BP's Use of Twitter as a Crisis Communication Tool During ...

University of Mississippi University of Mississippi

eGrove eGrove

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate School

2011

BP's Use of Twitter as a Crisis Communication Tool During the BP's Use of Twitter as a Crisis Communication Tool During the

Gulf Oil Spill Crisis Response Phase Gulf Oil Spill Crisis Response Phase

Lindsay Ann Jordan

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Recommended Citation Recommended Citation Jordan, Lindsay Ann, "BP's Use of Twitter as a Crisis Communication Tool During the Gulf Oil Spill Crisis Response Phase" (2011). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 157. https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/157

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BP’SUSEOFTWITTERASACRISISCOMMUNICATIONTOOLDURING

THEGULFOILSPILLCRISISRESPONSEPHASE

AThesispresentedinpartialfulfillmentofrequirements

forthedegreeofMasterofArtsintheMeekSchoolofJournalismandNewMediaTheUniversityofMississippi

by

LINDSAYA.JORDAN

June2011

CopyrightLindsayA.Jordan2011ALLRIGHTSRESERVED

ii

ABSTRACT

OnApril20,2010,BritishPetroleum’sDeepwaterHorizondrillingriglocatedinthe

GulfofMexicoexploded,creatingthelargestoilspillinU.S.history.BPlaunchedamajor

publicrelationsresponsethattargeteditsonlineaudiencethroughstrategicuseofits

corporatewebsite,Twitterfeed,Facebookpage,YouTubechannel,andFlickrphotostream.

ThiscontentanalysisexaminesBP’suseofTwitterduringthecrisisresponsephaseofthe

oilspill.BPtweetedon1,161occasionsfromthetimeoftheexplosiontothecappingofthe

well.Alltweetsduringthis13‐weekperiodwerecodedbytwoseparatecoderstoensure

intercoderreliability.Tweetsfrom@BP_Americareflectedreputationrepairstrategies,

responsibilityattributions,andpublicriskperceptionsduringdifferentemergency

managementphases.Reputationrepairstrategieswerereflectedin331tweets,withthe

strategiesof“compensation”and“reminder”appearingmostoften.Anoverwhelming

majorityoftweetsindicatedanaccidentcrisis(1,129)withastrong/highcrisis

responsibility(1,044).Publicriskperceptionswereimpliedin831tweets,andthe

perceptionmostimpliedwasthattheoilspillresponsehadstrongpoliticalattributestied

toit.

iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Iwouldliketoexpressmyimmensegratitudetomythesisadvisor,Dr.KristenAlley

Swainforbeingthereeverystepofthewayduringmythesisresearchandwritingprocess.

Withoutherhelp,support,andsuggestions,thisresearchstudywouldhaveprovenmuch

moredifficulttocomplete.Iwouldalsoliketoextendmygratitudetotheremainderofmy

thesiscommittee,Dr.BradleySchultzandDr.JamesLumpp.Theirhelpandencouragement

thispastsemesterisgreatlyappreciated.

Inaddition,Ithankmyacademicadvisor,Dr.JeanniAtkins,forhersoundadviceand

guidanceduringmyyearsasagraduatestudent.IwouldalsoliketothankInstructor

RobinStreetforbeinganamazingpublicrelationsmentor.Shehashelpedmecultivatea

knowledgeandpassionforPRthatIwillcarrywithmeforyearstocome.

Lastly,IthankDaniLigato,NicoleSheriff,ClaireKillen,RileyKurtts,myparents,my

sisters,andeveryoneandtheGraduateSchoolforkeepingmesanethissemester.Your

loveandsupportdidnotgounnoticed.

iv

TABLEOFCONTENTS

ABSTRACT..............................................................................ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.................................................................iii

LISTOFTABLES........................................................................vi

LISTOFGRAPHS........................................................................vii

INTRODUCTION.........................................................................1

EXPLANATIONOFSUBSEQUENTCHAPTERS...........................................13

LITERATUREREVIEW..................................................................15

PURPOSEOFTHESTUDY...............................................................33

SIGNIFICANCEOFTHESTUDY..........................................................34

ORGANIZATIONOFTHESTUDY........................................................35

METHODOLOGY........................................................................36

RESULTS...............................................................................46

DISCUSSION............................................................................53

SUMMARYANDCONCLUSIONS.........................................................59

LIMITATIONS..........................................................................60

RECCOMENDATIONSFORFUTURERESEARCH.........................................61

REFERENCES..........................................................................62

APPENDIX1...........................................................................67

APPENDIX2............................................................................69

APPENDIX3............................................................................74

v

APPENDIX4............................................................................77

VITA....................................................................................79

vi

LISTOFTABLES

1.InstancesofReputationRepairStrategieswithinTweets.............................75

2.InstancesofRiskSmartItemsImpliedwithinTweets.................................75

3.InstancesofSpecificWebsiteRedirectsWithinTweets...............................76

vii

LISTOFGRAPHS

1.CrosstabulationofResponseandRecovery...........................................72

2.CrosstabulationofReminderandCompensation.....................................73

3.CrosstabulationofPoliticalAttributes,FinancialHarm,andDeath/Injury.............74

1

ChapterI

Introduction

BP’sDeepwaterHorizonTragedy

OnApril20,2010,BritishPetroleum’s(BP)DeepwaterHorizondrillingriglocated

intheGulfofMexicoignitedandexploded,leaving11membersofits126‐membercrew

missingandspewingthousandsofgallonsofoilintotheGulf.

Transocean’s1EmergencyandFamilyResponseTeam,BP,andtheU.S.CoastGuard

immediatelybegansearchingforthesemissingpeoples,butsuspendedthesearchafter

covering5,000squaremiles.The11workerswerepronounceddead,andtheirbodies

wereneverrecovered.OnApril22,BPCEOandBritishnativeTonyHaywardsaid,“Weare

determinedtodoeverythinginourpowertocontaintheoilspillandresolvethesituation

asrapidly,safely,andeffectivelyaspossible.”2However,theMacondowell3wouldnotbe

declared“dead”fornearlyfivemonths.

WhentheDeepwaterHorizonrigsank,BPexecutedamajoroilspillresponse.

Initialresponseeffortsincludedtheimplementationofasmallfleetofresponsevessels,a

protectiveboom,4dispersant,5reliefwellplanning,andtheskimmingofoilysurfacewater.

1Transocean,theworld’slargestoffshoredrillingcontractor,wasdrillinganexplorationwellusingtheDeepwaterHorizonasacontractortoBP.2“ResponseTimeline,”BP,http://www.bp.com/iframe.do?categoryId=9035136&contentId=7065156(AccessedFebruary7,2011).3TheMacondowellwasthewellfromwhichtheDeepwaterHorizonwasdrillingforoil.4Aprotectiveboomisusedregularlyinoilspillcleanupstopreventtheoilfromreachingtheshoreline.

2

EffortstosealthewellbeganasearlyasApril25,butmanywereunsuccessful.Inearly

May,thedrillingofareliefwellandaback‐upreliefwellbegan.ARiserInsertionTube

Tool(RITT)6andaLowerMarineRiserPackage(LMRP)containmentcap7werealsoused

tocollectoilandpumpittothesurface.AsealingcapwasputinplaceonJuly15,andoilno

longerflowedfreelyfromthewell.ByAugust4,theU.S.governmentreportedthatthree‐

fourthsofthe4.9millionbarrelsofspilledoilhadbeenevaporated,burned,skimmed,

recovered,ordispersed.OnSeptember16,thereliefwelldrilledbyDevelopmentDrillerIII

successfullyinterceptedtheannulus8oftheMacondowell.Finally,onSeptember19,the

U.S.federalgovernmentdeclaredthewell“effectivelydead.9”

Monetaryreimbursementeffortsbeganshortlyaftertheexplosionwiththe

initiationofaclaimsprocess,10theopeningofseveralclaimsoffices,andtheactivationofa

toll‐freecallcenter.Fromthetimeoftheexplosiontotheinterceptionbythereliefwell,BP

paidoutbillionsofdollarsforstatewideoilspillcontingencyplans,protectionplans,

researchoftheoilspill’seffectontheenvironmentandpublichealth,tourismpromotion

foraffectedstates,restorationofwildlifehabitats,unemployedrigworkers,the

constructionofbarrierislands,personalclaims,etc.11

5Chemicaldispersantsareusedregularlyinoilspillcleanupstobreakuptheoilinanattempttokeepitfromdestroyingmarshes,mangroves,andbeaches.6TheRIITattemptstobringoilflowtothesurfacebyinsertingatubeintothebrokenendoftheDeepwaterHorizon’sriser.7TheLMRPisacontainmentdomethatisplacedattheendoftheDeepwaterHorizon’sbrokenriser,whichisintendedtopumpoiltothesurface,8ThevoidintheleakingvalveontheDeepwaterHorizonwassealed.9“ResponseTimeline,”BP.10BP’sclaimsprocessfollowedthe“responsibleparty”guidelinesoftheOilPollutionActof1990,astheU.S.CoastGuarddesignatedBPasaresponsibleparty.11BPclaimstohavespentmorethan$13billionontheclean‐up,$500milliononscientificstudies,and$280milliononwildliferescueandrehabilitation.

3

BP’sPublicRelationsCampaignfortheDeepwaterHorizonSpill

WhileBPwaswagingwaragainsttheoilintheGulf,awarwagedagainstits

reputation.NotonlydidBPhavetofixthelargestoilspillinthehistoryoftheUnited

States,ithadtofixitsdamagedreputation,aswell.Ontheimagefront,BPhadmuchto

defend.InanarticleforTheWashingtonPost,MatthewDeBordsaid,“Inrecentyears,BP

hasspentheavilytopositionitselfasanenvironmentallyfriendlycompany,redesigningits

logointoagreen‐and‐yellowsunburstandadvertisingits$4‐billion‐alternative‐energy

pushtomove‘beyondpetroleum.’”12

SinceBPisnowinthepost‐crisisphaseofcrisiscommunications,manyexperts

havedebatedthesuccessfulness,orlackthereof,ofBP’sPRcampaignthataccompaniedthe

Gulfoilspill.Afteroneyear,andaPRbillofmorethan$90million,BP’sreputationisstill

inquestion.AntonioJuhasz,theauthorofBlackTide:TheDevastatingImpactoftheGulfOil

Spill,saysBPmadethebiggestPRmistakebylyingtothepublicandregulatorsaboutits

levelofunpreparednessincombatingaspillofsuchcatastrophicproportions.13Somehave

goneasfartosaythatthisPRcampaignwillserveasa“hownotto”casestudyforfuture

crises.

ManyofBP’sso‐calledoilspillrelatedPRblunderscanbetracedbacktoTony

Hayward,thecompany’sthenChiefExecutiveOfficer.Althoughtraditionalcrisispublic

relationscampaignssuggestappointingoneperson,usuallyacompany’sCEO,asthe

generalspokesperson,British‐bornHaywardmaynothavebeenBP’sbestchoiceforan

12MatthewDeBord,“CrisisPRmustnotconfrontitsownproblems,”TheWashingtonPost(July25,2010).13JohnVidal,“BP’sPRcampaignfailstocleanupreputationafterGulfoilspill,”Guardian,http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2011/apr/14/bp‐pr‐campaign‐gulf‐oil‐spill(accessedMay27,2011).

4

Americantragedy.SomeexpertshavesuggestedthatBP’sbiggestmistakewasitsdecision

tohaveHaywardserveasthemostprominentspokespersonontheoilspill,14ashislackof

experiencewithUnitedStatesculturewashighlighted.AlthoughHaywardgotpointsfor

makinghiswaytotheGulfshortlyaftertheexplosion,peoplewantedtoseehimmakingan

efforttofixtheproblem.DanielKeeney,presidentofaDallas‐basedPRfirmsaid,“You

wanttogethimrightinthethickofthings,evenifhelookssomewhatuncomfortabledoing

it.”15OnJune1,2010,NationalIncidentCommander(NIC)AdmiralThadAllenwas

announcedasaspokespersonseparatefromBP.ThepublicwasexcitedtolearnofAllen’s

newposition.DeniseLenciandJohnMullanesaid,“Allenwasthereassuringspokesperson,

thesteadyhandthatthepublicneededtosee.Heconsistentlyrefusedtoputnumberson

theflowrateorpredictthefinalpluggingoftheMacondo.”16However,havingAllenserve

asaspokespersonfurtherconfusedBP’spublicrelationstactics,sinceAllenrepresentedan

entityseparatefromBP.

Duringtheoilspill,Haywardseemedtobequitecarlessinhiswordsandactions.

OnebasicruleofPRistoavoidfingerpointing,asitcandiminishacompany’slevelof

trustworthiness.Unfortunately,thatisexactlywhatHaywarddidduringtheimmediate

daysfollowingtheexplosion.Hedeclaredthattheincidentwas“notouraccident.”17Other

verbalgaffesmadebyHaywardincluded:“Whatthehelldidwedotodeservethis?”18;

14EricReguly,“BP’sPRwoesstartatthetop,”TheGlobeandMail(June16,2010).15ErinMcClamandHarryWeber,“BP’sfailuresmadeworsebyPRmistakes,”MSNBC.com(AccessedFebruary13,2011).16DeniseLenciandJohnMullane,“Communicatingwiththepublic:howBPtoldtheMacondostory,”Oil&GasJournal(December6,2010).17AlexBrownsell,“BP,”Marketing(July2010).18BenjaminSnyder,“TonyHayward’sGreatestHits,”CNNMoney,http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/10/news/companies/tony_hayward_quotes.fortune/index.htm(AccessedFebruary11,2011).

5

“TheGulfofMexicoisaverybigocean.Theamountofvolumeofoilanddispersantweare

puttingintoitistinyinrelationtothetotalwatervolume”19;“Iwouldlikemylifeback”20;

andalso“Thecompanyisnotawareofanyreasonwhichjustifiesthispriceshare

movement.”21

Haywardalsocaughtflackforattendinganannualone‐dayyachtracearound

England’sIsleofWight.BPSpokesmanRobertWineattemptedtojustifyHayward’saction

bysaying,“He’sspendingafewhourswithhisfamily...I’msurethateveryonewould

understandthat.Hewillbebacktodealwiththeresponse.Itdoesn’tdetractfromthatat

all.”22BobbyPitre,aLarose,Louisianaresidentrespondedtothisnewsbysaying,“Man,

thatain’tright.Noneofuscanevengooutfishing,andhe’sattheyachtraces.Iwishwe

couldgetadayofffromtheoil,too.”23Afternewsoftheyachtingincidentbroke,White

HouseChiefofStaffRahmEmanuelsaid,“IthinkwecanallconcludethatTonyHaywardis

notgoingtohaveasecondcareerinPRconsulting.”24

ExpertshavecitedseveraladditionalcriticalPRerrorsmadebyBP.FraserP.Seitel,

acommunicationconsultantwhowritesforJackO’Dwyer’sPRNewsletter,claimsthatBP

shouldnothavemadeearlypredictionsabouttheamountofoilinvolvedinthespill,asit

weakenedthecompany’scredibility.25U.S.CoastGuardRearAdmiralandDeputyOn‐Scene

CommanderMaryLandryinitiallysaidnooilwasleakingfromtheMacondowell.Landry’s19Ibid.20Ibid.21RichBlake,“BPSharesSinkAmidOilSpillBankruptcyChatter,”ABCNews,http://abcnews.go.com/Business/bp‐survive‐company‐result‐oil‐spill‐gulf‐mexico/story?id=10874702(AccessedFebruary11,2011).22AssociatedPress,“BPchiefatyachtracewhileoilspewsintoGulf,”TheNewZealandHerald(June20,2010).23Ibid.24TomBergin,“Analysis:BPPRblunderscarryhighpoliticalcost,”Reuters(June29,2010).25AlanCaruba,“BP,PR,andtheOilSpill,CanadaFreePress(June7,2010).

6

estimatesonleakingoilduringtheinitialdaysofthespillrapidlyincreasedfromseepage,

to1,000barrelsperday,to5,000barrelsperday,to20,000barrelsperday,andsoon,and

soon.Estimatesonleakingoilultimatelyreached100,000barrelsperday,26afarcryfrom

Landry’sinitialstatement.

AnothercriticalerrormayhavebeenchoosingBritonAlanParker,headofLondon‐

basedPRagency,theBrunswickGroup,asBP’sexternalPRadviser.“Eventhough

[BrunswickGroup]hasNewYorkandWashingtonoffices,itisbynomeansa

communicationsandcrisismanagementpowerhouseintheUnitedStates.Abig‐nameU.S.

firmwouldhavegivenBPbetteraccesstotheWhiteHouseandtoCongress.”27

BP’sUseofSocialMediaasaCrisisCommunicationTool

TheInternetandemergenceofnewmediahavecompletelychangedthewayPR

associatesplanforcrisiscommunications.Aswithanycrisiscommunicationplan,the

onlineaspectoftheplanshouldbeextremelydetailedandwellrehearsed.Alongwith

executingelementsofatraditionalPRcampaign(i.e.pressreleases,pressconferences,

etc.),BPalsolaunchedanextensivesocialmediacampaign.However,thesuccessofthis

socialmediacampaigncontinuestobedisputedbysocialmediaexperts.Priortotheoil

spillintheGulf,BPdidhaveaFacebookpage,aTwitterfeed,andaLinkedInaccount,but

nonewereupdatedregularly.Inthewakeoftheoilspill,afullweekpassedbeforeBP

initiatedanysortofsocialmediaresponse.Forexample,@BP_America,BP’sTwitter

account,didnottweetabouttheoilspilluntilApril27,afullsevendaysafterthespill.

26DeniseLenciandJohnMullane,“Communicatingwiththepublic:howBPtoldtheMacondostory.”27EricReguly,“BP’sPRwoesstartatthetop.”

7

IncomparingthecommunicationstacticspertainingtotheDeepwaterHorizonspill

withthatofthe1989ExxonValdezspill,HarlanLoeb,directorofcrisisandissues

managementatEdelman,aleadingglobalPRfirm,saidthatnowadayscompaniesoperate

ina“24/7riskenvironment.”28AccordingtoLoeb,thetwokeyfactorsbehindthischange

aretheemergenceofsocialmediaandnongovernmentalorganizations’increasein

influence.Loebalsosaidthatsocialmediaofferscompanies“anextraordinaryopportunity

tobreakthroughthestaticofinformationflowtotellyourownstory.”29Withthehelpof

OgilvyPublicRelationsWorldwideandPurpleStrategies,30BPlaunchedanaggressive

socialmediacampaignafterthefirstfewweeksfollowingtheexplosion.Thecompany

addeda“GulfofMexicoresponse”pagetoitscorporatewebsiteprovidinginformationon

allaspectsofthespill,beganupdatingitsFacebookpageandTwitterfeedonadailyand

thenhourlybasis,andbroadcastedvideosonitsYouTubechannelanduploadedpicturesto

itsFlickraccountofresponseandrecoveryeffort.ABPspokespersonsaiditssocialmedia

outreacheffortsare“anadditionalcommunicationtool[alongwith]theregularmedia.

Theyappealtoaslightlydifferentaudience.They’remoredirectthanotherchannels.”31

28AnnabelSymington,“LegacyoftheBPspill:What’sareputationworth?;TheBPspillintheGulfofMexicocausedapublicoutcryandsavagedBP’sshareprice.Imagerepairwon’tbeeasy.”TheChristianScienceMonitor(October18,2010).29Ibid.30PurpleStrategiesisanagencythatspecializesindigitalcommunicationcampaignssuchassocialmediastrategy.31BrianMorrissey,“BPGetsAggressive,”Adweek(June21,2010).

8

BP’sCorporateWebsite

OneaspectofBP’ssocialmediacampaignwastoaddawebpagetitled“Gulfof

Mexicoresponse”toitscorporatewebsite.Thispage,whichcanbeeasilyaccessedfrom

BP’shomepage,detailsBP’sresponsetotheDeepwaterHorizonspill.

Inabold,largefont,thispagestated,“Thecompletionofthereliefwelloperationin

theGulfofMexicoisanimportantmilestoneinourcontinuedeffortstorestoretheGulf

Coast.Howeverourworkisnotfinished.BPremainscommittedtoremedyingtheharm

thatthespillcausedtotheGulfofMexico,theGulfCoastenvironment,andtothe

livelihoodsofthepeopleacrosstheregion.”32

Thispageprovidedthelatestupdates,responseoverview,responsetimeline,

responsepictures,responsevideos,responsemaps,claimsinformation,important

contacts,BPinternalinvestigationinformation,linkstoAlabama,Florida,Louisiana,and

Mississippistateresponsewebsites,aswellasTwitter,Facebook,YouTube,Flickr,andRSS

Feedwidgets,etc.33Asthecrisisphaseshiftedfullyintopost‐crisismode,BPchangedthe

titleofthiswebpageto“GulfofMexicorestoration.”Thispageiscurrentlyonthewebsite

andhighlightedbyanorangetab.Thispagecontainslinkstothefollowingadditionalweb

pages:DeepwaterHorizonaccident;Howweresponded;Restoringtheenvironment;

Restoringtheeconomy;Supportingoilspillresponseefforts;Claimsinformation;and

Investigatingtheaccident.

Inanefforttoredirectuserstoitswebsite,BPpurchasedsearchtermssuchas“BP,”

“oilleak,”and“oilspill”fromGoogle.Surprisingly,theseInternetadshavegeneratedless32“GulfofMexicoresponse,”BP,http://www.bp.com/extendedsectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=40&contentId=7061813(accessedFebruary15,2010).33Ibid.

9

ofabacklashthanBP’sTVadsandadsinTheWallStreetJournalandTheNewYorkTimes.34

BPhascaughtflackforspendingover$93milliononadvertising,butbelievesitispartof

itsdutytocommunicateresponseeffortsandrelevantinformationtointerestedpublics.

“Theadvertisingcouldbeperceivedasverywasteful,”saidSarahHofstetter,Senior

Vice‐Presidentofemergingmediaandbrandstrategyat360i.“[But]it’snotlikeyoucan

reorientyourmarketingdepartmenttocleanupbeaches.”35

AlthoughsomemaynotbecomfortablewiththeideaofBPbuyingupsearchterms

topushnegativepressdownthesearchranking,aGooglespokesmansaysthatBPissimply

exercisingthesamerightasanyotheradvertiser.36Infact,manycrisiscommunications

expertsclaimthatSearchEngineOptimization(SEO)isakeyonlinecommunicationtoolfor

acompanyinthemidstofacrisis.BP’sSEOefforts,ontheotherhand,mayhaveproven

toolittletoolate.

SteveMarino,whoranBP’ssocial‐mediaeffortsatOgilvyPublicRelations

Worldwide,said,“IwishwehadastrongerSEOpresencebeforetheBPcrisishitthispast

summer,butwedidn’t.Consideringwhatthecrisiswas,beingpreparedwithtermslike‘oil

spill’or‘oilsomething’isano‐brainer,butitdidn’thappen.Sowewerebehindtheeight

ball.”37

34BrianMorrissey,“BPGetsAggressive.”35Ibid.36Ibid.37MichaelBush,“ExpertssaySEOgroundworkmustbelaidwellbeforecrisishits;Thetimeforclimbingsearchranksandboostingonlinereputationisnow,notafterdisasterstrikes,”AdvertisingAgePg.2,Vol.82(January10,2011).

10

Facebook

BPbeganupdatingitsFacebookpage,BPAmerica,regularlyaftertheoilspill.Its

pageprovidedlinkstoitscorporatewebsite,Twitterfeed,YouTubechannel,andFlickr

accountfor“moreofficialupdates.”38ThisFacebookpagealsohada“GulfUpdates”section

thatprovidedthelatestupdatesontheGulfofMexicoanda“VoicesfromtheGulf”section

thatservedasaplatformforGulfresidentstotelltheirstories.BPAmericahas

implementedanextensivecommentingpolicy,whichisdetailedonitsFacebookpage,and

commentingisonlyanoptionforthosewho“Like”itspage.Currently,54,90539people

“Like”BPAmerica’sFacebookpage.Itscommentingpolicyisasfollows:

“BPhascreatedthisFacebookpagetoengagethepublicinaninformative

conversationanddialogueaboutoureffortsassociatedwiththeoilspillin

theGulfofMexico.Wewantourpagetobeanappropriateforumfor

everyone.Theconversationsshouldbeconstructive,respectful,andcontain

languagethatisappropriateforallgroupsandages.Wereservetherightto

disallowcommentsthatareobscene,indecent,profane,orvulgar;contain

threatsorpersonalattacksofanykind;containoffensivetermsdirectedto

ethnicorracialgroups;aredefamatory,libelousorcontainadhominem

attacks;orpromoteorendorseaproductorservice.”40

38“BPAmerica,”Facebook,http://www.facebook.com/BPAmerica?v=wall(accessedFebruary15,2011).39ThisfigurewastakenApril28,2011.40Ibid.

11

Twitter

BPhadaTwitteraccountpriortotheDeepwaterHorizonoilspillbutfailedto

updatethefeedregularly.Followingthespill,BPrepurposeditsaccount,@BP_America,to

serveasacommunicationhubforupdatesandbreakingnewspertainingtothespill.

However,ittookBPseveraldaystomakethishappen.Infact,BPdidnottweetaboutthe

spilluntilApril27,sevendaysaftertheexplosion.Thistweetread,“BPPLEDGESFULL

SUPPORTFORDEEPWATERHORIZONPROBES.”41

BP’sTwitterprofileread,“UpdatesofBP’songoingresponseeffortsareprovidedby

ourownsocialmediateam,aswellason‐the‐groundpersonnelworkinginaffectedGulf

regions.Fromtimetotime,MikeUtsler,COOofBP’sGulfCoastRestoration(GCRO),willbe

givingfirst‐handupdatesviathischannel.”42

FromitsfirstoilspilltweetonApril27,BP’stweetsgraduallyincreasedtomultiple

tweetsperday.Currently,@BP_Americahas27,10243followers.Morethanayearafter

theincident,@BP_America’sTwitterprofileread,“OfficialaccountofBPAmerica.Stay

currentonourcommitmenttotheGulfandourworktowardsecure,affordableenergy

whileaddressingclimatechange.”

WhileBPwasbusyrepurposingitsTwitteraccount,aspoofaccount,@BPGlobalPR,

wasquicklygainingfollowers.Todate,@BPGlobalPRissurpassing@BP_Americain

followersbynearly150,000.BPPublicRelation’s(@BPGlobalPR)profilereads,“Thispage

existstogetBP’smessageandmissionstatementoutintothetwitterverse.”44ThisTwitter

41“BP,”Twitter,http://twitter.com/BP_America(accessedFebruary15,2011).42Ibid.43ThisfigurewastakenApril28,2011.44“BPPublicRelations,”Twitter,https://twitter.com/#!/BPGlobalPR(accessedFebruary16,2011).

12

feedwasquitedetrimentaltoBP’sTwitterefforts,publishingsatiricaltweets,suchas,“Yes,

wedisabledthealarmsontheDeepwaterHorizon.Oh,likeyou’veneverhitthesnooze

button?”45

MilesNadal,thechiefexecutiveofadvertisingconglomerateMDCPartnersInc.,said,

“Thebranddetractorismoreinfluentialandmorevehementthanthethanthebrand

evangelist.”46ThisfactwasquiteunfortunateforBP’ssocialmediacampaign.

YouTubeandFlickr

BPalsolaunchedanOfficialBPYouTubeChannelaspartofitssocialmedia

campaignonMay18,2010.VideosonBP’schannelwereneatlyorganizedinthefollowing

categories:“LatestonBPResponse,”“BeachesandCleanup,”“ClaimsandEconomy,”

“HealthandSafety,”“RestoreEnvironment,”and“Wildlife.”Todate,BP’suploadviews

total6,080,280.47

BP’sprofileread,“BPhascreatedthisYouTubechanneltoengagethepublicinan

informativeconversationanddialogueaboutoureffortsassociatedwiththeoilspillinthe

GulfofMexico.Wewantourpagetobeanappropriateforumforeveryone.The

conversationsshouldbeconstructive,respectful,andcontainlanguagethatisappropriate

forallgroupsandages.”

However,BPcaughtahugebacklashfordisallowingthepublictoengageinan

informativeconversationbydeactivatingcomments.AlexSeitz‐Waldsaid,“It’sironicthat

45BenHatton,“BP’sPRcrisisshowswhysocialmediamatters,”DailyPost(August2,2010).46HollieShaw,“ThetruthshallsetyoufreeofPRhell,”NationalPost(June25,2010).47ThisfigurewastakenApril28,2011.

13

BPwoulddisablefeedbackforitssocialmediacampaign,consideringthatthecompanyis

activelysolicitingideasfromthepubliconhowtostopthegusherintheGulf.”48

ThefinallegofBP’ssocialmediacampaignincludedthelaunchingofaphotostream

onFlickrinMay2010.SimilartoitsYouTubechannel,BPAmerica’sphotostreamonFlickr

hadphotosorganizedinthefollowingcategories:“Cleanup,”“CommunityOutreach,”

“Claims,”“Health&Safety,”“Wildlife,”“Beaches,”and“BPAlteredImages.”

Underthe“BPAlteredImages”category,BPpostedtheoriginalandalteredimages

oftheHouston‐basedDeepwaterHorizonresponsecommandcenter,forwhichBPwas

accusedofdigitallyaltering.

BPspokesmanScottDeanclaimedtherewasno“diabolicalplot”tothealteringof

thephotos.Deansaid,“NormallyweonlyusePhotoshopforthetypicalpurposesofcolor

correctionandcropping.Inthiscase,theycopiedandpastedthreeROV49screenimagesin

theoriginalphotooverthreescreensthatwerenotrunningvideofeedsatthetime.”50

ExplanationofSubsequentChapters

ChapterII,“LiteratureReview,”providesareviewofscholarlyresearchpertinentto

thestudy.Topicsinclude:anoverviewofpublicrelations,theshiftfromtraditionalto

digitalmediatactics,theroleofsocialmediainpublicrelations,anoverviewofcrisis

communication,theevolutionofcrisiscommunication,theroleofpublicrelationsincrisis48AlexSeitz‐Wald,“BPLaunches‘Aggressive’SocialMediaCampaignbutDisablesCommentsfromUsersWhoDon’t‘Like’It,”http://www.truth‐out.org/bp‐launches‐aggressive‐social‐media‐campaign‐disables‐comments‐users‐who‐dont‐like‐it60633(accessedFebruary16,2011).49ROVreferstoaremotelyoperatedunderwatervehicle.50BrettMichaelDykes,“BPcaughtusingalteredimageofcommandcenter,”YahooNews,http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot/20100720/bs_yblog_upshot/bp‐caught‐using‐altered‐image‐of‐command‐center(accessedFebruary16,2011).

14

communication,aswellasanoverviewofemergencymanagementphases,reputation

repairstrategies,crisistypes,andresponsibilityattributions.ChapterIII,“Methodology,”

explainsingreatdetailthespecificmethodologyforthisstudy.Thischapterdetailsthe

codingprocess,intercoderreliability,thecodesheet,andthecodesheetkey.ChapterIV,

“Results,”providesadetaileddescriptionoftheresultsofthestudy.Thischapter

addressesandanswerseachresearchquestionposedintheabove“PurposeoftheStudy”

section.ChapterVconsistsofadiscussionoftheresults,summaryandconclusion,

limitations,andrecommendationsforfutureresearch.

15

ChapterTwo

LiteratureReview

PublicRelations:ShiftfromTraditionaltoDigitalMedia

ThePublicRelationsSocietyofAmerica(PRSA)formallydraftedadefinitionof

publicrelationsatthePRSA1982NationalAssemblythatremainswidelyacceptedtoday.

AccordingtoPRSA,“Publicrelationshelpsanorganizationanditspublicsadaptmutuallyto

eachother.”51Alongwithcreatingamutuallyadaptiverelationshipbetweenan

organizationanditspublics,publicrelationsservetomanageanorganization’simage.52

Decaudinetal.(2006)believeanorganization’soverallimageiscomposedofthefollowing

threecomponents:thedesiredimage,thetransmittedpicture,andtheperceivedimage.53

Beforetheemergenceofdigitalmedia,traditionalpublicrelationstechniqueswereusedto

managethisimage.Suchtechniquesincludeddraftingpressreleases,creatingmediakits,

planningpublicityevents,managingcommunicationstactics,etc.Inthe“simple”daysof

PR,allapractitionerneededwasgoodpitchandarelationshipwithajournalistwhohad

accesstoatraditionalnewsmedium(i.e.newspapers,magazines,radio,andtelevision)and

hisorherclient’smessagewouldbepublicized.54Those“simple”daysarelonggone.

51“PublicRelationsDefined:PRSA’sWidelyAcceptedDefinition,PRSA,http://www.prsa.org/AboutPRSA/PublicRelationsDefined/(accessedFebruary24,2011).52CristinaComanandMihaelaPaun,“Theimageofthepublicinstitutionsandnewtechnologies,”JurnalismsiCommunicare5(4):45,2010.53Decaudinetal.LaCommunicationinterne,Paris,Dunod,2006.54JohnBell,“ClearingtheAir:NewguidelinesonendorsementsmeannewresponsibilitesforPRprofessionalsleveragingsocialmedia,”CommunicationWorld:28,January‐February2010.

16

Theemergenceofmicromedia,whichconsistsofthethousandsofonlinemedia

outlets,aswellasconstanttechnologyinnovations,hasrequiredmodernpublicrelations

practitionerstoacquireanewsetofcommunicationskillsthatcaneffectivelybuildthe

reputationsoftheirclients.55MostprofessionalsinthePRindustryhaveacceptedthis

shift.“Giventheincreasingnumberofpractitionersacknowledgingthattraditionalmedia

relationsisbeginningtoloseitsdominanceinpublicrelationsprogramming,itis

importantforpublicrelationsscholarsandeducatorstoexploretheemergingneweraof

mediarelations.”56

Thedigitalevolutionofpublicrelationshasallowedforarevampingoftheindustry,

bothexpertlyandeconomicallyspeaking.Manymarketersandadvertisersarelookingto

PRpractitionersforsocial‐mediaanddigitalguidance,whichhasinturnledtoanincrease

inclientsandassignments.57AddressingthegrowingimportanceofthePRindustry,Ray

Kotcher,CEOofKetchum,aleadingpublicrelationsagency,said,“Youaregoingtostart

seeingdecisionsaboutwhethermarketingshouldreporttoPR.”58Fromaneconomic

standpoint,theindustryisexperiencinggrowth,andmanyattributethisgrowthtothe

explosionofdigitalmedia.SpendingonPRisestimatedtoreach$4.4billionby2014.John

Suhler,co‐founderandpresidentofVeronisSuhlerStevenson,aprivate‐equityfirmthat

55Ibid,27.56RichardD.Watersetal.,“MediaCatchingandtheJournalist—PublicRelationsPractitionerRelationship:HowSocialMediaareChangingthePracticeofMediaRelations,”JournalofPublicRelationsResearch22(3):242,2010.57MichaelBush,“Howsocialmediaishelpingthepublic‐relationssectornotjustsurvive,butthrive,”AdvertisingAge81(30):1,2010.58Ibid,3.

17

publishesannualreportsonthePRindustry,said,“Growthisbeingacceleratedbya

significantlyincreasedrateofclientadoptionofsocialmedia.”59

ThecombinationofdigitalmediaandonlinePRhasevenledtothecoiningofthe

term“E‐PR.”Thistermreferstotheareaofpublicrelationsthatbuildsrelationshipswith

onlinecommunitiesbyimplementingtoolsthathavebeenmadeavailablethroughthe

Internetanddigitalmedia.BecauseE‐PRhelpstobalancethelong‐termrelationshipswith

anorganizationanditsvariousaudiences,itsupportsthetraditionalobjectivesofpublic

relations.60ItisimportantforPRpractitionerstobeskilledinE‐PRbecausetheInternet

hascompletelyshakenupsometraditionalaspectsofpublicrelations,oneofthosebeing

thepressrelease.GoogleNewswaslaunchedinSeptemberof2002,andthislaunching

madeallmajorpublicrelationswireservicessearchableonline.61“Thepressreleaseisno

longerexclusivelyamediarelationstool;now,withtheInternet’ssearchcapabilities,

consideritadirect‐to‐consumeronlinepageofWebcontent.”62Althoughthepressrelease

mayhavelostitsexclusivityasamediarelations’tool,itsviralnaturenowallowsfor

multimediaassets,anchortext,hyperlinks,andsocialmediatagstobeincluded.According

toA.C.Croft,“Pressreleasesarenolongerone‐dimensional.Rather,theyinitiateadialogue

betweenanorganizationanditsaudienceandengageanentireonlinecommunityinan

integratedconversation.”63

59Ibid,2.60CristinaComanandMihaelaPaun,“Theimageofpublicinstitutionsandnewtechnologies,”47.61A.C.Croft,“Emergenceof‘New’MediaMovesPRAgenciesinNewDirections:CompetitivePressureThreatensAgencies’Livelihood,”PublicRelationsQuarterly52(1):17.62Ibid,17.63Ibid,17.

18

Thenumeroustypesofnewmedia,suchascorporateblogs,RSSfeeds,podcasts,

wikis,socialmedia,videoblogs,andevenSearchEngineOptimization(SEO),have

undoubtedlychangedthedailypracticeofPRpractitioners.AccordingtothePublic

RelationsEducationCommissionReport,“Often,newtechnologicalformsandchannels,

suchaselectronicpitching,podcasting,andblogging,prevailovertraditionalnewsreleases

andmediakits.”64MoreandmorePRpractitionersareadaptingtothisdigitalchangeand

usingitasanopportunitytopresentPRasavitalaspectin“communicationsarsenal.”65In

abeneficialsense,thesenewmediumsallowpractitionerstoincreaseawarenessamong

keypublicswhiledecreasingadvertisingexpenditures.66

ThefirsteditionofOnlinePublicRelationsclaimedthattheemergenceofonline

interactivecommunications,particularlythecommunicationsbetweenanorganizationand

itsaudiences,wouldbethecatalystforasignificantchangeinthePRindustry;thishas

undoubtedlyheldtrue.67“Theresultisachangedworldthatforcespublicrelations

practitionerstoadoptnewtechnologiesandtoadapttonewsociologicalrealities,and

whichchallengesthosewhowishtounderstandthenewenvironmenttolookbeyondthe

socialsciencesfortheoreticalinsights.”68

64TomKelleher,“Contingencies,Blogs&Stance:OrganizationalContingencies,OrganizationalBlogs,andPublicRelationsPractitionerStanceTowardPublics”(2008).65MichaelBush,“Howsocialmediaishelpingthepublic‐relationssectornotjustsurvive,butthrive,”2.66RichardD.Watersetal.,“MediaCatchingandtheJournalist‐PublicRelationsPractitionerRelationship,”256.67DavidPhillips,“ThePsychologyofSocialMedia,”JournalofNewCommunicationsResearch3(1):79,2008.68Ibid,79.

19

TheRoleofNewandSocialMediainPublicRelations

Althoughvariousnewmediaplatformshavedrasticallychangedtheday‐to‐day

functionsofthePRindustry,oneareahasbeenofparticularimportance:socialmedia.

“Socialmediaarethevariousformsofusergeneratedcontentandthecollectionof

websitesandapplicationsthatenablespeopletointeractandshareinformationonline.”69

Unlikeanyothermediumbeforeitstime,socialmediahascompletelychangedthewaythe

peoplecommunicate.ThisdrasticchangebringswithitmanyopportunitiesforPR

practitioners.70Forinstance,socialmediaenablespractitionerstoreachouttospecific

publicsandsparkconversations,whileatthesametimestrengtheningmediarelations.71

Unliketraditionalformsofmedia,saidJohnBell,theheadofOgilvyPublicRelations

Worldwide,“Youhavetobeonallthetime.”72Thisideaofalwaysbeing“on”has

specificallyinfluencedtheresponsecommunicationsofPRpractitioners.Now,inthe

instanceofacrisis,PRpractitionersmustrespondimmediately.Waitingmorethana

coupleofhourstorespondisbasicallylikesaying“nocomment,”whichhasalwaysbeen

advisedagainstinthePRworld.73Expertsencouragepractitionerstoengageimmediately,

evenifasolutiontotheproblemhasnotbeenmet.RupalParekhandEdmundLeesaid,“If

youdon’thaveananswerrightaway,sayso,butneverstaysilent.”74Thisongoing

69CristinaComanandMihaelaPaun,“Theimageofthepublicinstitutionsandnewtechnologies,”46.70Ibid,46.71Ibid,72RupalParekhandEdmundLee,“HowtoSucceedwhenit’sTimetoMakeYourSocial‐MediaMeaCulpa,”AdvertisingAge81(19):2,2010.73KelliS.Burns,“TheMisuseofSocialMedia:ReactionstoandImportantLessonsfromaBlogFiasco,”JournalofNewCommunicationsResearch3(1):51,2008.74RupalParekhandEdmundLee,“HowtoSucceedwhenit’sTimetoMakeYourSocial‐MediaMeaCulpa,”2.

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exchangeofinformation,especiallyintimesofcrises,iswhatallowsPRpractitionersto

successfullybuildandmaintainclients’reputations.75

Incomparing,orbetteryetcontrasting,socialmediawithtraditionalmedia,there

areseveralcharacteristicsthatsetthemapart.Theseinclude:reach,accessibility,

usability,transparency,andrecency.Reachreferstoaglobalaudience;accessibilityto

reducedcoststhatallowfreedomofaccess;usabilitytoopportunityforeverybodytocreate

andoperate;transparencytotransparentnatureofcontent;andrecencytothe

instantaneouselement.Theseuniquecharacteristicsallowsocialmediathefollowing

advantages:itisstickierthantraditionalmedia;ithasaviralnature;itisinteractive;andit

hashighvisibilityonthenet.Asfarascommunicationsgo,socialmediaprovidesconstant

communication,immediateresponse,aglobalaudience,knowledgeoftheaudience,

bidirectionalcommunication,andalowoverheadcost.76

Socialmediaisalsoresponsiblefortherevampingofpublicrelation’smostcoveted

tool,thepressrelease.Althoughnotwidelyaccepted,theemergenceoftheSocialMedia

Release(SMR)showstheextentofsocialmedia’saffectonPR.TheSMRwaslaunchedin

February2006,anditallowsreaderstointeractdirectlywiththeorganizationby

contributingtocontent.77AccordinganarticlebyPeterSteyninthePublicRelations

Review,“TheSMRhasevolvedasaresponsetotheincreaseininteractivitypermittedby

socialmediaandisbestconceivedofasadigitalpressreleasethatincludestheadditional

elementsareporterorconsumerwouldwanttoseebeforetheycreatetheirowncontentto

75CristinaComanandMihaelaPaun,“Theimageofthepublicinstitutionsandnewtechnologies,”47.76Ibid,47.77RichardWaterset.al,“MediaCatchingandtheJournalist,”247.

21

broadcastortransmitfurther.”78TheSMRcouldquitepossiblyprovetobeanextremely

powerfulassetforPRspecialists.

Duetotheemergenceofsocialmedia,PRexpertshaveencouragedpractitionersto

changetheirviewofonlinecommunicationentirely.Communicationisnotlongerone‐

way;itisatwo‐wayexchange,whichdemandsamoreparticipatoryapproach.79According

toBrettGroom,VPofcontentactivationatConAgra,ifpractitionersbecomesuccessfully

alignedwiththeparticipatorystructureofsocialmedia,theywillhaveagreaterchanceof

figuringoutwhatdoesanddoesnotresonatewithvariousaudiences.80“Byunderstanding

howsocialnetworksiteswork,practitionersmaydeterminewhatinformationisrelevant

totheirclientsandorganizationsandhowtheycanusethesesitestolistenandengage

withpublics.”81AccordingtoBrianSolis,leadingPR2.0evangelistandexponent,“Social

mediaisnolongeranoptionordebatable.Itiscriticallyimportanttoallbusinesses,

withoutprejudice.Itrepresentsapowerful,andadditional,channeltofirstlistento

customers,stakeholders,media,bloggers,peers,andotherinfluencers,andinturnbuild

two‐waypathsofconversationstothem.”82

78PeterSteynetal.,“TheSocialMediaReleaseasapublicrelationstool:IntentionstouseamongB2Bbloggers,”PublicRelationsReview36:87,2010.79TomKelleher,“Contingencies,Blogs&Stance,”14.80MichaelBush,“Howsocialmediaishelpingthepublic‐relationssectornotjustsurvive,butthrive,”3.81MarichrisDigaandTomKelleher,“Socialmediause,perceptionsofdecision‐makingpower,andpublicrelationsroles,”PublicRelationsReview35:442,2009.82CristinaComanandMihaelaPaun,“Theimageofthepublicinstitutionsandnewtechnologies,”46.

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JamesE.Grunig’sFourModelsofPublicRelations

JamesE.Grunigisapublicrelationsexpertwhosetheoreticalresearchhasledto

manyimprovementswithinthefield.GrunigconstructedtheFourModelsofPublic

Relations,andthecomplianceofthesemodelshasservedascoretheoryforthepublic

relationsfield.TheFourModelsofPublicRelationsinclude:Pressagentry/publicity

model,whichconsistsofone‐waycommunication;Publicinformationmodel,which

consistsofone‐waycommunication;One‐wayasymmetricalmodel,whichconsistsofone‐

waycommunication;andTwo‐waysymmetricalmodel,whichconsistsoftwo‐way

communication.

Thepressagentrymodel“usespersuasionandmanipulationtoinfluenceaudience

tobehaveastheorganizationdesires.”Thepublicinformationmodel“usespressreleases

andotherone‐waycommunicationtechniquestodistributeorganizationalinformation.

Theone‐wayasymmetricalmodel“usespersuasionandmanipulationtoinfluenceaudience

tobehaveastheorganizationdesires.Finally,thetwo‐waysymmetricalmodel“uses

communicationtonegotiatewithpublics,resolveconflict,andpromotemutual

understandingandrespectbetweentheorganizationanditspublics.”83

Asfarascrisiscommunicationsareconcerned,thetwo‐waysymmetricalmodelcan

proveextremelysuccessful.“Whenacompanyisclearlyviewedasproactiveandas

engagingintwo‐waysymmetricalcommunicationmodewithitsconstituencies,itcan

83“TheImportanceoftheFourModelsofPublicRelations,”Rationaleforpublicrelationslaw,http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Fall99/Westbrook/Default.html(accessedMarch2,2011).

23

minimizetheriskofgettinginvolvedinacrisisandofbeingperceivedasguilty,ifacrisis

eventuallyoccurs.84

CrisisCommunicationsDefined

Acrisisisdefinedas“amajoroccurrencewithapotentiallynegativeoutcome

affectingtheorganization,company,orindustry,aswellasitspublics,products,servicesor

goodname.”85Acrisiscanpresentitselfinmanyforms,anditwillalmostalwaysdisturb

normalbusinessactivities.Dependingontheseverityofthecrisis,itmayeventhreatenthe

entireexistenceofthecompanyororganization.86Commontypesofcrisesinclude,butare

notlimitedto,chemicalspillorleak,contamination,earthquake,fire,hurricane,product

failure,andterrorism.87Inordertosuccessfullymanageandovercomeacrisis,companies

musthaveaspecificcrisismanagementplan.Crisismanagementisdefinedas“aprocessof

strategicplanningforacrisisornegativeturningpoint,aprocessthatremovessomeofthe

riskanduncertaintyfromthenegativeoccurrenceandtherebyallowstheorganizationto

beingreatercontrolofitsownidentity.”88Crisismanagementgoeshandinhandwith

crisiscommunications,whichisdefinedas“thedialogbetweentheorganizationandits

84AlfonsoGonzlez‐HerreroandCorneliusB.Pratt,“AnIntegratedSymmetricalModelforCrisis‐communicationsManagement,”http://list.edu/cgi‐bin/wa?A3=ind9601D&L=AEJMC&E=0&P=538681&B=‐‐&T=text%2Fplain(accessedMarch2,2011).85KathleenFearn‐Banks,CrisisCommunications:ACasebookApproach(Mahwah,NewJersey:LawrenceErlbaumAssociates,Publishers),8.86Ibid,8.87Ibid,291‐293.88Ibid,9.

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publicpriorto,during,andafterthenegativeoccurrence.”89Thesecommunicationstactics

arespecificallydesignedto“minimizedamagetotheimageoftheorganization.”90

Therearethreephasesofcrisismanagement:pre‐crisis,crisisresponse,andpost

crisis.Thepre‐crisisphasefocusesoncrisispreventionandpreparation.Thecrisis

responsephasefocusesonsuccessfullyrespondingtoanoccurringcrisis.Thepost‐crisis

phasefocusesonpreparingforfuturecriseswhilefulfillingpromisesmadeduringthe

actualcrisis.Pre‐crisisbestpracticesinclude:havingacontinuallyupdatedcrisis

managementplan;havingadesignatedandproperlytrainedcrisismanagementteam;

implementingmockcrisisexercisestotestthereliabilityoftheplan;andpre‐drafting

messagestocombatspecificcrises.Post‐crisisbestpracticesinclude:deliveringall

promisedinformationtostakeholders;continuallyupdatingstakeholdersontheprogress

ofthecrisisrecoveryefforts;andcloselyreviewingthecrisismanagementactionstoseeif

theyshouldbeintegratedintofuturecrisismanagementplans.91Bestpracticesthattake

placeduringthecrisisresponsephasearemuchmorevast.

Whenacrisisdoesoccur,thecrisisresponseconsistsof“whatmanagementdoes

andsaysafterthecrisishits.”92Acrisisresponseconsistsoftwosections:theinitialcrisis

responseandthereputationrepairandbehavioralintentions.Initialcrisisresponsebest

practicesincludegivingaresponsetothecrisiswithinthefirsthour,beingaccuratewith

facts,keepingthespokesperson(s)informedofkeymessages;focusingonpublicsafety,

89Ibid,9.90Ibid,9.91TimothyCoombs,“CrisisManagementandCommunications,”InstituteforPublicRelations,http://www.instituteforpr.org/topics/crisis‐management‐and‐communications/(accessedApril15,2011).92Ibid.

25

successfullyimplementingtheuseofallavailablecommunicationmediums,providinga

humanelementbeexpressingconcernand/orsympathy.93

Duringthisphase,anorganization’smanagementisrequiredtocommunicate

importantinformationtoaffectedand/orinterestedaudiences,andthepublicrelations

practitionerisresponsibleforshapingthesemessages.Mostpractitionersadvise

managementtoabidebythreerulesduringtheinitialcrisisresponsephase:bequick,be

accurate,andbeconsistent.Ofthesethreerules,aquickresponseisthemostvital.In

today’sworldof24/7digitalmedia,peopleexpectanimmediateresponse,andthisis

exactlywhatanorganizationshouldgivethem.Eveniftheorganizationdoesnothavean

answer,animmediateresponsecouldsimplystatethattheorganizationisintheprocessof

gatheringimportantinformation.“Anearlyresponsemaynothavemuch‘new’

information,buttheorganizationpositionsitselfasasourceandbeginstopresentitsside

ofthestory.”94Thefollowinglistbreaksdownthebestpracticesoftheinitialcrisis

response:

TheEvolutionofCrisisCommunications

Themainobjectiveofcrisiscommunicationistocommunicatepertinent

informationtospecificpublicsinthehopesofpreventing,responding,orrecoveringfroma

crisis.Althoughvariousformsofcrisiscommunicationshaveexistedsincethebeginningof

time,crisiscommunicationshasonlybeenidentifiedasaresearchablepracticeinthelast

25years.Duringthistime,crisiscommunicationshascontinuallyevolvedduetothe

constantly‐changingfieldofcommunications.TheinventionoftheWorldWideWeband93Ibid.94W.TimothyCoombs,“CrisisManagementandCommunications,”(October30,2007),2.

26

theInternetinthe1990scompletelychangedthewaypeoplecommunicate.Inmore

recentyears,theexplosionsofnewandsocialmedia,whichincludenumerousformsof

interactivedigitalmedia,haveonceagainchangedthewaytheworlddefines

communications.Allofthesechanges,unsurprisingly,havechangedthepracticeofcrisis

communications.Therearebothupsidesanddownsidestothisshiftincommunications.

Crisesmaynowbemitigatedwithblogs,cellphones,andwebsites,buttheymayalsobe

sparkedbythesesamenewtechnologies.95

Tobetterunderstandtheenormityofthechangesoccurringinthefieldofcrisis

communications,onemaycomparetworelativelysimilarcrisesthatoccurredoutside20

yearsofoneanother:Exxon’sValdezoilspillandBP’sDeepwaterHorizonoilspill.Inthe

earlyhoursofFriday,March24,1989,oneofthemostinfamouscrisesinAmericanhistory

begantounfold.The987‐footExxonValdezoiltankerwasenrouteoffthecoastofAlaska

toLongBeach,CaliforniawhenitstrucktheBlighReefandbeganspewingwhatwould

eventuallyamountto11milliongallonsofcrudeoil96intothewatersofPrinceWilliam

Sound.Peoplegraduallylearnedofthemassivespillovertheweekendthroughbroadcasts

onCBS,NBC,ABC,97andlocalnewsnetworks.Comparedwiththe2010Deepwater

Horizonoilspill,whichinstantlymadenewsaroundtheworldduetothethousandsof

websitesandblogs,Exxonhadalenientamountoftimetodraftkeyresponsemessages.BP

hadanhour,tops.98

95KathleenFearn‐Banks,CrisisCommunications:ACasebookApproach,2.96Atthistime,theExxon’sValdezoilspillwasthelargestoilspillinUnitesStateshistory.Ithasbeenestimatedthattwomillionseaanimalsdiedasaresultofthespill.97CBS,NBC,andABCwerethethreemajortelevisionnetworksatthetime.98KathleenFearn‐Banks,CrisisCommunications:ACasebookApproach,70‐71.

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Duetothelackof24/7digitalmediaduringthetimeoftheValdezspill,Exxonwas

notheldasaccountableforcertainactionsasBPwas.Forexample,FrankLarossi,then‐

presidentofExxonShippingandExxon’smainrepresentativeoftheValdezsite,wasleftto

initiatethecrisisresponse,asExxonCEOLawrenceG.Rawl,anemployeeatExxonfor37

years,wasmissinginaction.Peoplewouldnotletthishappentoday.BPCEOTony

Haywardwascrucifiedbythepublic,foravarietyofreasonspertainingtotheGulfoilspill,

eventhoughheimmediatelymadehimselfpresentatthespillsiteandavailabletothe

mediaandpublic.Thisdrasticcontrastinpublicrelationscasestudieshighlightsthe

extentoftheevolutionofcrisiscommunications,whichcanbeattributedtotheInternet,

newmedia,andespecially,socialmedia.99

WilliamTimothyCoombs’SituationalCrisisCommunicationTheory

SincetheresearchstudyathandpertainstoBP’suseofcrisiscommunications

duringthecrisisresponsephase,theSituationalCrisisCommunicationTheory(SCCT)will

serveasaguidingtheoreticalframework.SCCTisconsideredas“attributiontheory‐based

approachtocrisiscommunication.”100Duringthecrisisresponsephase,acompanyor

organizationwillattempttoprotectitsreputationbyincludingspecificresponsestrategies

withintheircommunicationstactics.ThemainobjectiveofSCCTistodevelopaworking

systemofstrategiesthat,whensuccessfullyimplemented,caneffectuallyprotectthe

companyororganization’sreputation;or,attheveryleast,diminishthethreatofhaving

99KathleenFearn‐Banks,CrisisCommunications:ACasebookApproach,73.100RobertL.HeathandDanP.Miller,RespondingtoaCrisis:ARhetoricalApproachtoCrisisCommunication(Mahwah,NewJersey:LawrenceErlbaumAssociates,Publishers,2004),97.

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thecompanyororganization’simagecompletelytarnished.101SCCTalsoattemptstolink

attributionofresponsibilitywiththecrisistype.ItisimportanttoincorporateSCCTinto

thetheoreticalframeworkofthisstudysinceitsmaincomponents(i.e.reputationrepair

strategies,crisistypes,andattributionofresponsibility)arealsomaincomponentsofthis

study.

Coombsoutlinesthreephasesofcrisismanagement:pre‐crisis,crisisresponse,and

postcrisis.Thepre‐crisisphasefocusesoncrisispreventionandpreparation.Thecrisis

responsephasefocusesonsuccessfullyrespondingtoanoccurringcrisis.Thepost‐crisis

phasefocusesonpreparingforfuturecriseswhilefulfillingpromisesmadeduringthe

actualcrisis.Pre‐crisisbestpracticesincludehavingacontinuallyupdatedcrisis

managementplan,havingadesignatedandproperlytrainedcrisismanagementteam;

implementingmockcrisisexercisestotestthereliabilityoftheplan,andpre‐drafting

messagestocombatspecificcrises.Post‐crisisbestpracticesincludedeliveringall

promisedinformationtostakeholders,continuallyupdatingstakeholdersontheprogress

ofthecrisisrecoveryefforts,andcloselyreviewingthecrisismanagementactionstoseeif

theyshouldbeintegratedintofuturecrisismanagementplans.102

TheRoleofPublicRelationsinCrisisCommunications

Publicrelationsspecialistsplayalargeroleinhelpingcompaniesandorganizations

managethesegrowingchangesinthefieldofcrisiscommunications.Infact,manypublic

101Ibid,97.102TimothyCoombs,“CrisisManagementandCommunications,”InstituteforPublicRelations,http://www.instituteforpr.org/topics/crisis‐management‐and‐communications/(accessedApril15,2011).

29

relationsspecialistsalsomarketthemselvesas“crisiscommunicationexperts.”103

Accordingtomanyexperts,astrongpublicrelationselementmustbeincorporatedintoa

crisiscommunicationsplaninorderforittobesuccessful.104Formany,theideaofpublic

relationsandcrisiscommunicationsseemslikea“perfectmatch.”105Notonlyarepublic

relationsspecialistsskilledondirectingthemediarelations’aspectofthecrisis

communicationresponse,butalsotheyarealsoskilledathandlingadditionalaspects,such

asmanagingcommunicationtechniquesandreputationrepairstrategies.106Because

publicrelationsspecialistsseektostrategicallymanagecommunicationsbetweenan

organizationanditspublics,theyarekeyplayersinsuccessfullydeliveringcrisisresponse

messagestoanorganization’svariousaudiences.However,therecognitionofpublic

relations’roleincrisiscommunicationscameasrecentlyas1995.Findingofanexcellence

studycompletedbyseveralpublicrelationsscholarsduringthistimefound:

“CEO’sandcommunicatorsmentionedcrisesagainandagainascatalystsfor

changesinmanagement’sviewsofcommunication;theBhopaltragedy,the

ExxonValdezoilspill,theoilembargoofthe1970s,andactivistoppositionto

nuclearpowerplantsareexamples.Theseeventsservedaswake‐upcallsto

seniormanagerswhopreviouslyplacedlittleimportanceonpublicrelations

andcommunicationmanagement.”107

103LindaM.Hagan,“ForReputation’sSake:ManagingCrisisCommunication,”TheFutureofExcellenceinPublicRelationsandCommunicationsManagement(Mahwah,NewJersey:LawrenceErlbaumAssociates,Publishers,2007),413.104RobertL.HeathandDanP.Miller,RespondingtoaCrisis:ARhetoricalApproachtoCrisisCommunication(Mahwah,NewJersey:LawrenceErlbaumAssociates,Publishers,2004),41).105LindaM.Hagan,“ForReputation’sSake:ManagingCrisisCommunication,”413.106Ibid,413.107Ibid,416.

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Thisexcerptrevealstheimportanceofcommunicationinallareasorcrisis

management,bothinternalandexternal,aswellastheimportantroleofpublicrelations

specialistsmanagingthiscommunication.108Thegrowthofdigitalmediahasalsoshifted

thejobofcrisiscommunicationintothehandsofpublicrelationsexperts.Itisundeniable

thatpublicrelationsplayaroleincrisiscommunication,butpinpointingtheexactroleisa

bitmorechallenging.Cutlipetal.(2000)definethemostimportantroleofpublicrelations

as“themanagementfunctionthatestablishesandmaintainsmutuallybeneficial

relationshipsbetweenanorganizationandthepublicsonwhomitssuccessorfailure

depends.”109Therefore,theroleofpublicrelationsspecialistsistosuccessfullymanage

two‐waycommunicationsinbothtimesofgoodandbad.ThispointsbacktoJamesE.

Grunig’sExcellenceTheoryinpublicrelations.Accordingtothistheory,all

communicationsmustbestrategicallycoordinatedandexecutedbythepublicrelations

department;so,grantingmanagementpowerstothisdepartmentsothatthecompanymay

successfullyrespondtoacrisis,ifandwhenonedoesoccur,isvital.110

FourPhasesofEmergencyManagement

TheFederalEmergencyManagementAgency(FEMA)definesemergency

managementas“themanagerialfunctionchargedwithcreatingtheframeworkwithin

whichcommunitiesreducevulnerabilitytohazardsandcopewithdisasters.”111Thereare

fourphasesofemergencymanagement:mitigation;preparedness;response;andrecovery.

Mitigationisdefinedas“sustainedactionthatreducesoreliminateslong‐termriskto108Ibid,416.109Ibid,418.110Ibid.111PrinciplesofEmergencyManagementSupplement(September11,2007),4.

31

peopleandpropertyfromnaturalhazardsandtheireffects.”112Referredtoasthe

“cornerstone”ofemergencymanagement,mitigation,whensuccessfullyexecuted,hasthe

abilitytodrasticallylessenthenegativeimpactdisastersmaywreakonpeopleand/or

property.Examplesofmitigationmayincludepurchasingfloodinsurance,enforcing

buildingcodes,orusingfire‐retardantmaterialsduringconstruction.113

Preparednessincludes“plansorproceduresdesignedtosavelivesandminimize

damagewhenanemergencyoccurs.”114Vitalaspectsofthepreparednessphaseinclude

planning,training,andexercisingdisasterdrills.Preparednessisanextremelyimportant

phaseofemergencymanagementbecauseitensuresthatcrisismanagersknowwhat

specificactionstotakewhenacertaintypeofdisasteroccurs.115Responseisdefinedas

“theactionstakentosavelivesandpreventfurtherdamageinadisasteroremergency

situation.”116Examplesofresponsesinclude:damageassessment,searchandrescue,fire

fighting,andshelteringvictims.117Recoveryisdefinedas“theactionstakentoreturnthe

communitytonormalfollowingadisaster.”118Examplesofrecoverymayincluderepairing,

replacing,orrebuildingproperty.119

ReputationRepairStrategies

112“FourPhasesofEmergencyManagement,”AdaCity‐CountyEmergencyManagement(ACCEM),http://www.accem.org/phases.html(accessedApril15,2011).113Ibid.114Ibid.115Ibid.116Ibid.117Ibid.118Ibid.119Ibid.

32

Justasimportantastheinitialcrisisresponseinthecrisisresponsephaseisthatof

reputationrepairandbehavioralintentions.Muchresearchhasbeencompletedinorderto

compileadatabaseofsuccessfulreputationrepairstrategies.

CoombsbuiltontheworkofWilliamBenoittocreateamasterlistofreputation

repairstrategiesusedbycompaniesororganizationswhenacrisisoccurs.Coombsmaster

listincludesninestrategiesofreputationrepair:attacktheaccuser;denial;scapegoat;

excuse(provocation,defeasibility,accidental,orgoodintentions);justification;reminder;

ingratiation;compensation;andapology.Attacktheaccuserexistswhenacrisismanager

confrontstheindividualwhoismakingaclaimagainsttheorganization.120

Denialexistswhenacrisismanagerdeniestheexistenceofacrisis.Scapegoatexists

whenacrisismanagerplacesblameforthecrisisonanindividualoutsideofthe

organization.Aprovocationexcuseexistswhenacrisismanagerassertsthatthecrisis

resultedoutofaresponsetoanoutsideindividual’sactions.Adefeasibilityexcuseexists

whenacrisismanagerclaimstohavehadadeficientamountofinformationpriortothe

crisis.

Anaccidentalexcuseexistswhenacrisismanagerhadnocontrolovereventsprior

tothecrisis.Agoodintentionsexcuseexitswhenacrisismanagerinsiststhatthe

organizationmeanttodogood.Justificationexistswhenacrisismanagerattemptsto

minimizetheresultingdamageofthecrisis.Reminderexistswhenacrisismanager

remindstheorganization’sstakeholdersofpositiveworksthatwerecompletedbythe

organizationinthepast.

120TimothyCoombs,“CrisisManagementandCommunications.”

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Ingratiationexistswhenacrisismanagerapplaudstheorganization’sstakeholders

forspecificactions.Compensationexistswhenacrisismanageroffersaformof

compensation,usuallymoney,tovictimsofthecrisis.Apologyexistswhenacrisis

managerapologizesforthecrisisandtakesfullresponsibilityonbehalfofthe

organization.121

CrisisTypesandAttributionofResponsibility

Alsopresentduringthecrisisresponsephasearetheelementsofcrisistypeand

attributionofcrisisresponsibility,whichtypicallygohandinhand.Theseelementsare

extremelyimportantindeterminingthereputationalthreatofacrisis.Therearethree

typesofcrises:victimcrisis;accidentcrisis;andpreventablecrisis.Avictimcrisismay

consistofanaturaldisaster,suchasahurricaneorearthquake,arumor,workplace

violence,orproducttampering.Anaccidentcrisismayconsistofachallenge,technical

error,orproductharm.Apreventablecrisismayconsistofahuman‐erroraccident,

human‐errorproductharm,ororganizationalmisdeed.Usually,avictimcrisischargesthe

organizationwithminimalcrisisresponsibility,anaccidentcrisischargesanorganization

withlowcrisisresponsibility,andapreventablecrisischargesanorganizationwithstrong

crisisresponsibility.

PurposeoftheStudy

ThepurposeofthisstudywastobetterunderstandBP’suseofTwitterasacrisis

communicationtoolduringtheGulfoilspill,specificallyduringthecrisisresponsephase.

121Ibid.

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ByanalyzingthecontentofBP’stweetsduringthistimeperiod,onemayunderstandits

publicrelations,crisiscommunications,andsocialmediastrategies.Specifictopicsthat

wereanalyzedinclude:emergencymanagementphases,reputationrepairstrategies,crisis

types,attributionofresponsibility,andRiskSmartitems.Thefollowingresearchquestions

wereposedforthisstudy:

RQ1: Whichphase(s)ofemergencymanagementismostprevalentin

tweetsfrom@BP_America?

RQ2: Whatstrategy(s)ofreputationrepairismostprevalentintweetsfrom

@BP_America?

RQ3: Whichcrisistype(s)isreflectedmostintweetsfrom@BP_America?

RQ4: Whichtype(s)ofattributionofresponsibilityisreflectedmostin

tweetsfrom@BP_America?

RQ5: WhichRiskSmartfactorsdotweetsfrom@BP_Americasuggesthow

mostpeoplefeelabouttheoilspill?

SignificanceoftheStudy

Thisstudyissignificantbecauseitseekstounderstandandexplainthevitalityofthe

onlineaspectofacrisiscommunicationplaninaworldof24/7digitalmedia.Intoday’s

worldofInternet,blogs,socialmedia,RSSfeeds,SearchEngineOptimization,etc.all

corporatecompaniesmusthaveanonlinestrategytoaccompanyacrisiscommunication

planiftheywishtobesuccessfulinthefaceofacrisis.Ontheotherhand,thisstudyshows

howalackofanonlinecrisiscommunicationplanpriortoacrisiscanproveextremely

detrimentaltoacompany’sreputation.Specifically,thisstudyrevealshowcertainsocial

35

medianetworks(i.e.Twitter)canbeusedsuccessfullybypublicrelationsspecialistsasa

crisiscommunicationtool.Althoughasocialmedianetworkmaybeusedformanyreasons

duringacrisis,thisstudyseekstouncoverhowsuchaplatformmaybeusedforpurposes

pertainingtoemergencymanagement,reputationrepairstrategies,crisistypes,typesof

attributionofresponsibility,andRiskSmartpublicperceptionitems.

36

ChapterIII

Methodology

Forthisresearchstudy,asystematic,quantitativecontentanalysiswasdesigned

andimplemented.Acontentanalysisisdefinedas“aresearchtechniquefortheobjective,

systematic,andquantitativedescriptionofmanifestcontentofcommunications.”122

Thereareseveraladvantagesofcompletingacontentanalysiswhenanalyzinga

communicationsmedium.Contentanalysisadvantagesrelatingtothisstudyincludethe

following:lookingdirectlyatcommunicationviatextsortranscripts;statisticallyanalyzing

specificcategoriesorrelationshipsfoundwithinthetextsortranscripts;andprovidingan

“exact”researchmethodbasedonhardfacts.123Thetypeofcontentanalysisdesignedwas

basedonconceptualanalysis.“Inconceptualanalysis,aconceptischosenforexamination

andthenumberofitsoccurrenceswithinthetextrecorded.”124

Thecommunicationtextsreviewedinthiscontentanalysisincludedalltweetsby

BP_AmericafromApril20,2010throughJuly15,2010.Thistimelinewaschosenin

concurrencewithcertaineventsrelatingtotheDeepwaterHorizonoilspill.OnApril20,

2010,theDeepwaterHorizondrillingrigexploded,killing11peopleandspewing

thousandsofbarrelsofoilintotheGulfofMexico.ByJuly15,2010,oilfinallystopped

leakingintotheGulfasthewellheadoftheMacondoProspect(MC252)wassuccessfully

122BernardBerelson,ContentAnalysisinCommunicationsResearch(NewYork:FreePress),74.123“ContentAnalysis,”http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/~palmquis/courses/content.html(accessedApril15,2011).124Ibid.

37

capped.ThistimelineallowedforBP’suseofTwitterduringtheoilspilltobeexamined

duringthecrisisresponsephase.DuringthistimeBP_Americabroadcastatotalof1,161

tweets.TweetsfromApril20,2010throughJune4,2010andtweetsfromJune7,2010

throughJune9,2010wereobtainedfromhttp://topsy.com.Topsyisawebsitethatallows

forreal‐timesearchesofthesocialweb.AnadvancedsearchwascompletedonTopsyto

compilealistofalltweetsduringthistimeperiod.TweetsfromJune5,2010throughJune

6,2010,andallremainingtweets(June10,2010throughJuly15,2010),wereprovided

uponrequestbyBPintheformofaspreadsheettitled“TwitterContentLog.”

Acodesheettitled“BP_AmericaTweetsCodesheet”wascreatedandimplemented

duringthecodingprocess(SeeAppendix1).Twocoderswereused,asapresenceof

strongintercoderreliabilitywasneededtoensurethereliability125andvalidity126ofthe

chosenmethodology.CoderAcoded100percentofthetweets(i.e.1,161),whileCoderB

coded20percentofthetweets(i.e.232)toensureintercoderreliability.CoderBcoded20

percentofthetweetsbycodingeveryfifthtweetoftheentiresample.Thecodesheetwas

designedtolookforanumberofconceptswithineachtweet,andthefinalversionhada

totalof44items.

Itemstobecodedincludedthedateinwhichthetweetwasbroadcast,theactual

textofthetweet,whetherthetweetwasanoriginalpost,retweet/RT,or@reply,whether

ornotthetweetpertainedtotheDeepwaterHorizonoilspillcrisis,thenumberofhashtags

125InUnderstandingResearchMethods,MildredL.Pattenwrites,“Atestissaidtobereliableifityieldsconsistentresults.”126AccordingtoPatten,“Researcherssaythataninstrumentisvalidtotheextentthatitmeasureswhatitisdesignedtomeasureandaccuratelyperformsthefunction(s)itispurportedtoperform.”

38

includedinthetweet,thetermsusedinhashtags,thenumberoflinksincludedinthetweet,

andwherethelinkredirectedtheuser.

Thecodesheetalsoexaminedthephase(s)ofemergencymanagement(mitigation,

preparedness,response,andrecovery)reflectedinthetweet,andthestrategiesof

reputationrepairreflectedinthetweet(attacktheaccuser,denial,scapegoat,provocation

excuse,defeasibilityexcuse,accidentalexcuse,goodintentionsexcuse,justification,

reminder,ingratiation,compensation,and/orapology).Thestudyalsoidentifiedthecrisis

type(s)reflectedinthetweet(victimcrisis,accidentcrisis,andpreventablecrisis),andthe

type(s)ofattributionofresponsibilityreflectedinthetweet(none,low/minimal,ora

strong/highlevelofcrisisresponsibility).ItidentifiedanyRiskSmartitemspresentinthe

tweet(victimizedentitieswithouttheirconsentorbeyondtheircontrol,constituteda

repeatedmistakemadebyBPthatthepubliccaneasilyrecall,wasabreachof

ethics/widelyacceptedvalues,wasillegal,asinamisdemeanororfelony,causedserious

financialharmtoothers,hasstrongpoliticalattributestiedtoit,damagedpartner

relationships,haswidespreadnationalorinternationalscope,ispartofarecenttrendof

similaractsbyBPand/orothers,wasthefirst,worst,orbiggestoilspill,relatestoacurrent

culturallypopularsubject,asinenergy,environment,etc.,causeddeath/injurythrough

actionorinaction).

Acodesheetkeyalsowascreatedtodefineallnecessarytermsandofferalistof

detailedinstructionsonhowtocodecertainaspectsofeachtweet(SeeAppendix2).The

codesheetincludeditemsformonth(1‐12)anddate(1‐31),aswellaslinksthatredirect

theusertoadifferentwebsite.Codersidentifiedwhethereachtweetwasanoriginalpost,

aretweet/RT,[email protected]

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composedbyBP_America.Aretweet/RTisdefinedasatweetthatwasoriginallytweeted

byanotherTwitteruserthatBP_AmericachosetoretweetusingitsTwitteraccount.A

retweet/RTmaybeidentifiedbythe“RT”abbreviationplustheotherTwitteruser’s

Twittername(Ex:RT@lajordan13:seespotrun...).An@Replyisdefinedasatweetthat

iscomposedspecificallyinreplytoanotherTwitteruserordirectedataspecificTwitter

user.@Replymaybeidentifiedbythe@symbolattheverybeginningofatweet,followed

bytheotherTwitteruser’sTwittername.

EachtweetwascodedforwhetheritpertainedtotheGulfofMexicocrisis,how

manyhashtagswereincludedinthetweet,whatterm(s)wereincludedinthehashtag,how

manylinkswerepresentwithinthetweet,andwherethelink(s)redirectedtheuser.

Codersthenidentifiedanyofthefourphasesofemergencymanagementreflectedin

thetweet:mitigation,preparedness,response,and/orrecovery.Morethanonephase

couldbepresentwithinonetweet.Forexample,atweetmightincludeelementsofboth

mitigationandpreparedness.

Atweetinwhichmitigationwasreflectedwouldincludelanguagethatattemptedto

reducetheimpactoftheDeepwaterHorizonexplosionand/oroilspill.Accordingtothe

AdaCity‐CountyEmergencyManagementwebsite,“Mitigationisthecornerstoneof

emergencymanagement.It'sthecontinuingefforttolessentheimpactdisastershaveon

peopleandproperty.Mitigationisdefinedas‘sustainedactionthatreducesoreliminates

long‐termrisktopeopleandpropertyfromnaturalhazardsandtheireffects.’”127

Ifthewordmitigation,oravariationofthatword,wasincludedinthetweet,the

coderchosethiscrisisphase.Atweetinwhichpreparednesswasreflectedwouldinclude127“FourPhasesofEmergencyManagement,”AdaCity‐CountyEmergencyManagement,http://www.accem.org/phases.html(accessedApril4,2011).

40

languagethatrevealedtheexistenceand/ordevelopmentofriskmanagementplan(s)for

thecurrentand/orfutureoilspill(s).AccordingtotheAdaCity‐CountyEmergency

Managementwebsite,“Preparednesstakestheformofplansorproceduresdesignedto

savelivesandtominimizedamagewhenanemergencyoccurs.Planning,training,and

disasterdrillsaretheessentialelementsofpreparedness.Theseactivitiesensurethat

whenadisasterstrikes,emergencymanagerswillbeabletoprovidethebestresponse

possible.”128Atweetinwhichresponsewasreflectedwouldincludementionsofoilspill

emergencyservices.AccordingtotheAdaCity‐CountyEmergencyManagementwebsite,

“Responseisdefinedastheactionstakentosavelivesandpreventfurtherdamageina

disasteroremergencysituation.Responseisputtingpreparednessplansintoaction.”129

Thisphasealsoincludesprotectingwildlifeand/orshorelinesbywayofbooms,

dispersants,andskimming.

Atweetinwhichrecoverywasreflectedwouldincludementionsofoilspillrecovery

effortstorebuildandrepairdamagecausedbytheexplosionoroilspill.Recoveryefforts

mayincludementionsofcleanup,drillingofreliefwells,cappingofthewell,etc.Recovery

mayalsoincludementionsofmonetaryresponseefforts,suchasdonationsfromBP,fines

assignedtoBP,personalclaims,etc.AccordingtotheAdaCity‐CountyEmergency

Managementwebsite,“Recoveryisdefinedastheactionstakentoreturnthecommunityto

normalfollowingadisaster.Repairing,replacing,orrebuildingpropertyareexamplesof

recovery.”130

128“FourPhasesofEmergencyManagement.”129Ibid.130Ibid.

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Reputationrepairstrategieswerecodedintermsofwhetherthetweetconfronteda

personorgroupclaimingthatsomethingiswrongwithBP,anassertionbyBPthatno

crisis,orspecificaspectofthecrisis,ispresent,ifBPwasplacingblameofthecrisisonan

outsidegrouporperson,ifBPwasattemptingtomakeanexcusebyclaimingthecrisiswas

aresultofsomeoneelse’sactions,ifBPwasattemptingtomakeanexcusebyclaiminga

lackofinformationabouteventsleadinguptotheexplosionand/oroilspill,ifBPwas

attemptingtomakeanexcusebyclaimingalackofcontrolovereventsleadinguptothe

explosionand/oroilspill,ifBPwasattemptingtomakeanexcusebyclaimingthatthe

organizationmeanttodowell,ifthetweetincludedajustificationthatminimizesthe

perceiveddamagecausedbytheexplosionand/oroilspill,ifthetweetremindedpeopleof

pastgoodworkscompletedbyBP,ifareminderispresentsuchasaspecificamountofoil

collected,moneypaidinclaims,boomdeployedinresponsetotheoil,orwildliferescued,if

thetweetpraisedBPstakeholdersfortheiractionspertainingtotheoilspill,includingthe

thankingorpraisingofvolunteers,ifthetweetincludedoffersofmoneyorothergiftsfrom

BPtodirectandindirectvictimsoftheexplosionoroilspillsuchasclaimsgivento

individuals,researchfunds,orwildlifefunds,orifthetweetindicatedthatBPacceptedfull

responsibilityfortheexplosionoroilspillandasksstakeholdersforforgiveness.

Codersthenidentifiedoneofthethreecrisistypesreflectedinthetweet:victim

crisis,accidentcrisis,andpreventablecrisis.IfthetweetpertainedtotheGulfcrisis,oneof

thecrisistypeswasindicated.Onlyonecrisistypecouldbechosenforeachtweet.Atweet

inwhichvictimcrisiswasreflectedwouldclaimthatBPwasthevictimoftheexplosionor

oilspill,suchasthevictimofthecrisiswasaresultofanaturaldisaster,rumor,orproduct

tampering/malevolence(ex:theoilspillbeingcomparedtoHurricaneKatrina).

42

Atweetinwhichanaccidentcrisiswasreflectedwouldclaimthattheexplosionor

oilspillwasanaccident.Anaccidentcrisismayhaveincludedachallenge(i.e.a

stakeholderclaimstheorganizationoperatedinaninappropriatemanner),technicalerror

accident(i.e.theexplosionand/oroilspillwascausedbyequipmentortechnologyfailure),

ortechnicalerrorproductharm(i.e.anequipmentortechnologyfailurecausedaproduct

tobedefectiveorharmful).Mosttweetsindicatedanaccidentcrisis,unlessotherwise

noted.Atweetinwhichapreventablecrisiswasreflectedwouldclaimthattheexplosionor

oilspillcouldhavebeenprevented.Forexample,thecrisismayhavebeencausedbya

human‐erroraccident(i.e.theexplosionand/oroilspillwascausedbyhumanerror),

human‐errorproductharm(i.e.aproductwasdefectiveorharmfulbecauseofahuman

error),ororganizationalmisdeed(i.e.BPmanagementactionsputstakeholdersatrisk

and/orviolatedthelaw).Preventablecrisiswasonlyreflectedinonetweet,asongoing

investigationsduringthistweetingperiodneverprovedthatBPwasguiltyofahuman‐

erroraccident,human‐errorproductharm,oranorganizationalmisdeed.

Codersevaluatedthreetypesofattributionofresponsibilityreflectedintweets:no

crisisresponsibility,low/minimalcrisisresponsibility,andstrong/highcrisis

responsibility.Onlyonetypeofattributionofresponsibilitywasforeachtweet.Atweetin

whichnocrisisresponsibilitywasreflectedwouldindicatethatBPisnotresponsiblefor

theexplosionoroilspill.Thistypeofattributionofresponsibilityfurtherindicatesthatthe

explosionoroilspillwasavictimcrisis,suchascomparingtheoilspilltoHurricane

Katrina.Atweetinwhichlow/minimalcrisisresponsibilitywasreflectedwouldindicate

thatBPisminimallyresponsiblefortheexplosionoroilspill.Thistypeofattributionof

responsibilityfurtherindicatesthattheexplosionoroilspillwasanaccidentcrisis.For

43

low/minimalcrisisresponsibility,nospecificactionstakenbyBPwerenoted.However,if

BPtweetedaboutanentityseparatefromitselftakinganactionagainsttheoilspill,this

wouldreflectlow/minimalcrisisresponsibility.Atweetinwhichstrong/highcrisis

responsibilitywasreflectedwouldindicatethatBPisfullyresponsiblefortheexplosion

and/oroilspill.Thisfurtherindicatesthattheexplosionand/oroilspillwasapreventable

crisis.Forstrong/highcrisisresponsibilityaspecificactionwillbenoted.

IncodingtheRiskSmartpublicperceptionitems,codersidentifiedthetypesof

acknowledgementorimplicationofpeoples’feelingsabouttheoilspill.Morethanone

RiskSmartitemcouldbechosenforanindividualtweet,sincesometweetsincluded

informationonmorethanoneoilspilltopic.ThefollowingaretheRiskSmartitemsusedin

thisstudy.Atweetwascodedintermsofwhetheritacknowledgedthatpeoplefeeltheir

entitieswerevictimizedwithouttheirconsentandoutsidetheircontrol,acknowledged

thatpeoplefeelasthoughtheoilspillconstitutedarepeatedmistakebyBPthatcanbe

easilyrecalledbythepublic,acknowledgedthatpeoplefeelthattheoilspillconstitutesa

breachofethicsorwidelyheldviews,acknowledgedthatpeoplefeelthattheoilspillwas

orwascausedbyillegalactivities,oracknowledgedthatpeoplefeelthattheoilspillcaused

seriousfinancialharmtoothers.

ThisRiskSmartitemoftenwaschosenintweetsthatmentionedcompensation

pertainingtoindividualclaims.However,thisitemwasnotchosenifcompensationwas

referringtoresearchfunds,wildlifefunds,etc.Codersalsonotedifthetweet

acknowledgedthatpeoplefeelthattheoilspillhadstrongpoliticalattributestiedtoit.

ThisRiskSmartitemwaschosenanytimeapoliticalorgovernmentalindividualor

organizationwasmentionedinthetweetorredirectedbywayofalink.Otheritems

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includedifthetweetacknowledgedthatpeoplefeelthattheoilspilldamagedpartner

relations,orifthetweetacknowledgedthatpeoplefeelthattheoilspillhasawidespread

orinternationalscope.ThisRiskSmartitemwaschosenanytimeanationalor

internationalnewsorganizationwasmentionedorredirectedusingalink.Thisitemalso

waschosenwhentweetsprovidedaccesstooilspillinformationviaaforeignlanguage.

Eachtweetwascodedintermsofwhetheritacknowledgedthatpeoplefeelthatthe

oilspillispartofrecenttrendofsimilaractsbyBPorothers,orifthetweetacknowledged

thatpeoplefeelthattheoilspillwasthefirst,worst,orbiggestoilspill.Sincethe

DeepwaterHorizonoilspillwasthelargestinthehistoryoftheUnitedStates,this

RiskSmartitemwaschosenanytimeatweetincludesaspecificoilflowrateoramountof

oilcollected.

Atweetwascodedifitacknowledgedthatpeoplefeelthattheoilspillrelatesto

currentculturallypopularsubjectsuchasenergyortheenvironment.Whenatweet

includedinformationaboutairorwaterquality,thisRiskSmartitemwaschosenbecauseof

itsenvironmentalelement.ThelastRiskSmartitemnotedwhetherthetweet

acknowledgedthatpeoplefeelthattheoilspillcauseddeathorinjurythroughactionor

inactiontopeopleorwildlife.

Afterallcodingwascompleted,allinformationfromthecodesheetswas

consolidatedintoanSPSSspreadsheetforanalysis.Duringtheinitialcodingprocess,

recurringthemespresentinthehashtagterm(s)andlinkredirectionsite(s)werenoted,

andasecondarycodingprocesswasimplementedtoquantifyrecurringhashtagtermsand

URLs.Recurrentand/oruniquehashtagtermsandURLswerethengivenalabelandwere

includedinthespreadsheetsotheycouldbeaccountedforaswell.Becauseofthe

45

approachused,thehashtagtermandURLcodingwasnotexhaustive.Thefollowing

hashtagswereincludedinthespreadsheet:#bp,#oilspill,#Oil_Spill_2010,#gulf,#air,

#water,#birds,#topkill,#bpcares,#uscg,and#usfws.Thefollowingwebsitesand/orweb

pageswereincludedforwhereforURLsdirectedtheuser:BP’swebsite(general);BP’s

Presspageonwebsite;BP’sGulfofMexicorestorationpageonwebsite;Facebook;

YouTube;Flickr;RestoreTheGulf.gov;DeepwaterHorizonMemorial;ABC;CNN;CSPAN;

CBS;NPR;AP;PBS;MSNBC;TheWallStreetJournal;TheNewYorkTimes;TheLosAngeles

Times;TheHuffingtonPost;TheBostonGlobe;USAToday;U.S.CoastGuard;

GeoPlatform.gov/GulfResponse;U.S.EnvironmentalProtectionAgency;Tri‐StateBird

Rescue;U.S.FishandWildlifeService;InternationalBirdRescue;NationalFishandWildlife

Foundation;NationalOceanicandAtmosphericAdministration.

ThespreadsheetwasthenimportedintoSPSS.Alldatainthespreadsheetwas

analyzedusingthe“frequencies”procedure,aformofdescriptivestatistics.Mostitemsin

thespreadsheetwereenteredasnominal(category)data,withtheexceptionoftheinitial,

month,date,numberofhashtags,andnumberoflinks.Theseitemswereenteredas

ordinal(category)data.SPSSwasthenabletogeneratenumerousoutputtablesthat

includedstatisticalinformationonallitems,suchasvalid,missing,mean,range,andsum.

CrosstabulationswerealsoperformedtodeterminepatternsinBPtweetsoveraweekly

period.

46

ChapterIV

Results

PrimaryCoding

FromApril20,2010throughJuly15,2010,@BP_Americapublished1,161tweets,

mostofwhichappearedinJuly.ThreetweetsweretweetedinAprilforapercentageof0.3.

265tweetsweretweetedinMayforapercentageof22.8.Atotalof434tweetswere

tweetedinJuneforapercentageof37.4.Atotalof459tweetsweretweetedinJulyfora

percentageof39.5.Theoverwhelmingmajorityoftweetswereoriginalposts(990tweets

forapercentageof85.3),while97tweetswerereplies(8.4percent)and74wereretweets

(6.4percent).Outofeverytweet,onlysixdidnotapplytotheGulfofMexicocrisis,making

1,155tweets(99.5percent)relevanttotheoilspillsituation.Atotalof572hashtags

appearedwithinthetweets;129tweetsincludedasinglehashtag;200tweetsincludedtwo

hashtags;13tweetsincludedthreehashtags;andonetweetincludedfourhashtags.Atotal

of815linkswereincludedwithinthetweets.Atotalof763tweetsincludedonelink;20

tweetsincluded2tweets;andfourtweetsincludedthreelinks.Theoverallpercentageof

intercoderreliabilitywas89percent.

RQ1

RQ1soughttodiscoverwhichphase(s)ofemergencymanagementwasmost

prevalentintweetsfrom@BP_America.Thefourphasesappearedwithinthe1,161tweets

on1,090separateoccasions.Ofthefourphasesofemergencymanagement(mitigation,

47

preparedness,response,andrecovery),therecoveryphasewasmostprevalentintweets

fromBP,appearingin624tweets.Therefore,therecoveryphaseaccountedformost(53.7

percent)emergencymanagementphasesseenwithintweets.Theresponsephase

appearedin422tweets(36.3percent).Thepreparednessphaseappearedin39tweets

(3.4percent).Finally,themitigationphaseappearedinfivetweets(0.4percent).

Twocrosstabs131werealsocompletedforthisresearchquestion.Sincerecovery

andresponsewerethemostfrequentphasesofemergencymanagementtoappearwithin

tweets,thesephaseswerechosenforthecrosstabsanalyses.Thetimeperiodfromwhich

tweetswerecodedwasbrokendownintoaweeklybasis,132sothesecrosstabswererun

withthe“week”variableastherowandthe“recovery”or“response”variableasthe

column.Thecrosstabulationincludingweeksandresponserevealedthattheresponse

phasesurfacedmostintweetstweetedduringweek12,whiletheleastamountofresponse

tweets(ifpresentatall)weretweetedduringweektwo.Thecrosstabulationincluding

weeksandrecoveryrevealedthattherecoveryphasesurfacedmostintweetsduringweek

13,whiletheleastamountofrecoverytweets(ifpresentatall)weretweetedduringweeks

threeandseven.SeeAppendix3,LineGraph1.

AChi‐squaretestwasalsocompletedtocomparetheobserveddatebetweenthe

occurrenceoftheresponseandrecoveryphases.Sincecrisisweeksoneandtwoincluded

lessthanfivefrequenciesforeachphase,theseweekswereomitted.Thetestonly

comparedfrequenciesforcrisisweeksthreethrough13.Conditiononeconsistedof

responsefrequencies,whileconditiontwoconsistedofrecoveryfrequencies.Thetest

131Acrosstabisadescriptivestatisticsanalysisthatcross‐tabulatestwovariables.132Thistimeperiodconsistedofa13‐weekperiod,soweekswerebrokendowninto“Week1,”“Week2,”etc.

48

yieldedaChi‐squareof67.6,withninedegreesoffreedom(df)andap‐valueof<.001.This

testrevealedasignificantdifferencebetweenthetwoconditions.

RQ2

RQ2soughttodiscoverwhichstrategy(s)ofreputationrepairwasmostprevalentin

tweetsfrom@BP_America.ThesereputationrepairstrategiesincludedAttacktheaccuser;

Denial;Scapegoat;Excuse(provocation);Excuse(defeasibility);Excuse(accidental);

Excuse(goodintentions);Justification;Reminder;Ingratiation;Compensation;and

Apology.Ofthese12reputationrepairstrategies,eightwerereflectedwithinthetweets.

Thecompensationstrategywasreflectedmost,appearingin163tweets(14percent).

Reminderwasreflectedin139tweets(12percent).Denialwasreflectedin11tweets(0.9

percent).IngratiationandApologywereeachreflectedinsixtweets(0.5percent).

Justificationwasreflectedinfourtweets(0.3percent).AttacktheaccuserandExcuse

(accidental)wereeachreflectedinonetweet(0.1percent).Scapegoat,Excuse

(provocation),Excuse(defeasibility),andExcuse(goodintentions)werenotreflectedin

anyofthetweets.SeeAppendix4,Table1.

Crosstabswerealsoruninthissectionforreminderandcompensationversus

weeks,respectively,sincethesestrategiesofreputationrepairweremostprevalentwithin

tweets.Crosstabulationforweeksandreminderrevealedthatremindertweetswere

tweetedmostduringweek10andleast(ifpresentatall)duringweeksthreeandfour.

Crosstabulationforweeksandcompensationrevealedthatcompensationtweetswere

tweetedmostduringweeknineandleast(ifpresentalall)duringweeksix.SeeAppendix

3,LineGraph2.

49

RQ3

RQ3soughttodiscoverwhichcrisistype(s)wasreflectedmostintweetsfrom

@BP_America.Thethreecrisistypesincludedvictimcrisis,accidentcrisis,andpreventable

crisis.Accidentcrisiswasreflectedinthemajorityoftweets,appearingin1,129tweets

(97.2percent).Victimcrisiswasreflectedintwotweets(0.2percent).Preventablecrisis

wasreflectedinonetweet(0.1percent).

RQ4

RQ4soughttodiscoverwhichtype(s)ofattributionofresponsibilitywasreflected

mostintweetsfrom@BP_America.Thethreetypesofattributionofresponsibility

includednocrisisresponsibility,low/minimalcrisisresponsibility,andstronghighcrisis

responsibility.Strong/highcrisisresponsibilitywasreflectedmostwithintweets,

appearingin1,044tweets(89.9percent).Low/minimalcrisisresponsibilitywasreflected

in83tweets(7.1percent).Nocrisisresponsibilitywasreflectedintwotweets(0.2

percent).

RQ5

RQ5soughttodiscoverwhichRiskSmartitemsweremostprevalentintweetsfrom

@BP_America.RiskSmartitemsincluded:victimizedentitieswithouttheirconsentor

beyondtheircontrol;constitutedarepeatedmistakemadebyBPthatthepubliccaneasily

recall;wasabreachofethics/widelyacceptedvalues;wasillegal(misdemeanor,felony);

causedseriousfinancialharmtoothers;hasstrongpoliticalattributestiedtoit;damaged

partnerrelationships;hasawidespreadnationalorinternationalscope;ispartofarecent

50

trendofsimilaractsbyBPand/orothers;wasthefirst,worst,orbiggestoilspill;relatesto

acurrentculturallypopularsubject(i.e.energy,environment,technology);andcaused

death/injurythroughactionorinaction.

Atotalof335tweets(28.9percent)impliedthatpeoplefeltstrongpolitical

attributesweretiedtotheBPcrisis.Atotalof147tweets(12.7percent)impliedthat

peoplefelttheBPcrisishadawidespreadnationalorinternationalscope.Atotalof138

tweets(11.9percent)impliedthatpeoplefelttheBPcrisiscausedseriousfinancialharmto

others.Ninety‐fourtweets(8.1percent)impliedthatpeoplefelttheBPcrisiswasthefirst,

worst,orbiggestoilspill.Ninetytweets(7.8percent)impliedthatpeoplefelttheBPcrisis

causeddeath/injurythroughactionorinaction.Twenty‐seventweets(2.3percent)

impliedthatpeoplefelttheBPcrisisrelatedtoacurrentculturallypopularsubject.

NoneofthetweetsimpliedthatpeoplefelttheBPcrisisdidanyofthefollowing:

victimizedentitieswithouttheirconsentorbeyondtheircontrol;constitutedarepeated

mistakemadebyBPthatthepubliccaneasilyrecall;wasabreachofethics/widely

acceptedvalues;wasillegal;damagedpartnerrelationships;orwaspartofarecenttrend

ofsimilaractsbyBPand/orothers.SeeAppendix4,Table2.

Crosstabswerealsocompletedforthisresearchquestiontorevealtherelationship

betweenweeks,“hadstrongpoliticalattributestiedtoit,”and“causedseriousfinancial

harm,”“causeddeath/injurythroughactionorinaction,”respectively.Crosstabulationfor

weeksand“hadstrongpoliticalattributestiedtoit”revealedthatmostpoliticaltweets

weretweetedduringweeknine,whiletheleast(ifpresentatall)weretweetedduring

week10.Crosstabulationforweeksand“causedseriousfinancialharm”revealedthat

mostfinancialtweetsweretweetedduringweeknine,whiletheleast(ifpresentatall)

51

weretweetedduringweeksix.Crosstabulationforweeksand“causeddeath/injury

throughactionorinaction”revealedthatmostdeath/injurytweetsweretweetedduring

week10,whiletheleast(ifpresentatall)weretweetedduringweekstwoandsix.See

Appendix3,LineGraph3.

SecondaryCoding:HashtagsandURLs

Alltweetswerecodedforthefollowinghashtags:#bp;#oilspill;#Oil_Spill_2010;

#gulf;#air;#water;#birds;#topkill;#bpcares;#uscg;#usfws.Themostprevalenthashtag

was#oilspill,whichappearedin304tweets(26.2percent).Nextwas#bp,whichappeared

in223tweets(19.2percent).#Oil_Spill_2010appearedin6tweets(0.5percent).#topkill

and#usfwseachappearedinfourtweets(0.3percent).#gulfand#uscgappearedinthree

tweets(0.3percent).#air,#water,#birds,and#bpcaresappearedinonetweet(0.1

percent).

Alltweetswerecodedforthefollowingwebsiteredirects:BP’swebsite(general);

BP’sPresspageonwebsite;BP’sGulfofMexicorestorationpageonwebsite;Facebook;

YouTube;Flickr;RestoreTheGulf.gov;DeepwaterHorizonMemorial;ABC;CNN;CSPAN;

CBS;NPR;AP;PBS;MSNBC;TheWallStreetJournal;TheNewYorkTimes;TheLosAngeles

Times;TheHuffingtonPost;TheBostonGlobe;USAToday;U.S.CoastGuard;

GeoPlatform.gov/GulfResponse;U.S.EnvironmentalProtectionAgency;Tri‐StateBird

Rescue;U.S.FishandWildlifeService;InternationalBirdRescue;NationalFishandWildlife

Foundation;andNationalOceanicandAtmosphericAdministration.

URLsredirecteduserstoRestoreTheGulf.govon113occasions(9.7percent).URLs

redirecteduserstotheGulfofMexicorestorationpageonBP’swebsiteon105occasions

52

(9.0percent).URLsredirecteduserstoYouTubeon93occasions(8.0percent).URLs

redirecteduserstoBP’swebsite(general)on91occasions(7.8percent).URLsredirected

userstothePresspageonBP’swebsiteon77occasions(6.6percent).URLsredirected

userstoFacebookon57occasions(4.9percent).

URLsredirecteduserstoCNNon46occasions(4.0percent).URLSredirectedusers

toFlickrandCSPANon19occasions,respectively(1.6percent).URLsredirectedusersto

theU.S.EnvironmentalProtectionAgencyon14occasions(1.2percent).URLsredirected

userstoMSNBCon12occasions(1.0percent).URLsredirectedusersto

GeoPlatform.gov/GulfResponseon11occasions(0.9percent).URLsredirectedusersto

ABConnineoccasions(0.8percent).URLsredirecteduserstotheNationalOceanicand

AtmosphericAdministrationoneightoccasions(0.7percent).URLsredirecteduserstothe

APandTri‐StateBirdRescueonfiveoccasions,respectively(0.4percent).URLsredirected

userstoCBSandtheU.S.CoastGuardonfouroccasions,respectively(0.3percent).

URLsredirecteduserstoTheWallStreetJournal,TheNewYorkTimes,TheLos

AngelesTimes,NPR,andPBSthreetimes,respectively(0.2percent).URLsredirectedusers

toTheBostonGlobeandInternationalBirdRescueontwooccasions,respectively(0.2

percent).URLsredirecteduserstotheDeepwaterHorizonMemorialwebsite,The

HuffingtonPost,USAToday,U.S.FishandWildlifeService,andNationalFishandWildlife

Foundationononeoccasioneach(0.1percent).

53

ChapterV

Discussion

ThisstudysoughttoanalyzeBP’suseofTwitterasacrisiscommunicationtool

duringthe2010DeepwaterHorizoncrisisresponsephase.Theresearchquestionsguided

ananalysisoftheemergencymanagementphases,reputationrepairstrategies,crisistypes,

typesofattributionofresponsibility,andRiskSmartpublicperceptionitemswithinBP’s

tweetsfromApril15,2010toJuly15,2010.

RQ1revealedthattherecoveryphaseofemergencymanagementwasmost

prevalent,appearingwithin53.7percentofthetweets.BPusedmostofitstweetsduring

therecoveryphasetoinformitsaudienceofitseffortstorebuildorrepairdamagesinthe

Gulfandonthecoast,particularlytherepairorrebuildingofthedamagedMacondowell.

TheseeffortsincludedtheLowerMarineRiserPackage,theRiserInsertionTubeTool,and

drillingreliefwells.

Recoverytweetsalsoincludedinformationaboutcoastalcleanupeffortsandwildlife

rehabilitationandrelease.Theresponsephasewasthesecond‐mostprevalentemergency

managementphaseseenduringthisperiod,appearingwithin36.3percentofthetweets.

ThismeansthatBPalsousedalargenumberoftweetstoprovideinformationaboutsaving

wildlifeandpreventingfurtherdamages.Responsetweetsincludedinformationabout

rescuingwildlifeandprotectingshorelinesfromoilusingbooms,dispersants,and

skimming.

54

AChi‐squaretestcompletedforthesetwoseparateconditionsrevealedasignificant

differencebetweentherawnumberofrecoverytweetsandresponsetweets.Response

tweetsweremostprevalentduringtheearlyweeksofthecrisisresponse,andthey

graduallydecreasedovertime.Theoppositeistrueofrecoverytweets,whichincreased

overtime.ThisshowsthatBPactedinwaythatwasdirectlyinlinewithemergency

managementprotocol.Thatcyclebeginswithmitigation,movesintopreparedness,then

response,andfinallyrecovery.ThephaseofemergencymanagementreflectedinBP’s

tweetsparalleledthephaseofemergencymanagementBPwasengrossedinatthattime.

ThisfindingisimportantbecauseitshowsthatBPwasexercisingtwocrisis

responsebestpracticesthatareoutlinedinCoombs’SituationalCrisisCommunication

Theory:respondinginatimelymannerandbeingaccuratewithfacts.SinceSCCTisa

guidingtheoryformostcrisiscommunications,itwasexpectedthatBPwouldfollowits

basicguidelines.

RQ2revealedthereputationrepairstrategiesmostprevalentintweetsfrom

@BP_Americaduringthisperiod.Thecompensationandreminderstrategiesappearedata

muchhigherratethantheother10strategies.Thecompensationstrategyappearedin14

percentofthetweets,revealingthatBPused163tweetstoprovideinformationabout

claimsgiventoindividualswhowerefinanciallyharmedasadirectresultoftheoilspill,as

wellasdonationsmadetoresearchandwildlifefunds.Duringtheninthweek,themost

compensationtweetsappeared(34tweets),whichhappenedtobeduringthesameweek

BPannounceditsagreementtopay$20billionover3.5yearstomeettheobligations

arisingfromtheoilspill.

55

Thereminderstrategyappearedin12percentofthetweets,revealingthatBPused

sufficienttweetstoprovideremindersofgoodworkspertainingtotheoilspillthathad

beencompleted.Thesegoodworksincludedindividualclaimscheckscut,moneydonated

toresearchorwildlifefunds,amountofoilcollected,andamountofboomdeployed.Week

10containedthemostremindertweets;thesameweekthatBPannounceditwoulddonate

thenetrevenuefromthesaleofoilrecoveredfromtheMacondowelltotheNationalFish

andWildlifeFoundation.

Thisfindingisimportantbecauseitrevealsthatcertainreputationrepairstrategies

workbetterindifferentcrisesorsituations.AlthoughBPattemptedeightofthe12

strategiesatsomepointduringthe13‐weekperiodstudied,thepublicrelations/crisis

communicationsspecialistsfoundwhichstrategiesworkedbestandstucktothem.This

revealsthatBPwasusingsocialmedia,specificallyTwitter,inabeneficialmanner.By

findingwhatstrategy(s)resonatedbestwithitsonlineaudience,BPwasabletoprovide

relevantinformation.Sincemostpeopleviewedtheoilspillascausingseriousfinancial

andphysicaldamage,thestrategiesofcompensationandreminderseemedtoworkbest.

Thesestrategiesspecificallyinformedpeopleofeffortsmadetoreversethesedamages,

thusrepairingBP’simageonetweetatatime.

RQ3revealedthataccidentcrisiswasthecrisistypereflectedmostwithintweets,

appearingin97.2percentofthetweets.Anoverwhelmingmajorityoftweetsduringthe

analyzed13‐weekcrisisresponseperiodsuggestedthattheexplosionand/oroilspillwas

anaccident.Mosttweetsduringthisperiodsuggestedanaccidentcrisis,sincethe

investigationintothecauseoftheexplosionand/oroilspillhadnotfoundBPresponsible.

56

RQ4revealedthatstrong/highcrisisresponsibilitywastheattributionof

responsibilitymostreflectedwithintweets,appearingin89.9percentofthetweets.This

meansthatanoverwhelmingmajorityoftweetsduringtheanalyzed13‐weekcrisisperiod

indicatedthatBPtookfullresponsibilityfortheexplosion,oilspill,andallresultingissues.

Whenviewedsimultaneously,theresultsofRQ4andRQ5revealaninteresting

finding.Coombs’SCCTsuggeststhatanaccidentcrisisusuallyrequiresalowattributionof

responsibility.However,BPassumedthehighestlevelofresponsibilityfortheoilspillin

mosttweets.ThiswasasmartmoveonBP’spart.SinceBPassumedthislevelof

responsibilitywhileengagingitsTwitteraudienceintwo‐wayasymmetrical

communication,itwasgainingthetrustofitsfollowers.Ironically,assumingsuchahigh

levelofresponsibilitymadeBPappearlessguiltyoffoulplay.

RQ5revealedtheRiskSmartpublicperceptionitemsthatweremostprevalentin

tweetsfrom@BP_Americaduringthistime.TheRiskSmartitemthatimpliedthatatweet

hadstrongpoliticalattributestiedtoitappearedin28.9percentofthetweets.Inthese

tweets,BPtypicallymentionedapoliticalorgovernmentalindividualororganization,or

redirectedtheusertoapoliticalorgovernmentalwebsite.Mostpoliticaltweetsoccurred

duringweeknine.ThisjusthappenedtobeduringthesameweekthatBPwasinvolvedin

ahearingwiththeU.S.HouseofRepresentatives.

SinceAdmiralThadAllen,aretiredU.S.CoastGuardadmiral,wasappointedas

NationalIncidentCommanderoftheUnifiedCommandfortheDeepwaterHorizonoilspill,

hisnamewasmentionedinalargeamountoftweets,implyingstrongpoliticalattributes.

ThisfindingisimportantbecauseitrevealsthatBPwasintunewithitspublicaudience.

ThepublicwasmuchmorefondofoilspillspokesmanAllenthanoilspillspokesman

57

Hayward.Therefore,BPplaceditsaudienceindirectcontactmoreoftenwithspokesman

Allen,sincethisiswhogarneredmoretrust.Inturn,thiswasanotherstrategicmoveon

BP’sparttogainthetrustofitsaudience.

TheRiskSmartitemthatimpliedthatatweethadawidespreadnationalor

internationalscopeappearedin12.7percentofthetweets.Inthesetweets,BPoften

redirecteduserstoanationalorinternationalnewsorganization’swebsitebywayofalink.

Onceagain,BPwasattemptingtogainthetrustofitsaudiencebygivingitsfollowersdirect

accesstonewsstoriesbyaccreditednewssources.

TheRiskSmartitemthatimpliedthatBPcausedseriousfinancialharmtoothers,as

aresultoftheoilspill,appearedin11.9percentofthetweets.Thismeansthatasufficient

amountoftweetsbyBPacknowledgedthefinancialharmcausedbytheoilspill.These

financialharmtweetsincludedinformationaboutpersonalclaimscheckscutfor

individualswhowerefinanciallyharmedbyBP.Mosttweetscodedfor“causedserious

financialharmtoothers”occurredduringweeknine,thesameweekthatBPannouncedits

agreementtopay$20billionover3.5yearstomeetobligationsarisingfromtheoilspill.

ThisresultdirectlyparallelstheresultofRQ2.Sinceoneofthebiggestpublic

perceptionswasthattheoilspillcausedseriousfinancialharm,itonlymadesensethatBP

implementthecompensationandreminderstrategiestoinformthepublicofeffortsitwas

makingtoreversethisfinancialdamage.Thefindingsclearlyrevealthatweek9hadthe

most“compensation”strategiesand“causedseriousfinancialharm”perceptions.

TheRiskSmartitemthatimpliedthatBPcauseddeathorinjury,asaresultoftheoil

spill,appearedin8.1percentofthetweets.Thesetweetsincludedinformationabout

rescuing,rehabilitating,andreleasingharmedorinjuredwildlife.Mosttweetscodedfor

58

“causeddeathorinjurythroughactionorinaction”occurredduringweek10,thesame

weekthatBPannounceditsdonationofthenetrevenuefromthesaleofoilrecoveredfrom

theMacondowelltotheNationalFishandWildlifeFoundation.Thisfindingisinteresting

becauseittooparallelswiththeresultofRQ2.Sincealargepublicperceptionwasthatthe

oilspillcauseddeathorinjurytowildlife,itonlymadesensethatBPimplementareminder

strategytoinformthepublicofitsattemptstorescueandrehabilitatewildlife.The

researchclearlyrevealweek10ashavingthemost“reminder”strategiesand“caused

death/injury”perceptions.

BPincludedhashtagsinmanytweetsinanattempttobeincludedintrending

conversationsinthetwitterverse.Althoughavarietyofhashtagtermswereusedduring

thecrisisresponsephase,#oilspillland#bpwerebyfarusedthemost.Thisisprobably

becausethesetermsweremorepopulartrendingterms;therefore,ifBPusedthesespecific

hashtagterms,theywereabletosecureaplaceintrendingconversations.Hashtagsthat

didnottrendwelltheyimmediatelyretired.Forexample,thehashtag#bpcaresappeared

inonlyonetweetduringtheanalyzed13‐weekperiod.

BPstrategicallyincludedcertainlinksinitstweets,aswell.Mostlinkseither

redirecteduserstoRestoreTheGulf.gov,agovernmentwebsitecreatedsolelyfortheGulf

oilspill,BP’swebsite,ortooneofBP’sothersocialmediaoutlets.BPprobablyredirected

usersmosttothegovernmentwebsitetogainorretainthetrustofitsfollowers,whileit

probablyredirecteduserstoitsotherwebsitestoremainthemainsourceofinformation

relatingtotheoilspill.

59

SummaryandConclusions

AftertheexplosionoftheDeepwaterHorizondrillingrigandtheresultingGulfoil

spill,BPimplementedanextensiveonlinecrisiscommunicationandpublicrelations

campaign.OneofthemajorlegsofthiscampaignconsistedofrepurposingitsTwitter

account,@BP_America,toserveasahubforupdatesandinformationpertainingtotheoil

spillresponse.@BP_Americatweeteditsfirstoilspill‐relatedtweetonApril27,sevendays

aftertheexplosion,andcontinuedtotweetthousandsofoilspill‐relatedtweetsasthe

responseandrecoveryeffortscontinued.

TheresultsofthisresearchstudyrevealthatBPuseditsTwitteraccountfora

varietyofreasons,andquitestrategically.Throughthesetweets,onecanidentifyvarious

emergencymanagementphases,reputationrepairstrategies,crisistypes,typesof

attributionofresponsibility,andpublicperceptions.BPimplementedspecificreputation

repairstrategiesinamannerinlinewithcurrentevents.Forexample,BPemployeda

compensationstrategyaftermakingalargemonetarydonationorareminderstrategyafter

collectingalargeamountofoil.AstrikingrevelationofthisstudyisthatBP’suseof

reputationrepairstrategieswasdirectlyinlinewithpublicperceptions.Forexample,the

most“compensation”strategiesappearedwhenthepublicperceptionof“causedserious

financialharm”wasthehighest.

However,oneareaofBP’scrisiscommunicationplanwasnotinlinewithpastcrisis

communicationresearch.Coombs’SituationalCrisisCommunicationTheorysuggeststhat

accidentcrisistypesusuallyindicatealoworminimalattributionofresponsibility.

However,mostofBP’stweetsrevealedanaccidentcrisiswithahighorstrongattribution

60

ofresponsibility.Thisisbecausetheinvestigationintotheexplosionandoilspilldidnot

pointtoapreventablecrisis,butBPstilltookfullresponsibilityfortheincident.

Thisresearchstudyisimportantforavarietyofreasons.Firstofall,itrevealsthat

BPsuccessfullyfollowedbestpracticeslaidoutintwoguidingpublicrelations/crisis

communicationstheories:Grunig’sTwo‐waySymmetricalModelandCoombs’Situational

CrisisCommunicationTheory.Italsorevealsreputationrepairstrategiesthatworkbest

forthistypeofcrisis.Therefore,thisstudymayserveasafuturereputationrepair

guidelineforacompanyfacingasimilarsituation.

Overall,studiesofthiskindarevitalbecausetheyaddtoanewandgrowingbodyof

knowledgeconcernedwithonlinecrisiscommunicationplans.Inaworldof24/7digital

media,allcorporationsmusthaveanonlineaspectofacrisiscommunicationplan.

Analyzingpastcrises’onlinecrisiscommunicationplanshelpstorevealwhichstrategies

aremostsuccessfulfordifferentcompaniesindifferentsituations.

Limitations

AlthoughBPprovidedaTwitterContentLogforthemajorityoftweetsusedinthe

contentanalysis,thislogonlydatedbacktoJune5,2010,andtweetsweremissingforthe

datesofJune6throughJune9,2010.Therefore,manytweetswereobtainedfromasource

otherthanBP.Theonlinesourceusedtocollecttheremainderoftweetsforthespecified

timeperiodwasTopsy.com,areal‐timesearchengineforthesocialweb.Although

Topsy.comisacrediblesearchenginewithanextensiveTwitterlibrary,thereisalwaysthe

possibilitythatsometweetsfrom@BP_Americaweremissingfromtheirlibrary.

61

RecommendationsforFutureResearch

BPextensiveonlinecrisiscommunicationcampaignincludedtheuseofits

corporatewebsite,Twitter,Facebook,Flickr,andYouTube.Futureresearchmightstudy

howBPusedTwitterduringthepost‐crisisphaseoftheoilspill,sincereputationrepair

strategiesandpublicperceptionsarestillextremelyprevalentduringthisphase.Other

studiesmightexaminetheofBP’sothersocialmediaoutlets,includingFacebook,Flicker,

andYouTube,duringvariousphasesofthecrisis.Onecouldthencomparetheuseofthese

socialmediaoutletstoTwitteranduncoverimportantsimilaritiesanddifferences.Finally,

futureresearchmightcompareBP’sTwitterresponsetotweetsusedinadifferent

corporatecrisis,suchasthe2010Toyotarecallforbrakeproblems.Suchastudywould

revealhowtheyrespondeddifferentlyinadmittingmistakestothepublic.

62

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Seitz‐Wald,Alex.“BPLaunches‘Aggressive’SocialMediaCampaignbutDisablesCommentsfromUsersWhoDon’t‘Like’It.”http://www.truth‐out.org/bp‐launches‐aggressive‐social‐media‐campaign‐disables‐comments‐users‐who‐dont‐like‐it60633(accessedFebruary16,2011).

Shaw,Hollie.“ThetruthshallsetyoufreeofPRhell.”NationalPost(June25,2010).Snyder,Benjamin.“TonyHayward’sGreatestHits.”CNNMoney.

http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/10/news/companies/tony_hayward_quotes.fortune/index.htm(AccessedFebruary11,2011).

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Steyn,Peteretal.“TheSocialMediaReleaseasapublicrelationstool:IntentionstouseamongB2Bbloggers.”PublicRelationsReview36:87,2010.

Symington,Annabel.“LegacyoftheBPspill:What’sareputationworth?TheBPspillintheGulfofMexicocausedapublicoutcryandsavagedBP’sshareprice.Imagerepairwon’tbeeasy.”TheChristianScienceMonitor(October18,2010).

“TheImportanceoftheFourModelsofPublicRelations.”Rationaleforpublicrelationslaw.http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Fall99/Westbrook/Default.html(accessedMarch2,2011).

Vidal,John.“BP’sPRcampaignfailstocleanupreputationafterGulfoilspill.”Guardian.http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2011/apr/14/bp‐pr‐campaign‐gulf‐oil‐spill(accessedMay27,2011).

Waters,RichardD.etal.“MediaCatchingandtheJournalist—PublicRelationsPractitionerRelationship:HowSocialMediaareChangingthePracticeofMediaRelations.”JournalofPublicRelationsResearch22(3):242,2010.

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LISTOFAPPENDICES

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APPENDIX1

BP_AMERICATWEETSCODESHEET_______1.Coder’sfirstinitial_______2.Month(1‐12) _______3.Date(1‐31)

4.Tweettext:______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________5.Whattypeofpostisthetweet?(1‐originalpost,2‐retweet/RT,3‐@reply)_______6.Didthetweetpertaintotheoilspill?(no‐blank,yes‐1)_______7.Howmanyhashtagswereincludedinthetweet?(ex:#oilspill)8.Term(s)usedinhashtag(ifincluded)?_________________________________________________9.Howmanylinkswereincludedinthetweet?10.Ifalink(s)wasincluded,wherediditredirecttheuser?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Indicatewhichphase(s)ofemergencymanagementarereflectedinthetweet(1=present;leaveothersblank).

_____11.Mitigation(attemptstoreduceimpactofdisaster)_____12.Preparedness(developmentofriskmanagementplans)_____13.Response(mobilizationofemergencyservices)_____14.Recovery(rebuilding/repair)Indicatewhichstrategy(s)ofreputationrepairarereflectedinthetweet(1present).

_____15.Attacktheaccuser_____16.Denial_____17.Scapegoat_____18.Excuse(provocation)_____19.Excuse(defeasibility)_____20.Excuse(accidental)

_____21.Excuse(goodintentions)_____22.Justification_____23.Reminder_____24.Ingratiation_____25.Compensation_____26.Apology

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Forthefollowingitems,indicatewhichcrisistype(s)isreflectedinthetweet(1present).

_____27.Victimcrisis _____28.Accidentcrisis _____29.PreventablecrisisIndicatewhichtype(s)ofattributionofresponsibilityarereflectedinthetweet(1present)

_____30.Nocrisisresponsibility _____31.Low/minimalcrisisresponsibility_____32.Strong/highcrisisresponsibilityRiskSmartitems:Whichofthefollowingdoesthetweetacknowledgeand/orimplythatpeoplefeelabouttheoilspill?(1=yes,blank=no)_____33.Victimizedentitieswithouttheirconsentoroutsidetheircontrol?_____34.ConstitutedarepeatedmistakebyBPthatthepubliccaneasilyrecall?_____35.Wasabreachofethics/widelyacceptedvalues?_____36.Wasillegal(misdemeanor,felony)?_____37.Causedseriousfinancialharmtoothers?_____38.Hasstrongpoliticalattributestiedtoit?_____39.Damagedpartnerrelationships?_____40.Hasawidespreadnationalorinternationalscope?_____41.IspartofarecenttrendofsimilaractsbyBPand/orothers?_____42.Wasthefirst,worst,orbiggestoilspill?_____43.Relatestoacurrentculturallypopularsubject(i.e.,energy,environment)?_____44.Causeddeath/injurythroughactionorinaction?

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APPENDIX2

BP_AMERICATWEETSCODESHEETDEFINITIONS

1.Entertheinitialofyourfirstname.2.Enterthemonththetweetwastweetedusingnumerals1‐12(ex:January=1).3.Enterthedatethetweetwastweetedusingnumerals1‐31(ex:January22=22).4.TweetText:Includealltextfromtheoriginaltweet.Iftheoriginaltweetislongerthan140characters,andatweetlengtheningapplicationwasused,clicktheURLor“ReadMore”linktoviewthefulltweet.Theoriginaltweetiswhatshouldbecopiedandpastedunder“Tweettext,”nottheabbreviatedversion.AlsoincludeallhasthtagsandURLsincludedinthetweet.5.Typeofpost:Specifyifthepostisanoriginalpost,retweet/RT,[email protected]:AnoriginalpostisdefinedasatweetthatwasorganicallycomposedbyBP_America.Retweet/RT:Aretweet/RTisdefinedasatweetthatwasoriginallytweetedbyanotherTwitteruserthat@BP_AmericachosetoretweetusingitsTwitteraccount.Aretweet/RTmaybeidentifiedbythe“RT”abbreviationplustheotherTwitteruser’sTwittername(Ex:RT@lajordan13:seespotrun...).@Reply:@ReplyisdefinedasatweetthatiscomposedspecificallyinreplytoanotherTwitteruserordirectedataspecificTwitteruser.@Replymaybeidentifiedbythe@symbolfollowedbytheotherTwitteruser’sTwittername.6.Enter1ifthetweetdidpertaintotheoilspilland/ortheGulfofMexicocrisissituation.Leaveblankifthetweetdidnotpertaintotheoilspilland/ortheGulfofMexicocrisissituation.7.Hashtags:OneTwitteroptionistoincludeahashtaginatweet.AhashtagisusedtocreategroupingsonTwitterandmaybecreatedsimplybyprefixingawordwithahashsymbol(ex:#hashtag).Enteranumericalvalueforthenumberofhashtagsfoundwithinthetweet.Forexample,ifatweethasathreehashtags,a“3”shouldbeentered.Ifnohashtagsarepresent,simplyleaveblank.8.Ifahashtag(s)wasincludedwithinthetweet,specifywhatterm(s)wasusedinthehashtag.9.Links:Sometimeslinksareincludedintweetstoredirecttheusertoanotherwebsite,picture,video,etc.Linksmayalsobeincludediftheoriginaltweetislongerthan140characters.Enteranumericalvalueforthenumberoflinksincludedwithinthetweet.Ifnolinksapresent,simplyleaveblank.10.Ifalinkwaspresentinthetweet,providetheURLandstatewherethisURLredirectedtheuser.Phase(s)ofemergencymanagementreflectedintweets:Entera1foreachphaseofemergencymanagementthatisreflectedinatweet.Morethanonephaseofemergencymanagementphasemaybeselectedforanindividualtweet.11.Mitigation:AtweetinwhichmitigationisreflectedwillincludelanguagethatattemptstoreducetheimpactoftheDeepwaterHorizonexplosionand/oroilspill.

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“Mitigationisthecornerstoneofemergencymanagement.It'sthecontinuingefforttolessentheimpactdisastershaveonpeopleandproperty.Mitigationisdefinedas‘sustainedactionthatreducesoreliminateslong‐termrisktopeopleandpropertyfromnaturalhazardsandtheireffects.’”133Ifthewordmitigation,oravariationofthatword,isincludedinthetweet,choosethisphase.12.Preparedness:Atweetinwhichpreparednessisreflectedwillincludelanguagethatrevealstheexistenceand/ordevelopmentofriskmanagementplan(s)forthecurrentand/orfutureoilspill(s).“Preparednesstakestheformofplansorproceduresdesignedtosavelivesandtominimizedamagewhenanemergencyoccurs.Planning,training,anddisasterdrillsaretheessentialelementsofpreparedness.Theseactivitiesensurethatwhenadisasterstrikes,emergencymanagerswillbeabletoprovidethebestresponsepossible.”134Ifthewordpreparedness,oravariationofthatword,isincludedinthetweet,choosethisphase.13.Response:Atweetinwhichresponseisreflectedwillincludementionsofoilspillemergencyservices.“Responseisdefinedastheactionstakentosavelivesandpreventfurtherdamageinadisasteroremergencysituation.Responseisputtingpreparednessplansintoaction.”135Ifthewordresponse,oravariationoftheword,isincludedinthetweet,choosethisphase.Responsealsoincludesprotectingwildlifeand/orshorelinesbywayofbooms,dispersants,skimming,etc.14.Recovery:Atweetinwhichrecoveryisreflectedwillincludementionsofoilspillrecoveryeffortstorebuildandrepairdamagecausedbytheexplosion/oilspill.Recoveryeffortsmayincludementionsofclean‐up,drillingofreliefwells,cappingofthewell,etc.Recoverymayalsoincludementionsofmonetaryresponseefforts,suchasdonationsfromBP,finesassignedtoBP,personalclaims,etc.“Recoveryisdefinedastheactionstakentoreturnthecommunitytonormalfollowingadisaster.Repairing,replacing,orrebuildingpropertyareexamplesofrecovery.”136Ifthewordrecovery,oravariationoftheword,isincludedinthetweet,choosethisphase.Strategy(s)ofreputationrepairreflectedintweets:Entera1foreachstrategyofreputationrepairthatisreflectedinatweet.Morethanonemaybechosenforanindividualtweet.15.Attacktheaccuser:ThistypeoftweetwillconfrontthepersonorgroupclaimingsomethingiswrongwithBP.16.Denial:ThistypeoftweetwillconsistofBPassertingthatnocrisis,orspecificaspectofthecrisis,ispresent.17.Scapegoat:ThistypeoftweetwillconsistofBPblamingapersonorgroupoutsideofBPforthecrisis.18.Excuse(provocation):ThistypeoftweetwillincludeanexcusebyBPclaimingthecrisiswasaresultofsomeoneelse’sactions.19.Excuse(defeasibility):ThistypeoftweetwillincludeanexcusebyBPclaimingalackofinformationabouteventsleadinguptotheexplosionand/oroilspill.133“FourPhasesofEmergencyManagement,”AdaCity‐CountyEmergencyManagement,http://www.accem.org/phases.html(accessedApril4,2011).134“FourPhasesofEmergencyManagement.”135Ibid.136Ibid.

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20.Excuse(accidental):ThistypeoftweetwillincludeanexcusebyBPclaimingalackofcontrolovereventsleadinguptotheexplosionand/oroilspill.21.Excuse(goodintentions):ThistypeoftweetwillincludeanexcusebyBPclaimingthattheorganizationmeanttodowell.22.Justification:Thistypeoftweetwillincludeajustificationthatminimizestheperceiveddamagecausedbytheexplosionand/oroilspill.23.Reminder:ThistypeoftweetwillremindstakeholdersaboutthepastgoodworkscompletedbyBP.Atweetinwhichareminderispresentmayincludeaspecificamountofoilcollected,moneypaidinclaims,boomdeployedinresponsetotheoil,orwildliferescued.24.Ingratiation:ThistypeoftweetwillpraiseBPstakeholdersfortheiractions.Alotofthetime,ingratiationwillpraisevolunteers.25.Compensation:ThistypeoftweetwillincludeoffersofmoneyofothergiftsfromBPtodirectandindirectvictimsoftheexplosionsand/oroilspill.Compensationincludesclaimsgiventoindividuals,researchfunds,wildlifefunds,etc.26.Apology:ThistypeoftweetindicatesthatBPtakesfullresponsibilityfortheexplosionand/oroilspillandasksstakeholdersforforgiveness.Crisistype(s)reflectedintweets:Entera1foreachcrisistypereflectedinatweet.Onlychooseacrisistypewhenthetweetspecificallymentionstheactualoilspilland/ortheDeepwaterHorizonexplosionorthespecificactionsbeingtakentocounteractthespilland/orexplosion.Chooseacrisistypeforeverytweetthatdirectlyorindirectlyreferstotheoilspill/GulfofMexicocrisissituation.Formosttweets,“accidentcrisis”willbechosensincetheinvestigationintothecauseoftheoilspillhadnotrevealedevidencetosuggesttheexplosion/oilspillwasapreventablecrisis.Onlyonecrisistypewillbechosenfortweetsinwhichatypeisreflected.27.Victimcrisis:ThistypeoftweetwillclaimthatBPwasthevictimoftheexplosionand/oroilspill.Forexample,thecrisiswasaresultofanaturaldisaster,rumor,orproducttampering/malevolence(ex:theoilspillbeingcomparedtoHurricaneKatrina).28.Accidentcrisis:Thistypeoftweetwillclaimthattheexplosionand/oroilspillwasanaccident.Anaccidentcrisismayincludeachallenge(i.e.astakeholderclaimstheorganizationoperatedinaninappropriatemanner),technicalerroraccident(i.e.theexplosionand/oroilspillwascausedbyequipmentortechnologyfailure),ortechnicalerrorproductharm(i.e.anequipmentortechnologyfailurecausedaproducttobedefectiveorharmful).Mosttweetswillindicateanaccidentcrisis,unlessotherwisenoted.29.Preventablecrisis:Thistypeoftweetwillclaimthattheexplosionand/oroilspillcouldhavebeenprevented.Forexample,thecrisismayhavebeencausedbyahuman‐erroraccident(i.e.theexplosionand/oroilspillwascausedbyhumanerror),human‐errorproductharm(i.e.aproductwasdefectiveorharmfulbecauseofahumanerror),ororganizationalmisdeed(i.e.BPmanagementactionsputstakeholdersatriskand/orviolatedthelaw).Type(s)ofattributionofresponsibilityreflectedinthetweet:Entera1foreachtypeofattributionofresponsibilityreflectedinatweet.Ifacrisistypeispresent,thenanattributionofresponsibilitymustbeindicatedaswell.Mosttweetswillreflect“strong/highcrisisresponsibility,”unlessotherwisenoted.ThisisduetothefactthatBPtookfullresponsibilityfortheexplosion/oilspill.Onlyonetypeofattributionwillbechosenfortweetsthatreflectatype.

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30.Nocrisisresponsibility:ThistypeoftweetwillindicatethatBPisnotresponsiblefortheexplosionand/oroilspill.Thiswillfurtherindicatethattheexplosionand/oroilspillwasavictimcrisis(ex:comparingtheoilspilltoHurricaneKatrina).31.Low/minimalcrisisresponsibility:ThistypeoftweetwillindicatethatBPisminimallyresponsiblefortheexplosionand/oroilspill.Thiswillfurtherindicatethattheexplosionand/oroilspillwasanaccidentcrisis.Forlow/minimalcrisisresponsibility,nospecificactionstakenbyBParenoted.However,ifBPtweetsaboutanentityseparatefromitselftakinganactionagainsttheoilspill,thiswillreflectlow/minimalcrisisresponsibility.32.Strong/highcrisisresponsibility:ThistypeoftweetwillindicatethatBPisfullyresponsiblefortheexplosionand/oroilspill.Thiswillfurtherindicatethattheexplosionand/oroilspillwasapreventablecrisis.Forstrong/highcrisisresponsibilityaspecificactionwillbenoted.RiskSmartItems:Entera1foreachtypeofacknowledgementorimplicationofpeoples’feelingsabouttheoilspill.MorethanoneRiskSmartitemmaybechosenforanindividualtweet.33.Victimizedentitieswithouttheirconsentofoutsidetheircontrol:Thistypeoftweetacknowledgesthatpeoplefeeltheirentitieswerevictimizedwithouttheirconsentandoutsidetheircontrol.34.ConstitutedarepeatedmistakebyBPthatthepubliccaneasilyrecall:ThistypeoftweetacknowledgesthatpeoplefeelasthoughtheoilspillconstitutedarepeatedmistakebyBPthatcanbeeasilyrecalledbythepublic.35.Wasabreachofethics/widelyacceptedvalues:Thistypeoftweetacknowledgesthatpeoplefeelthattheoilspillconstitutesabreachofethicsorwidelyheldviews.36.Wasillegal(misdemeanor,felony):Thistypeoftweetacknowledgesthatpeoplefeelthattheoilspillwasorwascausedbyillegalactivities.37.Causedseriousfinancialharmtoothers:Thistypeoftweetacknowledgesthatpeoplefeelthattheoilspillcausedseriousfinancialharmtoothers.ThisRiskSmartwilllikelybechoseninpartwithcompensationpertainingtoindividualclaims.Thisitemwillnotbechosenifcompensationwasreferringtoresearchfunds,wildlifefunds,etc.38.Hasstrongpoliticalattributestiedtoit:Thistypeoftweetacknowledgesthatpeoplefeelthattheoilspillhasstrongpoliticalattributestiedtoit.ThisRiskSmartitemwillbechosenanytimeapolitical/governmentalindividualororganizationismentionedinthetweetorredirectedtobywayofalink.39.Damagedpartnerrelations:Thistypeoftweetacknowledgesthatpeoplefeelthattheoilspilldamagedpartnerrelations.40.Hasawidespreadnationalorinternationalscope:Thistypeoftweetacknowledgesthatpeoplefeelthattheoilspillhasawidespreadorinternationalscope.ThisRiskSmartitemwillbechosenanytimeanationalorinternationalnewsorganizationismentionedisredirectedtobywayofalink.Thisitemwillalsobechosenwhentweetsprovideaccesstooilspillinformationviaaforeignlanguage.41.IspartofarecenttrendofsimilaractsbyBPand/orothers:ThistypeoftweetacknowledgesthatpeoplefeelthattheoilspillispartofrecenttrendofsimilaractsbyBPand/orothers.42.Wasthefirst,worst,orbiggestoilspill:Thistypeoftweetacknowledgesthatpeoplefeelthattheoilspillwasthefirst,worst,orbiggestoilspill.SincetheDeepwater

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HorizonoilspillwasthelargestinthehistoryoftheUnitedStates,thisRiskSmartitemwillbechosenanytimeatweetincludesaspecificoilflowrateoramountofoilcollected.43.Relatestoacurrentculturallypopularsubject(i.e.energy,environment):Thistypeoftweetacknowledgesthatpeoplefeelthattheoilspillrelatestocurrentculturallypopularsubject(i.e.energy,environment).Whenatweetincludesinformationaboutair/waterquality,thisRiskSmartitemwillbechosenduetoitsenvironmentalelement.44.Causeddeath/injurythroughactionorinaction:Thistypeoftweetacknowledgesthatpeoplefeelthattheoilspillcauseddeath/injurythroughactionorinaction.Thisinjury/deathmayaffectpeopleand/orwildlife.

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APPENDIX3

LineGraph1:CrosstabulationofResponseandRecovery

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LineGraph2:CrosstabulationofReminderandCompensation

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LineGraph3:CrosstabulationofPoliticalAttributes,FinancialHarm,and

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APPENDIX4

Table1:InstancesofReputationRepairStrategieswithinTweets

Strategies Frequency PercentCompensation 163 14.0Reminder 139 12.0Denial 11 0.9Ingratiation 6 0.5Apology 6 0.5Justification 4 0.3Attacktheaccuser 1 0.1Excuse(accidental) 1 0.1Scapegoat 0 0.0Excuse(provocation) 0 0.0Excuse(defeasibility) 0 0.0Excuse(goodintentions) 0 0.0

Table2:InstancesofRiskSmartItemsImpliedwithinTweets

RiskSmartItems Frequency PercentHadstrongpoliticalattributestiedtoit 335 28.9Hadawidespreadnationalorinternationalscope 147 12.7Causedseriousfinancialharmtoothers 138 11.9Wasthefirst,worst,orbiggestoilspill 94 8.1Causeddeath/injurythroughactionorinaction 90 7.8Relatedtoacurrentculturallypopularsubject 27 2.3Victimizedentitieswithouttheirconsent 0 0.0ConstitutedarepeatedmistakemadebyBP 0 0.0Breachofethics/widelyacceptedvalues 0 0.0RecenttrendofsimilaractsbyBP 0 0.0Wasillegal(misdemeanor,felony) 0 0.0Damagedpartnerrelationships 0 0.0

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Table3:InstancesofSpecificWebsiteRedirectswithinTweets

Websites Frequency PercentWebpageonBPCorporateSite 273 23.4SocialMedia 169 14.5GovernmentOilSpillResponse 124 10.6NationalBroadcast 101 8.5GovernmentAgency 27 2.3EliteNewspaper 13 1.0EnvironmentalAgency 8 0.7Other 1 0.1

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