Crisis Communication and Corporate Responsibility in Media Companies

Abstract

This chapter will focus on particularities of crisis communication in media companies. Based on a case study of the “Relotius scandal” at Germany’s most authoritative news magazine, DER SPIEGEL, it will highlight how boundaries between journalism and corporate communication are likely to blur in times of crises. Corporate institutions focusing on journalistic quality, such as ombudsmen (also: readers’ advocates), therefore emerge as a critical element of crisis prevention and communication. Empirically, this chapter is based on a review of trade reporting on the “Relotius scandal” as well as interviews with communication managers of leading German media companies and ombudsmen. Crisis communication relates to CSR communication in media companies in two ways: First, sustainability issues can be potential causes of corporate crises. Second, in media companies, corporate responsibility extends to the quality of journalism provided to the public. Crises constitute a challenge to journalistic quality and therefore media companies’ CSR performance.