Projects

Crisis and Communication Research Project

The project Crisis and Communication: A Comparative Study (C&C -project) analyses the use and function of communication in different types of crises. The project covers several crises at both Finnish (Nokia town water crisis, Jokela school shooting in Finland) and international level (Tsunami disaster, Virginia Tech school shooting). The C&C -project combines the different disciplinary approaches of media, organization and communication studies. Special focus is given to the comparative element: the analysis of communicational processes in different types of crises and in different social contexts (the media, the state, and public organizations).

The role of the new media is especially emphasized in the project. The C&C -project consists of several individual and joint studies producing articles, reports and seminars aimed at both international and national academic audiences and practitioners. The duration of the research project Crisis and Communication: A Comparative Study is from April 2008 to December 2009.

The project is carried out by the Communication Research Centre at the Department of Communication, the University of Helsinki.