The latest findings from the DECIPHER research project were presented by the Media Studies Group (MW), Research in Public Relations and Communication of Technology (PRTK) and Computational Communication Science (CCS) at Technische Universität Ilmenau on October 5 and 6 at the seventh international conference of the European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA) specialist group for risk and crisis communication in Gothenburg, Sweden. At "Crisis 7", researchers from all over the world discussed the topic of "Crisis Communication from a Citizen Perspective - Urban Risks and Crises".
Prof. Dr. Martin Löffelholz and Dr. Pauline Gidget Estella from the MW department presented initial findings from sub-project 1 'Government Communication' of the DECIPHER project. As part of this sub-project, they conducted qualitative guided interviews with government officials on their crisis management and communication strategies during the COVID 19 pandemic. Their colleagues Johanna Radechovsky, Kathrin Schleicher and Dr. Yi Xu are also involved in the study.
Dr. Andreas Schwarz and Francis Alpers from the PRTK department presented initial results from sub-project 2: 'News Media'. Using a quantitative content analysis, they are investigating how high-reach online news media with different political orientations and reporting styles in the seven countries have reported on the COVID-19 pandemic. The preliminary results suggest that, overall, media coverage has tended to emphasize the health and social dangers of the pandemic rather than the political and economic ones. The effectiveness of medical measures (such as vaccinations or rapid tests) was discussed primarily in the context of decreasing risks (decline in infection rates, etc.).
Dr. Jingyuan Yu from the CCS department presented the initial findings of sub-project 3: 'Citizens and Social Media'. Using a computer-aided analysis, the sub-project examines official crisis communication on social media such as Twitter and YouTube.
Dr. Schwarz also took part in a panel to analyze the relationship between research and professional practice in the field of risk and crisis communication.
More than 100 academics took part in the ECREA conference in Gothenburg. This international networking began in 2009, when Martin Löffelholz and Andreas Schwarz organized the world's first international conference on risk and crisis communication at Ilmenau University of Technology.
