Graduate Program

Communication Studies

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Semester of Degree Completion

Spring 2026

Thesis Director

Claudia Janssen Danyi

Thesis Committee Member

Marita Gronnvoll

Thesis Committee Member

Rashmi Thapaliya

Abstract

This creative thesis aims to develop a practical crisis communication guidebook for small and medium-sized food businesses. Compared with larger businesses that have greater human and financial resources, small and medium-sized food businesses are often more vulnerable to the influences of crises on revenue and reputation. For this reason, they have a bigger need for practical and systematic crisis guidance. This project is grounded in crisis communication theory and analyzes existing literature in order to translate academic research and theoretical knowledge into an applied guidebook.

The guidebook is organized into three sections based on the timeline of crisis development: before the crisis, during the crisis, and after the crisis. The pre-crisis section focuses on prevention, monitoring, crisis communication planning, simulation planning, and spokesperson preparation. The during crisis section focuses on identifying crisis types, selecting response strategies, and using different types of information. The post-crisis section focuses on reviewing crisis communication practices, evaluating the influences of the crisis, and improving the crisis plan. At the same time, relevant templates and tools are integrated into each section according to their specific functions in order to strengthen the practical value of the guidebook. The purpose of this project is to help organizations prepare before a crisis, respond more effectively during a crisis, and continue to improve their ability to handle future crises through post-crisis reflection and revision.

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