If the Organizations Won't Give Us Information…: The Use of Multiple New Media for Crisis Technical Translation and Dialogue

TLDR

The study expands crisis communication strategies to include technical detail messaging across multiple new media. Analysis of the 2007 pet food recall crisis shows that stakeholders seeking emotional support omit technical details, while those seeking rectification provide elaborate technical explanations, with websites and news articles offering more technical translation than press releases, and dialogic links appearing when technical details are included.

Abstract

This study expands crisis message strategies to include those used to communicate technical details and examines them across multiple new media. A content analysis of blogs, Web sites, news articles, and press releases from the 2007 pet food recall crisis reveals that when stakeholders affected by the crisis desire emotional support—most frequently found in blogs—they do not include any types of technical explanations in their messages. Yet when they want rectification—assurance that the crisis will not happen again—they use more elaborate forms of technical translation explanations. Organizational use of technical translation explanations differ between media with Web sites and news articles containing more elaborate technical translation than press releases. When technical translation details are used, dialogic links, such as Web site links, are included.