Abstract
The purpose of the article is to analyze the crisis communication of the Latvian government in the three most important phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, starting with its spreading and ending with the introduction of vaccination in the country. By comparing the chosen communication strategies in each of the phases, we conclude that the types of communication with the public chosen by the government can be characterized as a success story in the first phase; an accumulation of problems and the failure to find alternatives, which created a snowball effect, in the second phase; while the lack of assessment of the characteristics of the target groups present in society, the adherence to outdated communication channels, and disinformation became the main stumbling blocks of communication on the vaccination process. The article uses a variety of research methods: focus group interviews across the five regions of Latvia, interviews of government communication experts, surveys of public opinion, and content analysis of media.
NB: This project was supported by lzp-2018/1-0480 grant.
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Ozoliņa, Ž., Struberga, S. (2022). Crisis Communication During the Pandemic: Latvia’s Case. In: Maarek, P.J. (eds) Manufacturing Government Communication on Covid-19 . Springer Studies in Media and Political Communication. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-09230-5_4
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