennsylvania State University
at Erie, The Behrend College where he teaches small group and leadership communication, organizational communication, and research methods. His research