Abstract (eng)
The focus of the present study is on the crisis communication of the Wien Energie Crisis in 2022 and the related role of the media, which was examined through an Input-Output- Analysis. Referring to the Situational Crisis Communication Theory by Coombs (2022), the communicative principles of Riecken (2014), and the criteria "Giving a Face to the Crisis" by Kappe (2019), the crisis communication of Wien Energie and the Vienna City Government as the main owner of Wiener Stadtwerke was examined through an input analysis. While the output analysis serves as the counterpart and investigates the media coverage by Austrian daily newspapers, a comparison of the two analyses allows for drawing conclusions about the relationship between crisis PR and journalism. The results of this data analysis were subsequently compared to the recommendations of three tactical and strategic consulting approaches. The analysis has shown that the crisis communication about the Wien Energie Crisis in 2022 can be considered inadequate. Considering theoretical recommendations, the City Government missed numerous points in crisis communication. Apart from a delayed response, opaque and dishonest communication with stakeholders, the crisis communication mainly employed the strategies of denial and justification. Based on the SCCT recommendations, a combination of these two strategies is discouraged. Regarding their incorporation into media coverage, communication strategies were included in about 30% of articles. Since most articles did not adopt crisis communication strategies, the influence of crisis PR can be considered relatively low. However, almost all adoptions were of the strategies that were dominant in the press releases. This also suggests that with better crisis communication and the use of Rebuild-strategies, these strategies might have found their way into the reporting. In summary, it can be assumed that the crisis communication of Wien Energie and the Vienna City Government should have been faster, more proactive, and transparent. Through better crisis preparedness and alignment with theoretical recommendations, crisis communication could have been improved.