Suggestions of Crisis Communication for the Chinese Government - Literature review Example

Suggestions of Crisis Communication for the Chinese Government. al Affiliation) Suggestions of Crisis Communicationfor the Chinese Government. Introduction Anthonissen (2008) defines crisis as something unpredictable but expected, yet cannot be easily eliminated or avoided. He further describes communication crises as threats that can cause harm or pose potential impediments to the success of an institution. In short, a threat, surprise, unpredictability, short duration of response and inevitability define crises. Among all crises, damages, reputation and image are of key concern to any leader and organization during the crisis and post crisis. Arnold (2008) argues that reputational damage is an emergent danger during any crisis. Chen (2008) cites image as a central concept to the disciplines of human relations, fundamental to organizations (such as, government bodies, corporations, nonprofit groups and government institutions) as well as individuals. When a crisis erupts, the organization’s image is damaged and its capacity to manage the crisis qualities are put to test (Becker 2011). Coombs (2012) argues that crisis management is aimed at reducing or warding off financial and reputational risks by espousing the development of policies to help in the handling communication crises. A bank for crisis management policies seeks to help reduce potential negative outcomes ascribed to emergent situations and, thereby, protect institutions, stake holders and the industry from damage, According to Coombs (2012), an active crisis management platform originates from a universal “range of crisis communication approaches” comprising of a variety of activities from “denial to accommodation”. Defensive approaches assert that no disaster exists, or try to evade accountabilities for the crisis, through comprise, denial, excuses, justifications and attacks targeted at the accuser. These approaches place key stress on the protection of administrative reputation eve at the cost of sufferers. In contrast, accommodative approaches consist of “corrective action, full apology, responsibility, corrective action and remedial action to correct the crisis. Normally, it is the responsibility of the government to communicate with victims during a crisis. The public, on the other hand, can seek information from traditional media sources such as newspapers, television, magazines and online sources (Chen, 2012). The Chinese government heavily relies on the traditional sources of information like newspapers and television to distribute information. The need for speedy communication platforms are increasing with the development of current technological innovations like social media. The people of China, however, do not experience such privileges because of media frauds. Through an extensive literature review, this chapter seeks to address how this crisis ascribed to communication can be handled in china. Current communication crises in china. Media transparency in china. Media transparency is the ideal condition in which media institutions are objective and not subjected to outside influence. Chinese media schemes have transitioned form state-run to primarily private-owned entities. Several influences on the media have immerged. First, the Chinese government still controls some key institutions of the media such as the people’s daily; the local authorities still influence local media coverage (Arnold 2008). Secondly, some media personnel still receive bribes to omit fundamental information in their coverage. An international index ranked china 1 out of 66 nations where media bribery is most likely to occur with government and media institutions being the leading culprits (Lio, 2007). Third, because the privately owned media system are dominant, China is still developing; these media platforms rely on a handful off advertisers that positively or negatively influence their capacity to grow. The infiltration of the online media has been found to lessen influence on media coverage by enabling free movement of information (Chen, 2012). When information appears through online sources and catches people’s attention, within a short period, information can be spread through social media to billions of people and occasionally activate large-scale, unprompted protests. Particularly in places where the local media is expurgated, social media like Facebook and Twitter can be the truest source of information (Coombs & Holladay 2012). Once information breaks out, off or online, other media openings can then cover the story with ease or limited interference. The government’s influence on media. Despite the fact that fundamental state media such as CCTV, and the people’s daily continue to hold significant market share, independent media are still struggling to find their way into the market. Independent media firms that run within the PRC (exclusive of Macau and Hong Kong, which have distinct media governing bodies) are no longer expected to firmly follow journalistic procedures put in place by the Chinese government. Hong Kong, still, is witnessing increased criticisms on self-censorship (Coombs 2014). However, regulatory agencies continue to set strict regulatory guidelines on media houses. For instance, government regulatory bodies such as the General Administration of Press and Publication and the State Administration of radio, television, and film, continue to set strict regulations on subjects that are considered as taboos by the government. Including but not restricted to the lawfulness of the Communist Party, government guidelines in Xinjiang and Tibet pornography, and the forbidden spiritual topics, such as the Falun Gong and Dalai. are still under strict restriction (Lindholm, & Olsson, 2011). In spite of heavy government watch, however, the internet is continually becoming a commercial media with respect to advertising and information dissemination with growing competition, increased investigative reporting and diversified content. Areas such as finance, sports and progressively lucrative entertainment face little or no restrictions from the government. Crisis communication on ongoing Hong Kong protests. According to Liu &Goodnight (2008), Hong Kong protests have been suppressed deep inside most TV broadcasts and newspapers, and framed in a way that makes it unintelligible and uninteresting to a common Chinese. In his analysis of the media coverage on Hong Kong protests, he argues that most of the coverage is focused on Beijing’s reaction to events with no concrete explanation of what really transpired to trigger responses. In addition, he argues that the coverages are a hodgepodge of rumors condemning the protests, accusing Hong Kong leader C.Y. Leung of being unwilling to resign. From the media’s viewpoint, the protests taking place now are a reporters dream come true, featuring action-filled and colorful images of demonstrators, politicians, the police, and a conflict that makes for great TV-viewing and photos. However, none of those pictures have reached China’s official media, almost undoubtedly on direct commands from propaganda administrators who worry that such images could motivate others in China to take a similar course of action. Strict prohibitions on such provocative pictures are common in order-obsessed China, even when such demonstrations are Chinese individuals. One such prohibition was a vital feature in the local coverage of a key territorial disagreement with Japan two years ago, with major demonstrations that broke out around China creepily absent from all local reports (Liu & Goodnight 2008). Media owners in china Self-censorship is like a cancerous growth, and a plague increasing on a daily basis. In Hong Kong, media firms are customarily owned by businesspersons with trade interests in China. Individuals’ greed has made them not risk losing business contracts from the Chinese government. They are not willing to loose advertising revenue from the government and avoid getting into bad relations with the central government. According to Lyu (2012), approximately more than half of media owners in china have accepted appointments to the main political parties of china- the Chinese people’s political consultative conference and the national people’s congress. Fresh appointments to one of the two assemblies include: , Richard Li owner of TV and the Hong Kong Economic Journal, Charles Ho, owner of Sing Tao news group, and Peter Woo of I-Cable television. Academicians and Journalists are now worried that China’s media owners are being sucked into Chinas political elite. Media coverage credibility Coombs (2012) argued that credibility is a model used in influence, which affects the receiver’s outlook toward the conversationalist. Sllabat (2011) noted that credibility is essential in media coverage because it has a noteworthy effect on the expressiveness of a message. Millar (2004) conceptualized that credibility was composed of two vital components, trustworthiness and expertise. Naturally, expertise was the conversationalist’s knowledge about the topic, which can be expounded as the ability of an association to control a given communication crisis (Coombs, 2014). Thiesen & Ingenholf (2011) in their study, found that trustworthiness was the conversationalist’s concern or goodwill to receive a message and connotes sympathy and compassion for the affected stakeholders (Coombs, 2014), The reestablishment of credibility always comes with image restoration. Millar (2004) argued that if a rumor on an organization circulated, it is upon the organization to come out and define itself, stating that the information is unjust and untrue. Rumors must be addressed since credibility and trust are two vital features of reputation building and apt communication. In this respect a crisis is improved; it is not only partial to the damage suffered by the natural tragedy, but rumors devastate the group’s credibility, which is a vital constituent of the public’s attitude toward the organization. This will in additional stain the organization’s image. Most people in China have stopped watching news on media, especially the young generation. They prefer online media. This is because of the lost credibility in the media coverage (Slabbert & Barker, 2011). Most media personnel in china are faced with abusive words from the public. The media organizations have a lot to do to restore their image from the public viewpoint. Needed future research The best approach of using social media to manage crises is a new concern for the government, corporations and organizations. Typically, new communication media such as Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp that define online media practices and technologies that people use to share their opinions, experiences and perspectives have drawn a new perspective on the best approaches for communicating with the public. The likely impact of social media and blogs on cooperate communication and public relations is phenomenal, enabling two-way communication by introducing direct channels of communication amongst organizations and the public, and offering a platform for the public to interact or communicate. Consequently, more research is needed on how blogs and social media platforms influence information distribution and how accurate and true the information shared is. In addition, the literature review has revealed the need of more research on; first, to what extent is the Chinese government influences Chinese local media operating abroad. Second is how the Chinese government is absorbing the existence of social media. Finally, to what extent the Chinese guidelines on social media are restrictive on online media. Problems with the existing literature Most of the literature on media relations and crisis communication takes overlooks the fact that organizations operate in liberated media atmospheres. However, this is not always the case. In fact, in some nations, organizations can influence media affiliations to keep a disaster from making captions in the dailies. In 2008, a Chinese milk firm was able to provisionally obstruct media coverage during a quality crisis that eventually sickened nearly 300,000 children, and killed at least six babies (Arnold 2008), References Anthonissen, P. F. (2008). Crisis communication practical PR strategies for reputation management and company survival. London: Kogan Page. Arnold, W. E. (2008). Crisis communication. Dubuque, Iowa: Gorsuch Scarisbrick. Becker, J. (2011). Coverage of the Tibet Crisis (March 2008) and the Olympic Games in China (August 2008) in the German-language mass media. International Communication Gazette, 73(6), 495-506. Chen, L. (2008). Open information system and crisis communication in China. Chinese Journal of Communication, 1(1), 38-54. Retrieved October 13, 2011, from http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17544750701861905 Chen, N. (2012). Beijings Political Crisis Communication: an analysis of Chinese government communication in the 2009 Xinjiang riot. Journal of Contemporary China, 3, 1-19. 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