Kunieda Tomoki

This article reviews the historical development and major theoretical frameworks of crisis communication and organizes key practical insights relevant to contemporary contexts. It demonstrates that crisis communication is not a reactive remedy limited to emergencies, but a continuous organizational function that encompasses trust building, risk anticipation, and the design of accountability in non-crisis periods. The article further examines the interrelationship between risk communication and crisis communication, and considers how theoretical insights have been applied in practice. In particular, in light of online backlash and the social amplification of risk in the age of social media, it discusses the importance of transparency-, empathy-, and respect-based communication for public institutions.

This study examines how public relations (PR) has been described as “misunderstood” in the United States since the 1920s. Through a preliminary historical literature analysis of major works by Edward L. Bernays and different editions of Effective Public Relations, the study identifies recurring patterns in narratives about PR misunderstandings. Three major types are identified: functional reduction, in which PR is equated with only one of its functions, such as publicity; boundary confusion, in which PR is conflated with advertising, marketing, propaganda, or other related fields; and normative deviation, in which PR as a whole is negatively evaluated on the basis of unethical or deceptive practices. The analysis also identifies five underlying causes: functional complexity, conceptual instability, uneven visibility, imbalances in actual practice, and ethical deviation. These patterns have repeatedly appeared for approximately a century, suggesting that misunderstandings of PR are rooted in enduring characteristics of the field rather than simply in a lack of public knowledge.