It is Not About Facts – It is About Framing. The App Generation's Information‐Seeking Tactics: Proactive Online Crisis Communication

Abstract

The article examines Swedish children's information‐seeking tactics before and during a crisis. Using the 2014 Ebola outbreak as a case in point, special attention is drawn to how source credibility is assessed on the Internet. If the individual perspective is to be taken seriously within crisis management/crisis communication, empirical studies with various stakeholders, such as children, are needed. With the theoretical framework of framing, the importance of children's personal experiences is brought to the fore. Developing strategic means of listening to children rather than operating from a top‐down perspective constitutes a main point of departure in the study. Framings are in the article suggested as a suitable strategic tool for proactive online crisis communication with a specific focus on public agencies.

Disentangling rhetorical subarenas of public health crisis communication: A study of the 2014–2015 Ebola outbreak in the news media and social media in Sweden

“…Because in‐site commentary options were permanently withdrawn from the websites of Swedish newspapers several years ago (Andén, ), the role of social media in providing opportunities to interact with and redisseminate news media content increased. News texts may, and often do, function as a starting point or stimulus to community discussion and debate (Jenkins, Ford, & Green, ; Sjöberg, ). Moreover, journalist‐produced content and user comments, as demonstrated by Barnes (), can be seen as integral parts of the overall story that shapes the audience perception of crisis events.…”

Understanding motivated publics during disasters: Examining message functions, frames, and styles of social media influentials and followers

“…Social media has increased publics' abilities to influence the framing of a crisis (van der Meer, ; van der Meer, Verhoeven, Beentjes, & Vliegenthart, ; Sjöberg, ). During crises, publics' framing process can affect their understanding of the crisis and the progress of the crisis (Hallahan, ).…”

Gender and Presence of Children: Examining Media Uses, Informational Needs, and Source Preferences during the Flint, Michigan Water Crisis

“…Uncertainty can prompt information seeking behaviors, which are influenced by specific needs, especially during a crisis (Brashers et al, 2000). The public will typically seek crisis information from a variety of sources and will continue to do so throughout the crisis life cycle (e.g., Lai & Tang, 2018;Sellnow & Seeger, 2013;Sjöberg, 2018;Sommerfeldt, 2015). Prominent sources of information often include legacy mass media, social media, and interpersonal networks.…”