The Public’s Perceptions of Government Officials’ Communication in the Wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic

IF 1.5 Q2 COMMUNICATION

Journal of Creative Communications Pub Date : 2021-07-01 DOI:10.1177/09732586211003856

Shaniece B. Bickham, Diane B. Francis

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引用次数: 13

Abstract

Early news coverage in the US about the COVID-19 pandemic focused on information released from local, state and federal government officials. With an emphasis on US government at these levels, this study examined whether the public’s credibility perceptions and trust in government, along with message exposure, influenced their adherence to information from the government about (a) stay-at-home orders, (b) social distancing and (c) COVID-19 testing. Source credibility theory and situational crisis communication theory provided the theoretical framework for this study. Through the survey data analysis, we investigated communication preferences in the wake of the pandemic and whether credibility perceptions differed according to the level of government. Survey findings revealed that message exposure influenced respondents’ perceived credibility of and trust in government officials during and after the stay-at-home order. Finally, practical implications regarding recommended communication strategies based on the findings were discussed.

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新冠肺炎疫情后公众对政府官员沟通的认知

美国关于COVID-19大流行的早期新闻报道主要集中在地方、州和联邦政府官员发布的信息上。本研究以这些级别的美国政府为重点，研究了公众对政府的可信度和信任，以及信息曝光，是否影响了他们对政府关于(a)居家令、(b)保持社交距离和(c) COVID-19检测信息的依从性。信息源可信度理论和情境危机沟通理论为本研究提供了理论框架。通过调查数据分析，我们调查了疫情后的沟通偏好，以及可信度感知是否因政府级别而异。调查结果显示，信息暴露影响了受访者在“居家令”期间和之后对政府官员的可信度和信任度。最后，讨论了基于研究结果的建议传播策略的实际意义。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of Creative Communications COMMUNICATION-

CiteScore

2.70

自引率

26.70%

发文量

期刊介绍： The Journal of Creative Communications promotes inquiry into contemporary communication issues within wider social, economic, marketing, cultural, technological and management contexts, and provides a forum for the discussion of theoretical and practical insights emerging from such inquiry. The journal encourages a new language of analysis for contemporary communications research and publishes articles dealing with innovative and alternate ways of doing research that push the frontiers of conceptual dialogue in communication theory and practice. The journal engages with a wide range of issues and themes in the areas of cultural studies, digital media, media studies, technoculture, marketing communication, organizational communication, communication management, mass and new media, and development communication, among others. JOCC is a double blind peer reviewed journal.