9: Managing Issues and Crises in Asia Pacific

Social media and Internet-fueled news media have heightened our sensitivity to crises, especially for those working at the frontline of communications within an organization (Cheng, 2016). Our view when we published the first edition of this book in 2009 remains the same today; there is no such thing as a public relations crisis, but professional and expert public relations and communications is the best way for an organization to manage a crisis scenario.

At its core, a crisis occurs when an organization is faced with an emergency or extraordinary situation caused by internal or external forces which need to be resolved operationally, requiring the careful management of relationships with the public and all levels of relevant stakeholders to maintain confidence and trust throughout the unfolding situation (Anderson-Meli & Koshy, 2020).