Strategic Communication in a Global Crisis: National and International Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic (Routledge New Directions in PR & Communication Research)

This edited volume makes a unique and timely contribution by exploring in depth the topic of strategic communication and COVID-19 from a global perspective. It is widely agreed that effective and timely communication and leadership are crucial to the successful management of any pandemic. With the ongoing and possibly long-lasting impact COVID-19 has had on many aspects of communication and multiple sectors of our societies, it is critical to explore the role of strategic communication in change management during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. This book addresses such a need and is thoroughly grounded in rich empirical evidence gained through a global study of COVID-19 communication experiences and strategies. In the second half of 2020, a transnational team of senior researchers conducted research to investigate COVID-19 communications (COM-COVID-19) in different countries, representing Europe, Africa, Latin America, North America, South America, and Asia. The results presented in this book provide a compelling, current picture of the COVID-19 pandemic and strategic communication globally. Chapters individually explore the national and regional experiences and discuss relevant successes and failures of pandemic communication and specific learning from the 2020–2021 crises. By emphasising the discussion on key communication channels, sources of information, facts and concerns as related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the editors call for actions to develop effective strategies within unique national contexts, which can shed light on global expectations on necessary public health responses and communication. This book is written for scholars, educators and professionals in communication, public relations, strategic communication and corporate communication. It is also appropriate to use this book as a supplementary text for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses on relevant courses. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Series 3 Title 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 List of figures 12 List of infographics 14 List of tables 15 List of contributors 17 Foreword 22 Preface 24 Acknowledgements 27 Part I Introduction 28 1 A world turned upside down 30 Part II Observations and responses from communication professionals around the world 40 2 A question of trust: exploring trust concepts, experiences and early observations from Europe 42 3 Communication professionals’ adaptation to COVID-19 impacts in North America 59 4 Latin America and the strategic communication dilemma in times of COVID-19 76 Part III Global perspectives on COVID-19 communication 92 Asia 94 5 Assessing COVID-19 communication in China: communication channels, sources for information and information retention 96 Europe – South 114 6 “I am impressed by how quickly they changed”: the impact of CSR communication initiatives during COVID-19 among millennials in Italy 116 7 Risk communication and disinformation in Portugal: how media consumption affects the understanding of COVID-19 health-protective messages 139 8 COVID-19 information seeking in Spain: how media use affects trust in the government 159 Europe – North 176 9 The good, the bad and the ugly: learning lessons from the UK’s COVID-19 communication 178 10 Public trust in governments’ communicating with intermediaries: Finnish and Swedish governments during the COVID-19 pandemic 192 11 Experiencing COVID-19 in Denmark, Norway and Sweden: the role of the Nordic model 211 America – South 226 12 Strategic communication and left-wing populist governments: the paradigmatic case of crisis management due to COVID-19 in Argentina 228 13 Brazil and the COVID-19 pandemic: crisis communication management as opposed to public communication 247 America – North 268 14 Factors influencing Americans’ preventive behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic: lessons for strategic health and risk communicators 270 Europe – East and South East 288 15 Crisis communication by the government of Georgia during the COVID-19 pandemic 290 16 Information-seeking behaviour and governmental communication assessment during the COVID-19 pandemic in Romania 309 17 COVID-19 communication in Turkey: exploring the public’s information-seeking behaviour 330 Africa 348 18 An African perspective of COVID-19 communication: citizens’ perspectives and sense-making of the pandemic in Nigeria 350 Part IV Conclusion 370 19 Implications for the future of strategic communications from the COVID-19 pandemic 372 Index 378 crisis;,crisis,communication;,covid-19;,strategic,communication;,risk,management crisis,crisis communication,covid-19,strategic communication,risk management "This edited volume makes a unique and timely contribution by exploring in depth the topic of strategic communication and COVID-19 from a global perspective. It's widely agreed that effective and timely communication and leadership are crucial to the successful management of any pandemic. With the ongoing and possibly long-lasting impact COVID-19 has generated to many aspects of communication and multiple sectors of our societies, it is critical to explore the role of strategic communication in change management during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Therefore, this book addresses such a need and is thoroughly grounded in rich empirical evidence gained through a global study of COVID-19 communication experiences and strategies. In the second half of 2020, a transnational team of senior researchers conducted research to investigate COVID-19 communications (COM-COVID-19) in different countries, representing Europe, Africa, Latin America, North America, South America, and Asia. The results presented in this book provide a compelling, current picture of the COVID-19 pandemic and strategic communication globally. Chapters individually explore the national and regional experiences and discuss relevant success and failures of pandemic communication and specific learning from the 2020/21 crises. By emphasizing the discussion on key communication channels, sources of information, facts and concerns as related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the editors call for actions to develop effective strategies within unique national contexts, which can shed light on global expectations on necessary public health responses and communication. This book is written for scholars, educators and professionals in communication, public relations, strategic communication and corporate communication. It is also appropriate to use this book as a supplementary text for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses on relevant courses"-- Provided by publisher