Taxonomy of mediated crisis responses

The article highlights the importance of organizations taking advantage of new media to handle crisis situations. Taylor and Kent (2007) point out how effective the appropriate use of the internet can assist an organization in dealing with a crisis. Their points are based on research of mediated communication and their analysis of over 100 crisis responses, conducted over a period of 7 years, from 1998-2005. Based on the findings of successful outcomes, Taylor and Kent (2007) have listed the following taxonomy for mediated communication:

Best practice #1: upload traditional tactics to the Web site

Best practice #2: integrating innovative tactics

Best practice #3: reducing uncertainty during product recalls

Best practice #4: create different Web pages for different stakeholders

Best practice #5: work with government agencies during the crisis

“Organizations can write as much as they want with no editing by the media, and they can provide supporting materials such as pictures, documents, speeches, interviews, white papers, fact sheets, and news releases to support their arguments and explanations.” (Taylor & Kent, 2007) I think this one sentence helps sum up the entire article. During a crisis, being able to handle the situation and recover quickly is a true test of P.R skill. In addition to being able to think-on-your-feet, being prepared before a crisis can even be on the radar is extremely vital. This will ensure that strategies and tactics to deal with the crisis are already drawn up and when the crisis actually happens, all that is required is execution of the tactics.

The most important point made in this article is that the internet has revolutionized the way the corporate world functions. Before, organizations were at the mercy of the media. The media could interpret the situation as they sought fit. However, now with the internet, the organization gets to explain their side of the story, without any media filters. In this way, the organization can deal with the crisis in a timely, effective and inexpensive manner.

Bibliography:

Taylor, M., & L.Kent, M. (2007). Taxonomy of mediated crisis responses. Public Relations Review , 33 (2), 140-146.

Chapter 2: Two Theories of Media Relations

This chapter basically introduces the idea that it is crucial for PR practitioners to build relationships in which "trust and integrity are the underlying elements" (Stanton, 2007, p. 15). This is because the media is recognized as a driving tool in PR campaigns, especially in the public sphere where additional stakeholders need to be reached. However, it is also important to note that in building relationships with the media, one cannot forget that this is done in a business environment where there are plenty of other stakeholders that can, and are willing to, offer better deals than yours. Habermas, a German philosopher, describes it as a "public forum in which literate and wealthy citizens exchanged information... with the object of profit" (Stanton, 2007, p. 16).

In order to develop a strategic media relations campaign that is competitive, practitioners need to be able to measure the success of their campaign. In measuring the success of the campaign, it is vital to understand the different theories that come into play and how they affect every stage of the campaign. There are a lot of theories that are brought up when it comes to media relationship building. However, one theory that is highlighted in this chapter of the book is the framing theory. It is defined as the "capacity of a media relationship builder to comprehend and interpret the agenda-setting policies and source selection processes employed by the media" (Stanton, 2007, p. 18). In other words, it requires the practitioner to sell the story according to the interest of the news provider that they are pitching to and to understand the target audience of the news provider.

Using avian flu as an example, different aspects of the news is interesting to different groups of people. The general public would most probably be interested in whether the virus have been controlled and preventive measures to keep their loved ones safe. The pharmaceutical companies on the other hand, would be interested in the vaccines that have been developed to counter the virus. Similarly, if I was a PR practitioner for P&G, my news story would have a different angle from a PR representative from MOE because of the different target audience that we cater to.

At the end of the day, we frame news a certain way in order to elicit a certain response or interpretation from the other party. However, in eliciting this desired response, certain practitioners go to the extent of unethical news framing where fabricated issues and events are framed in a certain way that it takes up the form of reality to the extent that it becomes difficult to tell fake from real.

-Noraida Mohamed Yunos-