Crisis Communication In Canada

Private companies that respond poorly to a crisis may go bankrupt, wiping out investments and jobs. Charities that respond poorly to a crisis may lose donations, ending support for the most vulnerable. Professional athletes, religious leaders, CEOs, and politicians who respond poorly to a crisis may lose their long-standing careers and the respect of their colleagues, supporters, fans, and customers. This book offers both theory and practical help for organizations and professionals to deal effectively with crises. Crisis communication lessons have typically been the purview of public relations professionals. However, since the 1990s there has been a growing body of scholarly research on the topic. Crisis Communication in Canada offers a unique scholarly and professional contribution, synthesizing recent research and providing a context for practical advice. Written in clear and concise style, directed at beginners but rooted in research, this book will offer instructors and students a unique resource for the study and practice of crisis communication.

The second edition of Crisis Communications: A Practice Approach offers the same guide to the theory and practice of modern crisis communications as the first edition. Updated with new case studies and many refinements to its theories and explanations, Crisis Communications takes the same common-sense approach to the most demanding of communications scenarios. Using his discussion-style approach, the author answers many questions students and instructors may not have thought to ask about the hows and whys of crisis communications. Like the first book, this edition covers the task of crisis communications planning, including monitoring issues, integrating stakeholder groups into crisis plans, adapting plans as the crisis evolves, and developing and using the products and processes necessary to handle corporate crisis situations. Features include: Case studies drawn from recent public relations crises, emphasizing Canadian cases Interviews with experts on crisis management Creative exercises that reinforce student understanding "Tools" chapters that address the effective use of blogs, websites, and social media as well as traditional tools and channels such as news releases and media interviews.

Journalism in Crisis addresses the concerns of scholars, activists, and journalists committed to Canadian journalism as a democratic institution and as a set of democratic practices. The authors look within Canada and abroad for solutions for balancing the Canadian media ecology. Public policies have been central to the creation and shaping of Canada’s media system and, rather than wait for new technologies or economic models, the contributors offer concrete recommendations for how public policies can foster journalism that can support democratic life in twenty-first century Canada. Their work, which includes new theoretical perspectives and valuable discussions of journalism practices in public, private, and community media, should be read by professional and citizen journalists, academics, media activists, policy makers and media audiences concerned about the future of democratic journalism in Canada.

The go-to guide for learning what to say and how to say it In this climate of near constant streams of media messages, organizations need to know how to effectively communicate risks to their audiences and what to say when a crisis strikes. Risk and Crisis Communications: Methods and Messages is designed to help organizations understand the essential components of communicating about risks during a crisis, and it carves out a role for safety health and environmental (SH&E) professionals in the process. Covering common theoretical concepts and explaining the positions of noted experts in the field such as Peter Sandman and Vincent Covello, the book provides a fundamental understanding of the process behind crafting effective messages for a variety of different situations and explains the consequences of saying the wrong thing to an emotional audience. Incorporating numerous case studies—including the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and the 2010 H1N1 pandemic—it shows how messages can change the way an audience perceives an event and how they react to it, clearly demonstrating how ineffective messages can create untold difficulties for an organization's public image. Savvy SH&E professionals know that their role in helping to craft risk and crisis messages as well as assisting in the execution of risk communication plans provides a critical path to becoming more valuable members of their organizations. Risk and Crisis Communications: Methods and Messages provides invaluable assistance in helping SH&E professionals add value to their organization.

The Definitive Guide to Communicating in Any Crisis “When facing an already difficult crisis, the last thing a company needs is to make it worse through its own communications – or lack thereof. As one who has lived through a number of [business] crises and served as an independent investigator of the crises of others, I consider Steven Fink’s book to be an excellent guide to avoiding collecting scar tissue of your own by learning from the scar tissue painfully collected by others.”—Norman R. Augustine, former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Lockheed Martin There are few guarantees in business today. Unfortunately, one of them is the inevitability of a crisis having a potentially major effect on your business and your reputation. When your company finds itself in the midst of a crisis, the ripple effects can disrupt lives and business for the foreseeable future if public opinion is not properly shaped and managed. Skillfully managing the perception of the crisis determines the difference between a company’s life or death. Because in the pitched battle between perception and reality, perception always wins. Fortunately, there is a solution. Crisis communications and crisis management legend Steven Fink gives you everything you need to prepare for the inevitable—whether it’s in the form of human error, industrial accidents, criminal behavior, or natural disasters. In this groundbreaking guide, Fink provides a complete toolkit for ensuring smooth communications and lasting business success through any crisis. Crisis Communications offers proactive and preventive methods for preempting potential crises. The book reveals proven strategies for recognizing and averting damaging crisis communications issues before it’s too late. The book also offers ways to deal with mainstream and social media, use them to your advantage, and neutralize and turn around a hostile media environment Steven Fink uses his decades of expertise and experience in crisis communications to help you: UNDERSTAND AND MANAGE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PUBLIC PERCEPTION AND REALITY CHOOSE THE BEST SPOKESPERSON FOR THE CRISIS PROTECT YOUR BRAND AND REPUTATION THROUGH CRISES LARGE AND SMALL MAKE WISE, VIGILANT, AND DEFENSIBLE DECISIONS UNDER EXTREME CRISIS-INDUCED STRESS TELL THE TRUTH NO MATTER HOW TEMPTING IT MAY BE TO MISLEAD USE SOCIAL MEDIA OUTLETS TO COMMUNICATE DIRECTLY TO THE PUBLIC ABOUT A CRISIS The explosion of the Internet and, especially, social media, has added a new layer to the business leader’s skill set: the ability to handle a crisis quickly and professionally within moments of its occurrence. Livelihoods depend upon it. With in-depth case studies of Toyota, BP, and Penn State, Crisis Communications provides everything you need to successfully lead your company through today’s rocky landscape of business—where crises large and small loom around every corner, and the lives of businesses and management teams hang in the balance. PRAISE FOR STEVEN FINK’S CRISIS MANAGEMENT “Every major executive in America ought to read at least one book on crisis management. In this way, he or she might be better prepared to deal with the disasters striking organizations at an ever-increasing rate ... The question is: ‘Is Steven Fink’s book one that busy executives ought to read?’ The answer is a resounding yes.”—LOS ANGELES TIMES, FRONT PAGE SUNDAY BOOK REVIEW

A casebook approach to studying crisis communications means learning from the actions of those who have experienced crises. What did they expect? What actually happened? Were they prepared? What were their strategies? What were their challenges, pressures, and problems? Were the news media adversarial or supportive? If they had to do it again, what would they do differently? These and other questions are answered in the case studies of this second edition. Presenting organizational and individual problems that may become crises and the communication responses to these situations, this revision of Fearn-Banks' very successful text: * presents crisis communication theory, including a critique of the communications of White Star Lines after its Titanic sank on its maiden voyage; * describes ways of determining the most likely and most damaging crises that may strike an organization; * centers on causes of crisis--rumor, "gotcha" television news and the non-expert expert, and crises caused by the news media; * gets into the 21st century and cyberspace-caused crises, including mini-cases of rogue Web sites and e-mail rumors; * explains how to communicate with the news media, lawyers, internal publics or audiences, and external publics; and * includes narrated case studies illustrating how spokespersons and managers used communication in several kinds of crises. The text is supplemented by a workbook, enabling students to test their knowledge and develop their skills. Written as a primer for crisis communications, public relations, and communications management, Crisis Communications serves as an essential resource in the practice of public relations and corporate communications.