Teaching about Risk and Resilience:Communication strategies after a disaster

Bruno Takahashi, Ph.D.School of Journalism and

Department of CommunicationMichigan State University

Key concepts

• Risk communication• Crisis communication• Public relations• Media reporting of crisis, risk and resilience• Role of social media

Communication about different types of risks

Multidisciplinary perspective in risk communication

• Decision sciences– Social psychology (psychometric approach)

• Behavioral economics• Communication science• Environmental studies• Etc.

Risk communication• What is it? (Covello, 1992; DHHS, 2002)– The exchange of information among interested

parties about the nature, magnitude, significance, and control of risks.

What do we mean by “risk” in PR?(… different from “uncertainty”?

Risk = Probability x Consequence

Theoretical approaches

• Mental models approach• Social constructionist approach• Hazards plus outrage approach• Social amplification of risk• Extended parallel process model• Etc.

Some goals of risk communication

• Share information• Change beliefs• Change risk perceptions• Change behaviors

Key areas related to RISK COMMUNICATION

Perception (Severity and susceptibility)AssessmentMessagingDecision MakingPlanning/Management

• Media response to crisis/risk

RISK

Familiarity and Dread?

Optimistic bias?

Risk messaging

• Designing information to effectively communicate about risks

• Content of messages (statistical/narrative, framing, etc)

• Types of appeals• Sources, Channels• Information Seeking, Literacy• Theoretical approaches and message design• EPPM, Prospect Theory and others

Optimistic bias, fear appeals, gain/loss

framing, etc.

What do we mean by “crisis” in PR?

Crisis Communication Plans

Before(Pre-Crisis Planning)

During(Crisis

Management)

After(Recovery

and Review)

What can you do ahead of time?• Identify threats• Identify audiences/stakeholders for threats• Develop messages for each threat• Conduct training for spokespeople• Ensure access to critical resources

Role of the media

• Journalists and PR• How does risk and resilience fit within traditional news

values?• How to communicate risk to journalists?• Studies of the content of mediated reporting of risk events– Nature of the content• Type of information• Accuracy of information etc.

• Relationship between media and organization/stakeholder groups

• How to report, work with the media, case studies of reporting

Journalistic norms? (Impact, Relevance,

Timeliness, Uniqueness, Prominence, Visual

Convenient)

Role of social media

• The audience has evolved, it is no longer a passive receiver of information.

• How is social media used in crisis situations?– From an organizational perspective– From the audience’s perspective

• Social media use to memorialize victims, for collective coping, emergency requests, dissemination of information, etc.

Visual representations of risk

Risk communication best practices

1. Risk com is an ongoing process.2. Conduct pre-event planning.3. Foster partnerships with the public.4. Coordinate and collaborate with credible sources.5. Meet the needs of the media and remain accessible.6. Listen to the public’s concerns and understand the audience.7. Communication with compassion, concern, and empathy.8. Demonstrate honesty, candor and openness.9. Accept uncertainty and ambiguity.10. Provide messages that foster self-efficacy.

Challenges in risk communication

• Limitations of sources/spokes-people• Limitations in available data/message• Limitations of media• Limitations of receivers