Matthew W Seeger
Biographic Data
| ID | 4504781 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Matthew W Seeger |
| GIVEN NAMES | Matthew W |
| FAMILY NAME | Seeger |
| SIGNATURE | SEEGER M W |
| AFFILIATIONS | Wayne State University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-5585-3081 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 19 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 8 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 19 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1998 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Introduction to the Special Issue
Exchanges between the research and practice communities can generate important lessons for both. This effort to generate lessons learned from the risk communication and community engagement practitioners at the WHO provides insights from the lived experiences of those on the front lines of the global COVID-19 response. Learning from the practice community is positioned as an important process to understanding the decisions about communication str…
After Action Reviews, Learning Lessons and Post-Crisis Assessment of Crisis and Risk Communication
After-Action Reviews (AARs) have become essential tools for organizational learning and development, particularly in post-crisis contexts such as public health emergencies. This study examines the processes, characteristics, and challenges of AARs, focusing on their application during the COVID-19 pandemic. We conceptualize AARs as communication processes that enact, encode, and disseminate lessons learned, contributing to organizational resilien…
Enhancing evacuation resilience
Perspectives and Propositions on Resilience as Interdisciplinary, Multilevel, and Interdependent
The concept of resilience is surging in popularity, but relevant discussions are often disconnected from one field to another. To prompt integration of disparate conversations on resilience, we examine the concept’s origins etymologically, genealogically, and by analyzing the interdependencies of drinking water and public health systems in six academic disciplines and practice-oriented fields. These disciplines are engineering, social work, urban…
Variability in Media Content of Public Health Outbreak Coverage
This study investigated the stage-specific nature of media coverage of a large-scale dengue outbreak in Bangladesh. We employed the three-stage model of crisis communication and the extended parallel process model as an integrated theoretical framework. A content analysis of two years (2019–2020) of media coverage (N = 615) showed that the number of dengue-related threat messages was significantly higher during the precrisis and crisis response s…
Boil Water Advisories as Risk Communication
The Safe Drinking Water Act Public Notification Rule requires that customers of public water systems (PWS) be informed of problems that may pose a risk to public health. Boil water advisories (BWA) are a form of communication intended to mitigate potential health risks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) developed guidance for BWAs. We examined how local US news media incorporate the CDC’s guidelines when reporting on BWAs. A co…
When Crises Hit Home
Evolving Best Practices in Crisis Communication
The COVID-19 pandemic started in January 2020 and has rapidly spread around the globe. Among the institutions at the forefront of responding to COVID-19 are U.S. colleges and universities. These institutions frequently face crises, but they have not always managed these episodes successfully. Given the gravity of the pandemic, best practices research can help higher education institutions combat public health crises and other threats. This study …
The Communicative Relationship between the Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Stakeholders and the Reproductive Healthcare Nonprofit Organization
As the third largest employment sector in the United States, nonprofits work to fill gaps left by the government and for-profit sectors. Because they work with disadvantaged populations, mission-driven nonprofits are afforded an opportunity to empower clients. This study uses Planned Parenthood as a point of entry for interrogating the role of service-oriented nonprofits. Grounded in a feminist approach to stakeholder theory, this study assesses …
Gender and Presence of Children
In 2014, a water crisis emerged in Flint, Michigan. Using uses and gratifications theory as the guiding framework, this study examines if crisis-related media uses, informational needs, and source preferences are related to respondents’ gender and/or whether or not respondents had children. A random sample of 208 Flint residents yielded results that are largely consistent with extant research, although minor nuances were found. Media uses, prefer…
Mortality Reporting and Rumor Generation
This study assessed the Government of Puerto Rico’s crisis and emergency risk communications following Hurricane María and the post-disaster information environment to identify factors that may have contributed to negative public perceptions of mortality reports. Data included Government of Puerto Rico press releases, press conference audio recordings and Facebook Live transmissions, digital media news and social media commentary, and interviews …
Sensemaking and crisis revisited
This study operationalized Weick’s [(1988). Enacted sensemaking in crisis situations. Journal of Management Studies 25(4), 305–317 and (1993). The collapse of sensemaking in organizations: The Mann Gulch disaster. Administrative Science Quarterly, 38, 628–652] theory of enacted sensemaking to examine the communication processes associated with the Flint Water Crisis of 2014–2015. A content analysis of 389 emails and attachments from a total popul…
Theorizing Crisis Communication
Theorizing Crisis Communication presents a comprehensive review and critique of the broad range of theoretical frameworks designed to explain the role of communication in the development, management, and consequences of natural and man-made crises. This book: Brings together the variety of theoretical approaches emerging in the study of crisis communication into one volume for the first time ; Summarizes theories from such diverse perspectives as…
Effective Risk Communication
Terrorist attacks and uncertainty reduction
Major acts of terrorism, like all public crises, instigate patterns of information seeking among the general public. These patterns of information seeking are consistent with previous research in social psychology, suggesting that in times of great fear, confusion or uncertainty, there is a fundamental need to acquire information that may be useful in restoring some sense of normality. Using survey data collected in three major American cities, t…
Cerc as a Theoretical Framework for Research and Practice
Health communicators at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have developed an integrated model titled Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication (CERC) as a tool to educate and equip public health professionals for the expanding communication responsibilities of public health in emergency situations. This essay focuses on CERC as a general theoretical framework for explaining how health communication functions within the contexts of…
Best Practices in Crisis Communication
The description of “best practices” is widely used to improve organizational and professional practice. This analysis describes best practices in crisis communication as a form of grounded theoretical approach for improving the effectiveness of crisis communication specifically within the context of large publicly-managed crises. The results of a panel of crisis communication experts are reviewed. Ten best practices for effective crisis communica…
Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication as an Integrative Model
This article describes a model of communication known as crisis and emergency risk communication (CERC). The model is outlined as a merger of many traditional notions of health and risk communication with work in crisis and disaster communication. The specific kinds of communication activities that should be called for at various stages of disaster or crisis development are outlined. Although crises are by definition uncertain, equivocal, and oft…
Communication, Organization, and Crisis
Communication is increasingly recognized as an important process in organizational crisis and crisis management. The Three Mile Island incident, the Bhopal Union Carbide accident, the crash of Northwest Airlines Flight 255, and the Exxon Valdez oil spill can all be described as specific, unexpected, and nonroutine events or series of events that created high levels of uncertainty and threat or perceived threat to an organization's high-priority g…
Terrorist attacks and uncertainty reduction
Major acts of terrorism, like all public crises, instigate patterns of information seeking among the general public. These patterns of information seeking are consistent with previous research in social psychology, suggesting that in times of great fear, confusion or uncertainty, there is a fundamental need to acquire information that may be useful in restoring some sense of normality. Using survey data collected in three major American cities, t…
Communication, Organization, and Crisis
Communication is increasingly recognized as an important process in organizational crisis and crisis management. The Three Mile Island incident, the Bhopal Union Carbide accident, the crash of Northwest Airlines Flight 255, and the Exxon Valdez oil spill can all be described as specific, unexpected, and nonroutine events or series of events that created high levels of uncertainty and threat or perceived threat to an organization's high-priority g…
Communication, Organization, and Crisis
Communication is increasingly recognized as an important process in organizational crisis and crisis management. The Three Mile Island incident, the Bhopal Union Carbide accident, the crash of Northwest Airlines Flight 255, and the Exxon Valdez oil spill can all be described as specific, unexpected, and nonroutine events or series of events that created high levels of uncertainty and threat or perceived threat to an organization's high-priority g…
Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication as an Integrative Model
This article describes a model of communication known as crisis and emergency risk communication (CERC). The model is outlined as a merger of many traditional notions of health and risk communication with work in crisis and disaster communication. The specific kinds of communication activities that should be called for at various stages of disaster or crisis development are outlined. Although crises are by definition uncertain, equivocal, and oft…
Best Practices in Crisis Communication
The description of “best practices” is widely used to improve organizational and professional practice. This analysis describes best practices in crisis communication as a form of grounded theoretical approach for improving the effectiveness of crisis communication specifically within the context of large publicly-managed crises. The results of a panel of crisis communication experts are reviewed. Ten best practices for effective crisis communica…
Cerc as a Theoretical Framework for Research and Practice
Health communicators at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have developed an integrated model titled Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication (CERC) as a tool to educate and equip public health professionals for the expanding communication responsibilities of public health in emergency situations. This essay focuses on CERC as a general theoretical framework for explaining how health communication functions within the contexts of…
Effective Risk Communication
Terrorist attacks and uncertainty reduction
Major acts of terrorism, like all public crises, instigate patterns of information seeking among the general public. These patterns of information seeking are consistent with previous research in social psychology, suggesting that in times of great fear, confusion or uncertainty, there is a fundamental need to acquire information that may be useful in restoring some sense of normality. Using survey data collected in three major American cities, t…
Theorizing Crisis Communication
Theorizing Crisis Communication presents a comprehensive review and critique of the broad range of theoretical frameworks designed to explain the role of communication in the development, management, and consequences of natural and man-made crises. This book: Brings together the variety of theoretical approaches emerging in the study of crisis communication into one volume for the first time ; Summarizes theories from such diverse perspectives as…
Gender and Presence of Children
In 2014, a water crisis emerged in Flint, Michigan. Using uses and gratifications theory as the guiding framework, this study examines if crisis-related media uses, informational needs, and source preferences are related to respondents’ gender and/or whether or not respondents had children. A random sample of 208 Flint residents yielded results that are largely consistent with extant research, although minor nuances were found. Media uses, prefer…
Mortality Reporting and Rumor Generation
This study assessed the Government of Puerto Rico’s crisis and emergency risk communications following Hurricane María and the post-disaster information environment to identify factors that may have contributed to negative public perceptions of mortality reports. Data included Government of Puerto Rico press releases, press conference audio recordings and Facebook Live transmissions, digital media news and social media commentary, and interviews …
Sensemaking and crisis revisited
This study operationalized Weick’s [(1988). Enacted sensemaking in crisis situations. Journal of Management Studies 25(4), 305–317 and (1993). The collapse of sensemaking in organizations: The Mann Gulch disaster. Administrative Science Quarterly, 38, 628–652] theory of enacted sensemaking to examine the communication processes associated with the Flint Water Crisis of 2014–2015. A content analysis of 389 emails and attachments from a total popul…
Evolving Best Practices in Crisis Communication
The COVID-19 pandemic started in January 2020 and has rapidly spread around the globe. Among the institutions at the forefront of responding to COVID-19 are U.S. colleges and universities. These institutions frequently face crises, but they have not always managed these episodes successfully. Given the gravity of the pandemic, best practices research can help higher education institutions combat public health crises and other threats. This study …
The Communicative Relationship between the Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Stakeholders and the Reproductive Healthcare Nonprofit Organization
As the third largest employment sector in the United States, nonprofits work to fill gaps left by the government and for-profit sectors. Because they work with disadvantaged populations, mission-driven nonprofits are afforded an opportunity to empower clients. This study uses Planned Parenthood as a point of entry for interrogating the role of service-oriented nonprofits. Grounded in a feminist approach to stakeholder theory, this study assesses …
Boil Water Advisories as Risk Communication
The Safe Drinking Water Act Public Notification Rule requires that customers of public water systems (PWS) be informed of problems that may pose a risk to public health. Boil water advisories (BWA) are a form of communication intended to mitigate potential health risks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) developed guidance for BWAs. We examined how local US news media incorporate the CDC’s guidelines when reporting on BWAs. A co…
When Crises Hit Home
Perspectives and Propositions on Resilience as Interdisciplinary, Multilevel, and Interdependent
The concept of resilience is surging in popularity, but relevant discussions are often disconnected from one field to another. To prompt integration of disparate conversations on resilience, we examine the concept’s origins etymologically, genealogically, and by analyzing the interdependencies of drinking water and public health systems in six academic disciplines and practice-oriented fields. These disciplines are engineering, social work, urban…
Variability in Media Content of Public Health Outbreak Coverage
This study investigated the stage-specific nature of media coverage of a large-scale dengue outbreak in Bangladesh. We employed the three-stage model of crisis communication and the extended parallel process model as an integrated theoretical framework. A content analysis of two years (2019–2020) of media coverage (N = 615) showed that the number of dengue-related threat messages was significantly higher during the precrisis and crisis response s…
Enhancing evacuation resilience
Introduction to the Special Issue
Exchanges between the research and practice communities can generate important lessons for both. This effort to generate lessons learned from the risk communication and community engagement practitioners at the WHO provides insights from the lived experiences of those on the front lines of the global COVID-19 response. Learning from the practice community is positioned as an important process to understanding the decisions about communication str…
After Action Reviews, Learning Lessons and Post-Crisis Assessment of Crisis and Risk Communication
After-Action Reviews (AARs) have become essential tools for organizational learning and development, particularly in post-crisis contexts such as public health emergencies. This study examines the processes, characteristics, and challenges of AARs, focusing on their application during the COVID-19 pandemic. We conceptualize AARs as communication processes that enact, encode, and disseminate lessons learned, contributing to organizational resilien…
Disaster Management and Resilience (14 works) · Political science (14 works) · Public Relations and Crisis Communication (14 works) · Public relations (13 works) · Crisis communication (10 works) · Business (9 works) · Psychology (8 works) · Sociology (8 works) · Risk Perception and Management (7 works) · Computer Science (6 works)