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This case study describes competing activist campaigns triggered by a provocative poster promoting safe gay sex, which became one of the most complained-about outdoor advertisements in Australia. Drawing on issue management theory and personal interviews, the study analyses the contrasting strategies followed by two outdoor advertising companies caught up in the controversy, where family value advocates failed to consistently present their objections, whereas supporters of the same-sex equality effectively mobilised traditional and social media to frame the case as advertising free speech. One company held firm against issue activism, whereas the other wavered in its response and suffered reputational damage. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Activist groups have dual identities: the way they see themselves and the way others see them. Community opposition to coal seam gas and large-scale coal mining in Australia has highlighted this distinction as the radical "Lock the Gate Alliance" and others attempt to hold back the accelerating momentum of coal seam gas exploitation. This paper backgrounds CSG development in Australia and applies activism, social identity and risk scholarship to examine this alliance of highly motivated opponents in terms of its self-identified roles and responses to industry and governments. It explores implications for organizations confronted by radical activists who pursue a strategy of non-cooperation and questions the effectiveness of such an approach. The paper suggests that non-cooperation may limit activists' capacity to achieve their objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emergence of the process approach to crisis management has seen increasing recognition of the role of top executives in the continuum of management activities, from pre-crisis prevention and preparedness through incident response and on to post-crisis issue management and recovery. While much of the crisis management literature focuses on operational aspects and tactical communication, a programme of in-depth interviews with top executives in the Australian chemical and petrochemical industry explores, largely in their own words, their perceptions of the current state of crisis management and the challenges for top management. In particular the CEOs provide a frank view of the barriers to effective organizational crisis preparedness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an analysis of using issue and crisis management case studies for the purpose of learning from past struggles. The willingness to view others' mistakes as opportunities to learn is contrasted with the concept of schadenfreude. The value of utilising case studies as a guideline for future communication behavior is discussed, noting that communication practitioners can benefit from their use. The typical limitation of case studies to an academic audience is mentioned. Also discussed is the value of recognizing that no one is exempt from dealing with communication failure.

Most issue management practitioners and scholars accept that issue manage ent has progressed substantially over 25 years,from primarily a reactive crisis prevention tool to a aturing strategic management discipline.But the terminology used within issue manage ent to de .ne the di .erent management positions has not kept pace with that evolution.In fact some of the language used heavily in .uences responses to issues and limits the apparent framework of choice. This paper reviews some past e .orts to develop appropriate terminology and proposes an alternative lexicon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]