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The pandemic has posed serious challenges to all spheres of public, economic and political life. This necessitated the development and implementation of a number of measures related to the new organization of work of companies and institutions. Communications – with external and internal audiences – have begun to play a key role not only in the immediate survival of organizations, but also in their successful recovery from the crisis. Crisis communications are especially important in this process. One of the sectors facing the biggest challenges during the Covid pandemic was education. Those working in the field had to prepare completely new communication programs aimed at process management. They also had to adapt their current communication strategies to meet the requirements of the environment. The material will consider the main characteristics in the communication of the restrictive measures of educational institutions in Bulgaria in the period 2020 – 2021. Some techniques and methods of rhetoric applied during this period will be presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, U.S. environmental organizations and U.S. chapters of international environmental organizations grappled with a broad set of challenges, including when and what to communicate to supporters. In the winter and early spring of 2020, environmental organizations became crisis communicators, confronted by time pressures and the limited attention spans of audiences beset by the pandemic. Crafting communications that are concise and factual, compassionate, that instill confidence, and that evince organizational competence are important facets of crisis communications. However, environmental organizations faced the additional challenge of ensuring that their own priorities were presented clearly and persuasively amidst the flood of pandemic-related information. Responding to the Covid-19 pandemic, and preparation for future pandemics, force environmental organizations to amend their crisis communications to underscore their relevance to crises and their role in problem-solving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The study examines the online public response to a high visibility incident of service failure from the crisis communication and image restoration perspectives. A specific incident in a hotel of a popular chain in Beijing, China, which was widely publicized on Chinese social network Weibo, is used as an example. Applying data mining and GIS to the collected data, the study analyzes temporal, spatial, topical, and gender dynamics of public discussions to investigate the usefulness of such data for hospitality providers in crisis. The study finds evidence that the effect of the incident on the general public is moderated by spatial and personal proximity of Weibo users. The discussion topics reflect the nature of the crisis and are affected by communications from the service provider and third parties. Implications for providers of tourism and hospitality services in a crisis of high visibility are discussed. Highlights • Online public discussions of a service failure incident are examined via UGC from Weibo. • Factors of spatial and personal proximity to the incident are examined. • Findings reveal temporal, topical, spatial, and gender implications for service providers. • Crisis Communication Theory is applied to frame the dynamics of public response. • Managerial implications for the hotel chain involved in the incident are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analysed the changes in destination marketing organisation's (DMOs) marketing communications in response to the unprecedented shock of the pandemic. A total of 250,979 tweets and 44,560 replies by 113 DMOs before and during the pandemic were carefully examined using descriptive and time series analyses, topic modelling, sentiment analysis, and principal component analysis. The findings revealed four change patterns in Twitter usage: degrade, disseminate, engage, and elevate. Topic modelling identified 19 content topics and their five trends during the pandemic: falling, rebounding, maintaining, relapsing, and rising. Additionally, the four general content strategies — emotional, functional, informational, and experiential — provided a guideline and competitive landscape for DMOs to use in planning and devising their marketing communication strategies to handle such a shock. This study effectively addresses several research gaps, including the dearth of longitudinal, cross-country, and supply-side studies on crisis communications in tourism. As such, it enriches the existing body of knowledge by taking a comprehensive look at the diverse communication executions and strategies during both regular periods and crises. In doing so, it bridges the gap between theories of crisis communications and general social media communication strategies employed by DMOs. • Unveil the changes in DMOs' communications in response to the pandemic shock • Examine very carefully 250,979 tweets and 44,560 replies from 113 DMOs • Identify 4 communication patterns, 19 content topics and 4 general strategies • Provide a guideline and new competitive landscape for DMOs to handle a crisis • Contribute to the body of knowledge in crisis communication in tourism [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Abstract: When addressing community engagement and outreach, North American carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects have parameters unique to the continent, including the history of CO2 enhanced oil recovery (EOR), which goes back over 40 years in some jurisdictions and, aligned with this, the use of landmen and one-on-one dialogue with landowners and community residents that are well versed in oilfield technologies. These variables alone are in marked contrast to the CCS experiences of many global projects, which do not have the tradition of engaging in one-on-one discussion. Even where CCS projects have conducted extensive public consultation and education, significant opposition has shut down some, and put in jeopardy others, in a manner that contradicts the North American hydrocarbon experience. With the increase in North America of integrated CCS projects that go beyond CO2-EOR, a change in community engagement strategies has taken place under the unique auspices of the United States Department of Energy's (US DOE) Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships Initiative (RCSP). Part of the planning in each of these seven geographic regions includes significant public education, outreach, and communications programs, particularly in areas unfamiliar with injection and storage technologies (i.e., outside of traditional oil producing areas). The bringing together of different demonstration projects’ participants – not just nationally within the US but including projects in Western Canada – has allowed for the sharing of best practices between projects and across international jurisdictions. Such sharing is particularly true where the development of community engagement guidelines and strategies are concerned. The publication in 2010 of the US DOE's Best Practices for Public Outreach and Education for Carbon Storage Projects is one example where the experiences of several United States demonstration projects were brought to bear on developing communications guidelines, which in turn were used to help develop public outreach strategies for such projects as Aquistore in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada [1]. Another example of such international information sharing is the World Resources Institute's Guidelines for Community Engagement in Carbon Dioxide Capture, Transport, and Storage Projects where, over a period of a year and a half, international experts were brought together for round table discussions to form the basis of the guidelines and provide an international peer review [2]. More recently, the development of an emergency response plan for the Illinois Basin – Decatur Project, led by the Midwest Geological Sequestration Consortium, one of the RCSP partnerships, drew upon this international collaborative structure, employing the experience of communicators from Schlumberger Carbon Services, the Petroleum Technology Research Centre (managers of the IEAGHG Weyburn- Midale CO2 Monitoring and Storage Project) and the Illinois State Geological Survey to develop a map of potential crisis points. This planning process brought together the lessons learned from various projects, risk assessments, media experiences, and best practices to help identify potential risks for the project (a list of events and scenarios) with the goal of creating response paths and directions for the management of risks and the mitigation of potential threats. These scenarios involved not only potential external issues – such as leakage or pipeline failure – but also addressed management issues internal to a project such as loss of key personnel or loss of funding. The development of this emergency response plan is an example to other projects of the value of interconnecting communications experiences between projects, and of identifying common high-risk scenarios that require advanced response planning. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The context faced by online travel agencies (OTAs) during the pandemic is nothing short of dramatic. During the state of emergency, marketing communications have proven essential to maintain emotional ties with online communities even though sales have plummeted to zero. This study analyses the social network communication strategy during the worst days of the crisis of two OTAs specialized in selling flights and in distributing activities, excursions, and guided tours at the world's top tourist destinations. This qualitative study, based on the observation of online activity and personal interviews with marketing managers, shows how to respond to a crisis, maintain brand identity and strengthen the support of the online community. With the help of the community and co-creation processes, the sector has been able to reinvent itself and new services have emerged. From selling flights, one of the studied OTAs has now changed to planning trips around the regions. • Before reacting to a crisis, the content and the strategy must be planned. • Social media communication requires new messages and different execution. • Even without demand, the travellers must be at the heart of the business strategy. • The value of the community in times of crisis remains and even increases. • Online community as a forum to co-create new destination products and services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]