Managing Perceptions – Media in Reputational Crises

Debating the salience of stakeholders in reputational crises relies on the assumption that media can and will spread news of a reputational crisis. Rarely is image reality based. Instead it is media based. Politicians rely on media to create their image in the minds of their voters. As companies use advertising and other persuasive methods to develop an image, so do interest groups in attempting to gain support for their causes through media audiences. Underscoring the importance of social media in reputational crisis has become a focal point in reputational crisis theory and strategy, but often ignored are the rules of conduct for engaging with the media, and how media works in reputational crises. Too often the media are not treated as stakeholders but as a non-stakeholder entity. This problem likely comes from the notion that all media has the same objectives. As such, interactions between media and an organisation experiencing a crisis can quickly become problematic as nuances of media interactions and influence can have a significant impact on how reputational crises are reported in the media. This delicate situation is further complicated as other crisis stakeholders can now have a media role through social media.