Crisis Communication: The Praxis of Response

Abstract

This reflection on the crisis communication literature identifies seminal essays that shape our contemporary understanding of crisis communication. In the face of national and international crisis, the field of communication offers a means of response to the unexpected and unwanted. The crisis communication literature ranges from the theoretical to the applied and includes rhetorical, quantitative, and interpretive approaches. A communicative response to crisis defines possibilities for human action in a particular historical moment, providing meaningful engagement with uncertainty and the unknown. In the last two decades, crisis communication has emerged as an essential part of the communication literature. This essay examines four articles that have had a significant impact on the field and/or provide direction for expanding the scope of crisis communication studies. Taken as a set, these articles offer the reader a starting point for examining the burgeoning research on crisis communication by defining the domain of crisis communication, explaining its applied value, and pointing to future directions for research. Furthermore, each article can be seen as offering a specific response to a question facing the communication discipline.

Keywords:

• Crisis Communication
• Crisis Management
• Organizational Communication
• Praxis
• Response

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Leeanne M. Bell

Leeanne Bell is assistant professor in the Business Communication Department at Stevenson University, received her PhD in Rhetoric from Duquesne University and her MA in Communication Studies from West Virginia University. Her research interests include communication ethics, crisis communication, pedagogy, and conflict and negotiation processes