A Study On University Crisis Communication Management In The New Media Age

During the social transition period, Chinese universities have influenced by internal or external factors and entered a crisis-prone stage. Meanwhile, the rise of new media has changed the traditional pattern of information dissemination. The new media age has brought both opportunities and challenges to university crisis communication management. With the guidance of theories of communication, journalism and management, this qualitative research is designed to summarize the new features of university crisis communication through the analysis of university crisis cases in the past five years. The study also analyses the influences of new media to university crisis communication. Based on the analysis of the existing problems in university crisis communication management, the study puts forward some principles and countermeasures of university crisis communication management in the new media age.The study suggests that university crisis communication management is facing four problems in the new media age: the lack of crisis communication management idea and understanding of new media; the incompleteness of crisis communication management system and mechanisms; the incapacity for issue management; and the inadequate media literacy skills of university administrators, teachers and students. Therefore, universities should follow respond quickly, be responsible, take the interests of the whole into account and use authoritative sources these four principles during the crisis communication management process. In addition, universities should adopt the new idea of crisis communication management, improve the crisis communication management system and mechanisms, heighten the ability of issue management and promote the media literacy education, so as to avoid or defuse the crisis.