Expanding the discussion on internal management of risk communication: A critique of the current risk communication literature

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to build from the infrastructural approach to risk communication, rethink the internal management of risk communication, and critique the current literature’s discussion of how risks emerge, the role of the risk communication manager, and the decentralization of the risk communication function. Some of the risk communication literature is too general in terms of recognizing the nuance of the locus of risk, and the role(s) of stakeholders and communicators, which limit understanding that could extend and enrich current risk communication literature. In doing so, the conceptualization of where risk may occur broadens and research-based recommendations are developed from varied contexts to offer specific guidelines for future research to better understand the role of “internal” in risk communication and its practice. All of these points are not to diminish previous risk communication scholarship, but rather to refine and complement the current understanding so the management and communication of risk continues to enhance society as a whole.

Estudar o desconhecido, publicar o possível? A resposta à pandemia da covid-19 nas principais revistas Scopus em Ciências da Comunicação

“…De acordo com o mesmo autor, a comunicação de risco tem surgido como um dos vetores mais importantes na ação governativa de diversos políticos à escala global, designadamente no âmbito da saúde, do ambiente, da regulação alimentar e do planeamento urbano. No entanto, esta parece ser uma perspetiva demasiado simplista, uma vez que apenas circunscreve o território do risco, mas ignora o papel dos stakeholders, dos comunicadores e da compreensão que pode ser gerada a partir da intervenção de múltiplos atores sociais (Lemon e VanDyke, 2021).…”

Addressing grand challenges: perceptions of interdisciplinary research and how communication structures facilitate interdisciplinary research at US research-intensive universities

“…Scholarship has begun to investigate organizational capacities, structures, and processes for strategically communicating science to external publics, and potential consequences, and has called for more research investigating the same (Besley, 2020; Lemon and VanDyke, 2021; Rodder, 2020; Schwetje et al ., 2020; VanDyke and King, 2018; VanDyke and Lee, 2020; Vogler, 2020). For example, Koivumaki and Wilkinson (2020) found that during large-scale, funded research projects, which often require a public communication and/or engagement component, challenges often emerge in developing a common purpose and identity between researchers and communication professionals, which can impact the quality and cohesiveness of project-related science communication efforts.…”

“Striking the right balance”: tensions in municipal risk communication management for preparedness

“…Although existing risk-communication studies provide us with valuable insights into how isolated risk and emergency messages and individual government and municipal preparedness campaigns are received and interpreted by different groups of citizens (e.g. Frisby et al , 2013; Johansson et al , 2021), they do not inform us about the communication practitioners' own perceptions of such preventive and internal work (see also Lemon and VanDyke, 2021). With some exceptions (e.g.…”