Political, Social, and Economic Crises in Public Communication

Abstract

During the last months, there has been a significant increase in the evidence showing the catastrophic health situation in Venezuela. There are multiple epidemics, increase in emerging and reemerging infectious, tropical and parasitic diseases as consequences of the social, economic and political crises, which would be considered today an anthropogenic disaster. Venezuela is facing in 2019, the worse sanitary conditions, with multiple implications for public health and travel medicine. So far, from a global perspective, this situation will be an impediment for the achievement of sustainable development goals (SDG) in 2030. In this multiauthor review, there is a comprehensive analysis of the situation for infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, their impact in the Americas region, given the migration crisis as well as the relative status of the SDG 2030. This discussion can provide input for prioritizing emerging health problems and establish a future agenda.

More than a marginal phenomenon: Relevance and content-related aspects of mediated sport scandals

“…As a first major result with regard to RQ1, it was clarified that sport scandals play an important role in contemporary scandal reporting. These findings correspond to theoretical assumptions that propose an expansion of scandal reporting in fields apart from politics, such as sports, arts, and economics (Eisenegger 2016;Imhof 2016). This development can be explained from different perspectives.…”

Political communication in and about crises. Potentials of a fragmented field

“…Political crises differ massive-ly from the usual communicative reproduction of structures with their tendency to escalating turbulences. An encompassing theory of how crises differ and when and why they occur in public communication was offered by Imhof (2011Imhof ( , 2016. In his crisis theory, Imhof speaks to several of the research areas outlined above.…”

“…Every societal model depends on shared expectations, and it is obvious that these expectations change on a discontinuous basis because of slowly developing unintended consequences of social action (e. g. traffic jams in growing suburbs that were actually meant to be an idyllic refuge from crowded cities). Unfulfilled expectations go hand in hand with growing disenchantment (Imhof, 2016). Formerly held expectations are shattered, meaning people are disappointed and lose security.…”

“…To identify and explain political crises, we can look for the following characteristics in public communication (cf. Malsch, Florian & Schmitt, 2014;Imhof, 2016;Hirschman, 1994): 1) conflict-induced cluster of communication (high media attention), 2) statements reflecting unfulfilled expectations (anomic tensions) and diffuse threat and risk potentials that are not really understood (insecurity), 3) marked loss of reputation (even if only temporary) of relevant individuals, organizations and institutions, 4) intensified and dramatized pressure to act and to decide while the process cannot be controlled, 5) polarization into two conflicting camps where routine conflicts of "more or less" are transformed into fundamental conflicts of "either-or", 6) anticipation or imagination of solutions which oscillate between doom and salvation, 7) more visibility and resonance of new actors or new positions in the news media.…”

“…Bearing this in mind, we could start examining which of the many problems and conflicts that are labeled as "crisis" by scholars fulfill these criteria. In his empirical analysis of public communication in Switzerland between 1910 and, Imhof identified seven main clusters of intensified media attention and fundamental conflicts within 100 years, hence seven periods of crisis (Imhof, 2011(Imhof, , 2016cf. also Udris 2011).…”