Search

An organization's initial response to a crisis can dictate the tone of its sustained response throughout the crisis, as well as stakeholders' reactions to the incident. When news of the deaths of professional wrestler Chris Benoit, his wire, and their 7-yr-old son broke, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) immediately paid tribute to the superstar. A memorial show to Benoit's career aired as investigators searched the family's home. The investigation revealed that Benoit murdered his wile and son before taking his own life, resulting in WWE's retraction of its earlier tributes. Furthermore. the organization had to respond to the swarm of speculation that steroids--and WWE's lax policy on their use--were to blame. This case study analyzes WWE's immediate response strategies to their employee's family's deaths and the subsequent strategies used on learning that the employee was implicated. Qualitative analysis of corporate documents and official statements seeks to provide direction regarding how similar organizations should respond in the days immediately alter tragic events when employees may be implicated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The disappearance of three civil rights workers on the eve of Mississippi's Freedom Summer captivated the world. Hordes of re- porters rushed into the rural community of Philadelphia, Mississippi, to cover the search for James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael "Mickey" Schwerner. As reporters poured in, the community closed ranks and eventually came to see itself as the victim in the situation. This article explores how the local papers, the weekly Neshoba Democrat and the daily Meridian Star, covered the search for the missing men and finally, the gruesome discovery of their bodies. Throughout the 44-day search for the men, these newspapers supported the supposition that their disappearance was part of a hoax staged by civil rights organizations to gain publicity for the movement. By using loaded wording in articles and headlines, omitting and failing to acknowledge available information, reporting the demagoguery of state's politicians, and simply ignoring their own intuition, these papers and their reporters helped elevate the notion of a hoax among their readers. Ultimately, these newspapers failed in their social obligation to report a fair and balanced account of the story and exacerbated the situation causing further violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]