Theorizing Crisis Communication

Timothy L. Sellnow is Professor of Communication and Associate Dean for Graduate Studies in Communication at the University of Kentucky. Dr. Sellnow’s interdisciplinary research on risk and crisis communication appears in an array of refereed journals, handbooks, and edited volumes. He has also co-authored five books on risk and crisis communication. Dr. Sellnow frequently serves as a consultant for Fortune 500 companies in the food industry and government agencies such as the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on risk and crisis communication planning.

Matthew W. Seeger is Dean of the College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts and a Professor of Communication at Wayne State University in Detroit. His work on crisis, risk and communication has appeared in over 100 journal articles, book chapters, and conference proceedings. Seeger is the author or co-author of six books on organizational communication ethics and crisis and risk communication. Dr. Seeger also frequently serves as an advisor to the auto industry, manufacturing organizations and government agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), on topics related to crisis management.

1. Introduction to Crisis Communication Theory

• Defining Crisis
• Defining Communication
• Theory
• Plan for this Book
• Conclusion

2. Theories of Communication and Crisis Development

• Assumptions of Stage Models
• Three-Stage Model
• Fink’s Four-Stage Cycle
• Turner’s Six-Stage Sequence of Failure in Foresight
• Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication
• Conclusion

3. Theories of Communication and Warning

• Functional Approaches to Communication and Warning
• Hear-Confirm-Understand-Decide-Respond Model
• Protective Action Decision Model
• Integrated Model of Food Recall
• Emerging Warning Systems
• Conclusion

4. Theories of Communication and Crisis Outcome

• Organizational Learning
• Sensemaking
• Organizational Legitimacy
• Situational Crisis Communication Theory
• Discourse of Renewal
• Conclusion

5. Theories of Communication and Emergency Response

• Assumptions of Communication and Emergency Response
• Chaos Theory and Emergent Self-Organization
• Theories of Communication and Crisis Coordination
• Communication and Community Resilience
• Four-Channel Model of Communication
• Conclusion

6. Theories of Communication and Mediated Crises

• News Framing Theory
• Focusing Events
• Uses and Gratification Theory
• Crisis News Diffusion
• Diffusion of Innovations
• Conclusion

7. Theories of Influence in Crisis Communication

• Apologia
• Image Repair
• Kategoria
• Dramatism
• Narrative Theory
• Conclusion

8. Theories of Communication and Risk Management

• Mindfulness
• High Reliability Organizations
  Precautionary Principle
• Cultural Theory
• Risk Communication as Argument
• Conclusion

9. Theories of Crisis Communication and Ethics

• Ethics
• Crisis Communication as Ethical Domain
• Responsible Communication
• Significant Choice
• The Ethic of Care
• Virtue Ethics
• Justice
• Applications of Moral Theory to Crisis
• Conclusion

10. Using Theories of Crisis Communication

• Minimization of Communication in an All-Hazard Approach
• The Practicality of Theory in Understanding Crisis Communication
• The Pathway for Inspiring Meaningful Change
• Successful Connections Linking Theory-Based Research and Practitioners
• Promising New Lines of Research
• Persistent Challenges
• A Final Word

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