The world is wrought with risks that may harm people and cost lives. The news is riddled with reports of natural disasters (wildfires, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes), industrial disasters (chemical spills, water and air pollution), and health pandemics (e.g., SARS, H1NI, COVID19). Effective risk communication is critical to mitigating harms. The body of research in this handbook reveals the challenges of communicating such messages, affirms the need for dialogue, embraces the role of instruction in proactively communicating risk, acknowledges the function of competing risk messages, investigates the growing influence of new media, and constantly reconsiders the ethical imperative for communicating recommendations for enhanced safety.

Crisis events are increasingly common. Their impacts are greater--and they are more widely reported in the media--than ever before. They often symbolize tragedy and loss, but they are also the precipitating factors in radical, rapid, and frequently positive social change. Understanding the complex dynamics of these powerful events is imperative for both researchers and managers. Taking a broad view of organizational crisis, the authors synthesize a rich and diverse body of theory, research, and practice and apply it to every kind of crisis imaginable, from oil spills to nuclear disasters, airplane crashes, shuttle explosions, and corporate implosions such as Enron. The "organization" can be anything from a company to a federal bureaucracy or society. Organizational crisis is presented as a natural stage in organizational evolution, creating not only stress and threats but also opportunities for growth and development. Communication is viewed as the pivotal process in the creation and maintenance of organization, and its role is examined here at every stage, from incubation to avoidance, crisis management, and recovery. Researchers, crisis managers, and communications managers will find a wealth of applied theoretical orientations, including chaos theory, sensemaking, organizational learning theory, and more.

Coordination of risk assessments and risk communication strategies requires information sharing and establishing networks of working relationships between groups and agencies. Establishing these relationships necessitates overcoming - stitutional, cultural, and political boundaries. Signi?cant barriers exist between r- ulatory agencies and industry groups. Traditionally, these groups have mistrusted one another, and cooperation and collaboration, including sharing information, c- respondingly has been limited. The adoption of radio frequency identi?cation te- nology for tracking livestock, for example, has been met with signi?cant resistance due in part to mistrust between regulatory agencies and producers (Veil, 2006). In the food industry, the need for coordination has been enhanced by industry in- gration and globalization of both markets and production. In the case of GM foods discussed earlier, disagreements between U. S. , European Union, and Canadian r- ulatory agencies fueled the debate over the safety of GM crops. Overcoming institutional and cultural barriers, and mistrust is necessary to create consistency in risk messages. Open communication and information sharing can help clarify where risk perceptions diverge and identify points of convergence. The outcome may not be universal agreement about risks, but convergence around the general parameters of risk. Summary These best practice strategies of risk communication are not designed to function as distinct steps or isolated approaches. Rather than being mutually exclusive, they serve to complement one another and create a coherent approach to confronting risk communication problems.

Integrated Marketing Communications in Risk and Crisis Contexts is part of the Lexington Books Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) series. The authors present a culture centered model for examining risk and crisis communication within the context of IMC to provide a more robust understanding of myriad cultural variables affecting the perception of risk and crisis messages and the means by which these messages are processed by different publics, particularly multicultural and international groups. While the conceptualization of what constitutes IMC has been broad, from the perspective of risk and crisis communication, the focus is quite specific: All communication and messages created and disseminated in a risk or crisis situation must be carefully created and strategically presented if the intended outcomes associated with the publics' responses are to be realized by the sender of the messages.

Communication in Instruction: Beyond Traditional Classroom Settings explores the various challenges we face when trying to teach others in various contexts beyond traditional classroom settings, as well as the possible strategies for overcoming them. Instructional communication is a research field that focuses on the role communication plays in instructing others. Although many resources focus on effectively instructional communication strategies within a traditional classroom setting, this book expands the scope to include diverse settings where instructional communication also occurs (e.g., risk and crisis situations, health care contexts, business settings), as well as new directions where instructional communication research and practice are (or ought to be) headed. Whether we are trying to teach a youngster to ride a bike, to help a friend evaluate the claims made on an advertisement, or to conduct a safety drill with colleagues in the workplace, we are engaging in instructional communication. If we want to do so effectively, however, we need to equip ourselves with best practice tools and strategies for doing so. That is what this book is intended to do. In it, you will read about how to teach advocacy to health care practitioners, guide others to become socialised in a new workplace setting, employ strategies for teaching digital media literacy to nondigital natives, and use artificial intelligence (AI) and robots when instructing and engaging strategies for instruction around socially relevant issues such as religion, politics, and violence. Together, they point to some of the ways instructional communication scholarship may be used to explore and inform best practices across communication contexts. The chapters in this book were originally published in Communication Education.

Integrated Marketing Communications in Risk and Crisis Contexts present a culture centered model for examining risk and crisis communication within the context of IMC to provide a more robust understanding of myriad cultural variables affecting the perception of risk and crisis messages and the means by which these messages are processed by different publics, particularly multicultural and international groups. While the conceptualization of what constitutes IMC has been broad, from the perspective of risk and crisis communication, the focus is quite specific: All communication and messages created and disseminated in a risk or crisis situation must be carefully created and strategically presented if the intended outcomes associated with the publics' responses are to be realized by the sender of the messages.

This collection of essays extends the conversation on communication ethics and crisis communication to offer practical wisdom for meeting the challenges of a complex and ever-changing world. In multiple contexts ranging from the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and family to the political and public, moments of crisis call us to respond from within particular standpoints that shape our understanding and our response to crisis as we grapple with contested notions of "the good" in our shared life together. With no agreed-upon set of absolutes to guide us, this moment calls us to learn from difference as we seek resources to continue the human conversation as we engage the unexpected. This collection of essays invites multiple epistemological and methodological standpoints to consider alternative ways of thinking about communication ethics and crisis.

Risk and Crisis Communication addresses how the interaction between organizations and their stakeholders manifests during a risk or crisis situation. Littlefield and Sellnow contend that when best practices are considered, there are certain tensions to which an organization responds. These tensions are similar to those experienced among individuals when managing their relationships. As such, Littlefield and Sellnow apply an interpersonal theory, known as relational dialectics (RDT), to risk and crisis communication and examine the outcome from the vantage point of the officials and the public. Previous research has focused on top-down, sender-oriented communication to evaluate the effectiveness of particular strategies used by spokespeople to repair public image or relay an apology. In contrast, Littlefield and Sellnow's approach relies on culture-centeredness and suggests how cultural elements may have influenced the kinds of tensions each organization faced. Risk and Crisis Communication exemplifies the use of RDT through seven case studies, each focusing on one of the tensions, making it of interest to both scholars and organizational leaders.

Risk and Crisis Communication addresses how the interaction between organizations and their stakeholders manifests during a risk or crisis situation. Littlefield and Sellnow contend that when best practices are considered, there are certain tensions to which an organization responds. These tensions are similar to those experienced among individuals when managing their relationships. As such, Littlefield and Sellnow apply an interpersonal theory, known as relational dialectics (RDT), to risk and crisis communication and examine the outcome from the vantage point of the officials and the public. Previous research has focused on top-down, sender-oriented communication to evaluate the effectiveness of particular strategies used by spokespeople to repair public image or relay an apology. In contrast, Littlefield and Sellnow's approach relies on culture-centeredness and suggests how cultural elements may have influenced the kinds of tensions each organization faced. Risk and Crisis Communication exemplifies the use of RDT through seven case studies, each focusing on one of the tensions, making it of interest to both scholars and organizational leaders.

This collection of essays extends the conversation on communication ethics and crisis communication to offer practical wisdom for meeting the challenges of a complex and ever-changing world. In multiple contexts ranging from the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and family to the political and public, moments of crisis call us to respond from within particular standpoints that shape our understanding and our response to crisis as we grapple with contested notions of "the good" in our shared life together. With no agreed-upon set of absolutes to guide us, this moment calls us to learn from difference as we seek resources to continue the human conversation as we engage the unexpected. This collection of essays invites multiple epistemological and methodological standpoints to consider alternative ways of thinking about communication ethics and crisis.

Communication in Instruction: Beyond Traditional Classroom Settings explores the various challenges we face when trying to teach others in various contexts beyond traditional classroom settings, as well as the possible strategies for overcoming them. Instructional communication is a research field that focuses on the role communication plays in instructing others. Although many resources focus on effectively instructional communication strategies within a traditional classroom setting, this book expands the scope to include diverse settings where instructional communication also occurs (e.g., risk and crisis situations, health care contexts, business settings), as well as new directions where instructional communication research and practice are (or ought to be) headed. Whether we are trying to teach a youngster to ride a bike, to help a friend evaluate the claims made on an advertisement, or to conduct a safety drill with colleagues in the workplace, we are engaging in instructional communication. If we want to do so effectively, however, we need to equip ourselves with best practice tools and strategies for doing so. That is what this book is intended to do. In it, you will read about how to teach advocacy to health care practitioners, guide others to become socialised in a new workplace setting, employ strategies for teaching digital media literacy to nondigital natives, and use artificial intelligence (AI) and robots when instructing and engaging strategies for instruction around socially relevant issues such as religion, politics, and violence. Together, they point to some of the ways instructional communication scholarship may be used to explore and inform best practices across communication contexts. The chapters in this book were originally published in Communication Education.

Coordination of risk assessments and risk communication strategies requires information sharing and establishing networks of working relationships between groups and agencies. Establishing these relationships necessitates overcoming - stitutional, cultural, and political boundaries. Signi?cant barriers exist between r- ulatory agencies and industry groups. Traditionally, these groups have mistrusted one another, and cooperation and collaboration, including sharing information, c- respondingly has been limited. The adoption of radio frequency identi?cation te- nology for tracking livestock, for example, has been met with signi?cant resistance due in part to mistrust between regulatory agencies and producers (Veil, 2006). In the food industry, the need for coordination has been enhanced by industry in- gration and globalization of both markets and production. In the case of GM foods discussed earlier, disagreements between U. S. , European Union, and Canadian r- ulatory agencies fueled the debate over the safety of GM crops. Overcoming institutional and cultural barriers, and mistrust is necessary to create consistency in risk messages. Open communication and information sharing can help clarify where risk perceptions diverge and identify points of convergence. The outcome may not be universal agreement about risks, but convergence around the general parameters of risk. Summary These best practice strategies of risk communication are not designed to function as distinct steps or isolated approaches. Rather than being mutually exclusive, they serve to complement one another and create a coherent approach to confronting risk communication problems.

In this fully updated Fifth Edition, three of today's most respected crisis/risk communication scholars provide the latest theory, practice, and innovative approaches for handling crisis. This acclaimed book presents the discourse of renewal as a theory to manage crises effectively. The book provides in-depth case studies that highlight successes and failures in dealing with core issues of crisis leadership, managing uncertainty, communicating effectively, understanding risk, promoting communication ethics, enabling organizational learning, and producing renewing responses to crisis. Unlike other crisis communication texts, this book answers the question, "What now?" and explains how organizations can and should emerge from crisis. Authors Robert R. Ulmer, Timothy L. Sellnow, and Matthew W. Seeger provide guidelines for taking the many challenges that crises present and turning those challenges into opportunities for overcoming a crisis.

How did you first hear about 9/11? What images come to mind when you think of Hurricane Katrina? How did your community react to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting? You likely have your own stories about these tragic events. Yet, as a society, we rarely stop to appreciate the narratives that follow a crisis and their tremendous impact. This book examines the fundamental role that narratives play in catastrophic events. A crisis creates a communication vacuum, which is then populated by the stories of those who were directly affected, as well as crisis managers, journalists, and onlookers. These stories become fundamental to how we understand a disaster, determine what should be done about it, and carry forward our lessons learned. Matthew W. Seeger and Timothy L. Sellnow outline a typology of crisis narratives: accounts of blame, stories of renewal, victim narratives, heroic tales, and memorials. Using cases to illustrate each type, they show how competing accounts battle for dominance in the public sphere, advancing specific organizational, social, and political changes. Narratives of Crisis improves our understanding of how consensus forms in the aftermath of a disaster, providing a new lens for comprehending events in our past and shaping what comes from those in our future.

How did you first hear about 9/11? What images come to mind when you think of Hurricane Katrina? How did your community react to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting? You likely have your own stories about these tragic events. Yet, as a society, we rarely stop to appreciate the narratives that follow a crisis and their tremendous impact. This book examines the fundamental role that narratives play in catastrophic events. A crisis creates a communication vacuum, which is then populated by the stories of those who were directly affected, as well as crisis managers, journalists, and onlookers. These stories become fundamental to how we understand a disaster, determine what should be done about it, and carry forward our lessons learned. Matthew W. Seeger and Timothy L. Sellnow outline a typology of crisis narratives: accounts of blame, stories of renewal, victim narratives, heroic tales, and memorials. Using cases to illustrate each type, they show how competing accounts battle for dominance in the public sphere, advancing specific organizational, social, and political changes. Narratives of Crisis improves our understanding of how consensus forms in the aftermath of a disaster, providing a new lens for comprehending events in our past and shaping what comes from those in our future.