Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims: Explicating the public tragedy as a public relations challenge

Abstract

A tragedy is substantively different than an organizational crisis. Tragedies, whether man-made or natural disasters, have a considerably greater and singular impact than a traditional industry crisis, and current typologies of crises fail to account for organizations being impacted by and being obligated to respond to events of which they are neither the victim nor the perpetrator. Thus, tragedies require explication and, possibly, a different paradigm for public relations and crisis communication, both in industry response and academic scholarship. The goals of this article are threefold: First, use interdisciplinary scholarship to introduce and define the concept of public tragedy within the scope of public relations and crisis communication. Second, to discuss the motivations for and role of organizational involvement in the conversation surrounding a public tragedy, particularly for third-party organizations not directly impacted by an event, including the consequences and affordances of social media in tragedy response. Finally, the goal is to present recommendations for third-party public relations involvement in a tragedy.

Assist or accuse? Identifying trends in crisis communication through a bibliometric literature review

“…Crisis communication from this public relations point of view is about defining and testing crisis response strategies, with the purpose of protecting brands and reputations. Consequentially, Hayes et al (2017) called for a new paradigm, as crises equally affect organizations outside of the corporate arena. Indeed, there is an opening to engage in research on crisis communication from a more public perspective, which aligns with the increasing attention to the political dimensions of crisis management (Boin & McConnell, 2008;Boin et al, 2006;Kuipers & Welsh, 2017) and the politics and narratives that define and shape a crisis or disaster (Kelman, 2020;Strolovitch, 2022;Tierney, 2019).…”

Provision of social support by mayors in times of crisis: a cross-sectional study among Dutch mayors

“…Therefore, the objective of this empirical study is to assess the perceived support provided and the home visits of Dutch mayors during a relatively recent crisis. We focus on crises with a public impact, as opposed to crises with a more private impact, such as deaths due to fatal disease or other natural causes (Hayes, Waddell, & Smudde, 2017). Crises with a public impact are deemed to be disruptive and catastrophic events that cause physical or psychosociological trauma to individuals, communities, organizations, and social support networks, regardless of whether they are directly or indirectly impacted by the crises (adapted from Doka, 2003;Gamino, 2003).…”

“…Crises with a public impact are deemed to be disruptive and catastrophic events that cause physical or psychosociological trauma to individuals, communities, organizations, and social support networks, regardless of whether they are directly or indirectly impacted by the crises (adapted from Doka, 2003;Gamino, 2003). They tend to be large in scope and enable many to identify with the victims or their circumstances (Hawdon & Ryan, 2011;Hayes et al, 2017;Kropf & Jones, 2014). This study is restricted to this particular setting because it enables us to determine the interaction between the public leaders' care for a society in shock and the support for the affected on a more individual level.…”