New Study on the Further Development of Municipal Crisis Communication

New Study on the Further Development of Municipal Crisis Communication

How effective was government crisis communication during the COVID-19 pandemic – and what lessons can be learned for future crises? These questions are addressed in a new contribution by Martin Löffelholz and Johanna Radechovsky, which has just been published in the "Handbook of Crisis Communication in the Pandemic".

The authors analyze the conditions, effectiveness, and further development of municipal crisis communication within Germany’s federal multi-level system. The contribution focuses on how the federal government, the federal states, and municipalities can communicate effectively during crises – and what conditions are necessary to explain decisions in a transparent and comprehensible way, strengthen trust, and legitimize government action.

Prof. Martin Löffelholz is former chair of the Media Studies Group and currently serves as an academic advisor to the International Research Group on Risk, Crisis and Science Communication, led by Andreas Schwarz.

Contact: Prof. (i.R.) Dr. Martin Löffelholz (martin.loeffelholz@tu-ilmenau.de)

Source:

Löffelholz, M., & Radechovsky, J. (2026). Von der Pandemie zur Polykrise: Bedingungen, Leistungsfähigkeit und Weiterentwicklung kommunaler Krisenkommunikation im föderalen Mehrebenensystem. In F. Brand, H.-J. Bucher, & A. Schulze (Eds), Handbuch Krisenkommunikation in der Pandemie. Springer VS. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-47239-9_15-1