H1N1 and the “crisis in the clinics”: Apathy, risk, and the problem of communication

Yesterday I spent the better part of an hour with Joanne Laucius, a reporter at the Ottawa Citizen. Ms. Laucius phoned to interview me about the public health authorities’ messaging surrounding the H1N1 issue, particularly as it relates to vaccination and the “crisis in the clinics”. The conversation began with her providing a 3-5 minute [...]

The Janus Face of the Financial Crisis

There is a temptation when crises hit to turn inward: marshal the troops, focus on the immediate needs of your organization or sector and weather the storm. This applies whether the crisis is localized (e.g. accusations of malfeasance) or more global in context — major natural disasters, massive outbreaks of food borne-illness or disease, and [...]

Crisis & Empathy Goffman Style

I’ve been thinking a lot about Maple Leaf Foods and its crisis communication response following the listeria outbreak. I’ve posted about the political dimensions of this event already, but even while working through these reactions I was having a hard time reconciling: (a) my admiration for how the company handled the crisis (admiration in terms [...]