Covid-19 Is a Public Communications Crisis

Building the bridge to optimism requires openness and credibility

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

The Covid-19 pandemic has revealed the shortcomings of the traditional public communications model. Information is flowing through multiple pathways — between public health bodies and governments, between governments and the public, and between the media and the public. This chaotic flow of information is creating a feedback loop in which government communication strategies are shaped by public perception, which is in turn shaped by media reporting on the crisis. Adding to the diabolical nature of the problem is the contestability of some key scientific assumptions — even among experts — about the virulence and severity of the virus, forcing politicians to rely on speculation as a tool for managing the public’s expectations.

During a crisis, the textbook leadership response is to create a sense of national unity based on shared hopes and fears, while generating a spirit of togetherness that encourages people to look beyond their own narrow interests. This sounds simple in theory, but the political reality of America’s republican model means different states have vastly different experiences of and responses to the virus. What is more, the threat posed by the virus is not limited to the public health dimension but is also an economic and…