Legitimacy and Messaging in Crisis Communication

Vivian Walker's lecture on "Legitimacy and Messaging in Crisis Communication" in the Summer Institute hosted by the Center on Public Diplomacy at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. 

The lecture focuses on the particular challenge of effective short-term crisis messaging in the face of inadequate information, competing institutional priorities and diverse audiences in a globalized information environment. The lecture is based on a study of official USG statements and reactions to the September 2012 attacks on U.S. diplomatic installations in Benghazi. Key concepts included information acquisition trends, short-term outreach techniques, target audience assessment, the role of stakeholders in message development, and the impact of quality, quantity and timing of information sharing on message credibility and influence.