1st Edition

Case Studies in Crisis Communication International Perspectives on Hits and Misses

Edited By Amiso M. George, Cornelius B. Pratt Copyright 2012
    584 Pages 10 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    584 Pages 10 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    Case Studies in Crisis Communication: International Perspectives on Hits and Misses was created to fill the gap for a much-needed textbook in case studies in crisis communication from international perspectives. The events of September 11, 2001, other major world crises, and the ongoing macroeconomic challenges of financial institutions, justify the need for this book. While existing textbooks on the subject focus on U.S. corporate cases, they may not appeal equally to students and practitioners in other countries, hence the need to analyze cases from the United States and from other world regions.

    The variety and the international focus of the cases, be they environmental, health or management successes or failures, makes this book more appealing to a wider audience. These cases examine socio-cultural issues associated with responding to a variety of crises.

    Part 1: Theoretical Approaches to and Socio-Cultural Perspectives in Crisis Communication Cornelius B. Pratt  Part 2: The Phases of Crisis Communication Amiso M. George  Part 3: Case Studies  Africa  Egypt  Social Media Stoke a Political Revolution in Egypt Olugbenga C. Ayeni  Kenya  Wooing Tourists Back After A Civil Strife: The Kenyan Example Bitrus P. Gwamna  Nigeria  Crisis in Nigeria’s Banking and Financial Industry: Government Actions Reassure Skittish, Jittery Publics Wole Adamolekun Kunle Ogedengbe and Cornelius B. Pratt  South Africa  Hotspot: South Durban Basin, South Africa-The ENGEN Oil Refinery Explosion Chris Skinner  Asia  China  China’s Sanlu’s Infant Formula Proves Fatal Weidan Cao  China & France Olympic Torch Protests in France, Reactions in China: Carrefour Learns About International Crises W. Timothy Coombs  India  Corporate Fraud in India: Satyam in the Spotlight Monika Vij  Japan  (Disaster) A Triple Disaster in One Fell Swoop: Rethinking Crisis Communication in Japan After March 11 Isaac A. Blankson, Sorin Nastasia and Min Liu  Japan (Toyota) Delays, Denials, Recalls and Apologies: Fixing the Dent in Toyota’s Image Amiso M. George  Thailand  Bringing the Government Down’: Managing Thailand’s Political Crisis Cornelius B. Pratt and Ronald Lee Carr Australia  Victoria Burning: Confronting The 2009 Catastrophic Bushfires in Australia Christopher Galloway and Kwamena Kwansah-Aidoo  Europe  England ‘Climategate’: UK Climate Researchers’ Emails Casts Doubt on Scientific Support for Global Warming Doug A. Newsom  Eurozone Eurovision 2010: A Security Breach Endangers Europe’s Largest TV Show Alfonso González-Herrero  France An Exceptional Fraud at Société Générale Thierry Libaert  Germany The Love Parade In Duisburg: Lessons From A Tragic Blame Game Andreas Schwarz  Russia Turnaround in Russia: Crisis Communication Campaign During the 2008 War in South Ossetia  Alexander G. Nikolaev  Middle East  Iran  Iran’s Twitter Revolution’ from a Publics Relations Standpoint Chiara Valentini and Dean Kruckeberg  Lebanon  Risk Perception and Change Management: Strategic Efforts to Restore Lebanon’s Tourism Sector Ali Kanso, Joseph Ajami and Abdul Karim Sinno  North America  Mexico  Rosarito Beach: Mediated Reality and the Rebranding of a Mexican Border City Robert Brown  USA No Walruses in the Gulf: BP’s Need for Effective Issues Management Ashli Quesinberry Stokes  South America  Chile The 2010 Chilean Mining Accident: The Triumph of Transparency and Calm Leadership Emmanuel C. Alozie  Colombia ‘Nothing Will be the Same; Everything Will be Better’: Floods in Colombia’s Atlantico State Jaime S. Gomez and Soledad Leal  Tying it All Together: Social Media and Revolution Crisis and Kairos: Social Media Activists Exploit Timing to Support Anti-Government Protests Jacqueline Lambiase

    Biography

    Amiso M. George is an Associate Professor of Journalism at Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, Texas, USA where she teaches crisis communication and public relations campaign. A former director of the Strategic Communication graduate program at TCU, she developed and taught the first course in crisis communication in 2003 at the Reynolds School of Journalism, University of Nevada, Reno, where she was also director of the public relations program.

    Cornelius B. Pratt, is a contributing editor of Public Relations Quarterly and a Professor at Temple University School of Communications and Theater, USA. Before joining the Temple faculty in 2006, he served for nearly six years in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in Washington, DC, and for 11 years on the faculty on the faculty at Michigan State University, the last eight years as full professor.

    ‘Globalization is bringing crises from around the world into our living rooms – some just on our computer and TV screens, but to many into our real life. We need to learn about how to see, understand and react to them, and Pratt and George’s book is the best tool available to introduce the unfortunate realities into our classrooms and training camps.  Scholars, students, but also practitioners in communication management and related disciplines can be(come) cosmopolitan or obsolete – there is no third way left. We don’t only live in the same (global) village, it is as if we all live in the same room affecting each other’s lives constantly.’- Dejan Verčič, PhD, FCIPR, Professor at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, and Founder of the Pristop Communication Consultancy

    ‘Amiso George and Cornelius Pratt have assembled an impressive diversity of cases that span the globe and address a wide range of crisis types that confront corporations, governments, and nonprofits. This edited book answers the field’s call for work that recognizes the often-global effects of crises, reflects the unique cultural contexts in which crises transpire, and ably illustrates the need for scholars and practitioners to internationalize their thinking and consider how crisis management practices within their own countries are likely to be affected by and interpreted by other countries involved in the crisis. Globalization of society necessitates understanding the constellations of socio-cultural factors that characterize our stakeholders around the world. This text moves us in the right direction.’-Sherry J. Holladay, University of Central Florida, USA

    ‘This book fills a gap in the body of knowledge of crisis communication by providing an analysis of recent crises from several countries across five continents thus helping reduce the ethnocentricity in the body of knowledge. In presenting the cases, the editors have ensured that authors blend theory with practice, which is another strength of the book. The uniform framework used in presenting each case further helps readers learn lessons from diverse socio-economic environments.’-Krishnamurthy Sriramesh, Ph.D. Professor of Public Relations School of Communication, Journalism, and Marketing Massey University, New Zealand