Introduction
In the field of public relations, the quality, timeliness, and content of the response to an emergency service a very influential factors predetermining the overall outcomes of crisis management. In particular, as the recent events associated with the global crises associated with the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated, the delivery of information through media channels and its perception by the public in different parts of the world were decisive in the ways different states managed COVID-19. Given the unprecedented nature of the emergency and the under-discovered threats behind the disease at the early stages of the epidemics, many states failed to recognize the problem and address it in a proper and timely manner, which was a trigger in worsening the situation. Importantly, in the emergencies like COVID-19, when the lives of millions of people are at stake, it is essential to ensure that the communication strategies selected by the authorities allow for depicting accurate and reliable healthcare information in the media (Mheidly and Fares, 2020). However, with the omnipresence of social media networks and multiple public-based media channels, misleading information might hinder the communication messages of the authorities, which makes the work of official public relations offices more challenging.
In this paper, the communication strategies of the authorities in Qatar and Italy will be compared and evaluated to identify the appeal of the public relations response to COVID-19 to the general public. The effectiveness of the selected strategies will be evaluated to identify their ability to alter people’s behavior in the time of the crisis and control the spread of the disease. The quality of communication of the essential messages to the population will be analyzed as per the ethical relevance to both organizational performance and human health safety. Since fear and panic are common psychological factors affecting human behavior in emergencies, the ability of the two countries’ authorities to ensure order and yet raise public awareness about COVID-19 will be analyzed (GĂ©nĂ©reux et al., 2021). Qatar and Italy have been selected for comparison since the two countries displayed different approaches to tackling the outbreak and development of the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic and healthcare implications. Overall, Qatar’s communication strategy was more enhanced and timely in comparison to Italy’s, which allowed for a more effective response and handling of the crisis on the state level.
Relevance of Media Relations and Its Ethical Implications for Organizations
The way governments and public relations agencies, including official information distribution channels, address emergencies predetermines the public’s perception of the severity of the problem and guides people’s behavior. In healthcare-related crises like COVID-19, human behavior is particularly important since excessive mobility and social interactions might have fatal consequences on a large scale. Therefore, it is imperative for the authorities to ensure that the response to the pandemics in the media is thorough, trustworthy, and instructive to provide the target audience with sufficient guidance.
Unfortunately, in the contemporary information-driven world, “there is always a concern about the state of fake news and misinformation in social media” (Huynh, 2020, p. 759). Moreover, the ethicality of the choice of messages to influence human behavior in the time of the healthcare emergency during COVID-19 has become one of the tentative issues. According to Fritz et al. (2020), the “lack of transparency around the ethical agenda underpinning decisions, a lack of coordination, and the absence of clear national leadership” are some of the commonly experienced ethical issues related to COVID-19 (para. 4). Both Qatar and Italy utilized restrictive measures communicated through media to control people’s interactions, mobility, and work-related activity, which should be evaluated for their effectiveness, relevance, and ethicality.
Qatar’s Public Relations’ Response to COVID-19
The impact of COVID-19 has been disruptive in all spheres of human life across the globe. Therefore, when developing approaches to addressing the threats of the pandemic in the media, Qatar used a scientific basis to guide the public through the restriction measures in both healthcare and social domains. In the early stages of the Coronavirus disease spread, Qatar’s authorities utilized the World Health Organization’s (WHO) guidelines to integrate it into the public relations response. These guidelines served as an “essential background to develop more than 100 documents including policies, clinical guidelines and educational materials for all aspects of the response to COVID-19” (“A report on Qatar’s national response to COVID-19,” no date, p. 2). The country’s officials rapidly responded to the increase in the demand for healthcare facilities and services by providing more resources, which framed the discussion of the prioritization of health outcomes in public relations messages (Al Khal, Al-Kaabi, and Checketts, 2020). Thus, the media response in Qatar was relevant to the healthcare organizations because it regulated the flow of resources to the demanding industry.
From the point of view of the response’s relevance to other organizations, it was validated by the prioritization of human safety and well-being over economic gains. Indeed, although the country is an international air transit, air travel and all types of social mobility were restricted early in the pandemic (“A report on Qatar’s national response to COVID-19,” no date). Moreover, “Qatar had implemented many preventive measures very early on in the pandemic, including border control for early detection of cases,” which allowed for timely treatment and reduced mortality rates (Al Khal, Al-Kaabi and Checketts, 2020, p. 130). On a daily basis, people were provided with informational updates, guidelines, and instructions on proper behavior to reduce the spread of the disease and protect themselves. In particular, media channels were effectively used, including “SMS direct messaging, social media, press conferences and daily TV and radio coverage, short educational videos in multiple languages, on-line workshops, and meetings with community leaders” (Al Khal, Al-Kaabi and Checketts, 2020, p. 130). Thus, ethically, such measures are considered relevant due to the validation of the collective human health safety and longevity in a time of emergency.
Italy’s Public Relations’ Response to COVID-19
Contrary to Qatar’s response, Italy’s public relations addressing the crisis was less timely. In addition, Italy failed to prioritize the well-being of the citizens over the economic gains in the time of crisis, which served as a trigger for a rapid outbreak with numerous morbidity cases and high fatality rates. In the context of the availability of information on the dangers and basic characteristics of the disease spreading available to the global community since the outbreak of COVID-19 in China, Italy responded ineffectively. In particular, as identified by experts, “a systematic failure to absorb and act upon existing information rapidly and effectively rather than a complete lack of knowledge of what ought to be done” was observed (Pisano, Sadun, and Zanini, 2020, para. 4). The public relations approach was inconsistent with the WHO’s recommendations and the empirical findings available to the healthcare community.
Moreover, the discussion of the preventative and protective measures was non-systematic in Italy at the early stages of COVID-19 spreading, which induced diminished social isolation and excessive morbidity and mortality in comparison to other countries. As stated by Bull (2021), Italy’s “response, especially in the first wave, was confused, dilatory and inadequate, and the country found itself in an unprecedented public health crisis, leading to a national lockdown between March and May” (p. 149). Partial restrictions on a social movement that were governmentally imposed on the regions with confirmed cases were ineffective due to the co-occurrence of multiple cases across the whole country. Moreover, the identification and confirmation of the new cases discovered among the population of travelers from China was insufficient and untimely, which was not properly addressed in the governmental messages to the public (Bull, 2021). Overall, the government failed to prioritize human health and inform the citizens of the threats behind the Coronavirus disease.
An important aspect of effective media response to public health crises is the ability of the authorities to communicate the priorities in an ethical and clear manner to the citizens. In the case of Italy, the authorities failed to engage in effective public relations messaging practices early in the outbreak, and the ambiguity of messages sent by officials. On the one hand, the government made efforts to transmit the WHO’s recommendations. On the other hand, “in late February, some notable Italian politicians engaged in public handshaking in Milan to make the point that the economy should not panic and stop because of the virus” (Pisano, Sadun, and Zanini, 2020, para. 6). Thus, such a response was ethically irrelevant since it failed to provide the Italian citizens with adequate information on how to behave in the crisis. Moreover, the state’s authorities did not incorporate the learning from the experience of other countries, especially in Asia, which had already faced the challenges of COVID-19, into the national agenda. Ultimately, such an inconsistency in media response caused devastating losses of lives on a national scale, further escalating the collapse of the healthcare and economic systems of the state.
Analysis of Communication Strategies
The choice of communication strategies, the target audience, and the methods of delivering tentative messages in the most effective ways are essential in national crisis tackling plans. According to Généreux et al. (2021), the most effective communication strategies are the ones capable of adequate prevention of fear and misinformation, integration of psychological factors, and incorporation of credible and authoritative information. In this regard, Qatar and Italy employed different communication strategies in the media, which yielded different outcomes in the management of the healthcare crisis.
Qatar’s Authorities’ Communication Strategies
Qatar’s linear and systematic media response to COVID-19 was effectively implemented at the early stages of the emergency. The communication strategy used by the authorities was supportive, conversational, and open. People were provided with relevant, authoritative, and transparent information, instructing them on the appropriate behavior, including restricted mobility, enhanced precautions, and social isolation (State of Qatar Government Communications Office, 2021). Misinformation was addressed by the dissemination of scientific and official statistical data, accompanied by instructions on the official sources of information for people’s consultation (State of Qatar Government Communications Office, 2021). In such a manner, the target audience included the general public, whose health and safety were prioritized with the national interest of stopping the epidemic as early as possible.
Another important aspect of the communication strategy used by Qatar is the dissemination of messages in different languages to target the multinational population. Indeed, multilingual message distribution across several media channels was an effective element of the communication strategy in Qatar since it allowed for the successful reaching of a multitude of audiences (Ahmad and Hillman, 2021). Overall, the communication strategy developed in Qatar was arranged around the thoroughly planned national agenda designed according to the Qatar Vision 2030. Its aim is “to attain optimum public health through the implementation of sound and empirically tested and proven, best practices in healthcare” (“A report on Qatar’s national response to COVID-19,” no date, p. 1). Thus, the chosen communication strategy matched the needs of the target audience and was successfully implemented, which resulted in low fatality rates.
Italy’s Authorities’ Communication Strategies
When compared with Qatar’s strategies, Italy’s communication of the pivotal information necessary to guide the public and alter their behavior to reduce the disease spread and its fatality rates was less effective. The country’s authorities failed to utilize a unified approach on a national level, which disrupted the implementation of reliable healthcare response plans. The communication strategy used by Italy at the onset of the pandemic might be characterized as secretive and selective. Indeed, the media response was inconsistent, with much misinformation unaddressed and not discouraged (Lovari, 2020). The target audience of the messages was not limited to the general public but included businesses and other economic entities, which contributed to the lack of unified guidance as per the proper behavior (Mheidly and Fares, 2020). Moreover, the health concerns and the policies aimed at their leveraging were significantly impacted by the political interests of the authoritative individuals and bodies.
Furthermore, healthcare information was distributed with no reference to credible sources of information. Indeed, “discordant medical voices were embedded and spectacularized by media logics, becoming spreadable content on digital platforms, often politicized or associated with fake news and conspiracy theories, thus increasing distrust among connected publics” (Lovari, 2020, p. 459). Thus, the choice of a wrong communication strategy, or rather the lack of consistency in the strategic addressing of the crisis, obstructed preventative measures and caused the public’s misinformation. Ultimately, a national collapse occurred due to an unprecedented rate of fatal cases.
Conclusion
When summarising the evaluation and analysis of the communication strategies in Qatar and Italy within the framework of the COVID -19 national pandemic response, one should identify Italy’s diminished effectiveness compared to Qatar. Ethically, Italy’s response was insufficient due to the confusion between the interests of the target audiences, namely the general public and the economic entities. Moreover, Italy failed to incorporate the knowledge of other countries into its response as well as did not discourage misinformation, which caused citizens’ lack of guidance on proper behavior. On the contrary, Qatar mobilized its resources to outline the threats of the disease, consistently informing the population about the restrictions and precautions to prioritize human health. The analysis demonstrates that the selection of communication strategies and channels for public relations’ coverage of emergencies is essential for the adequate addressing of crises.
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