Managing Turbulence in the Blogosphere: Evaluating the Blog-Mediated Crisis Communication Model with the American Red Cross

Through interviews with 40 American Red Cross communication professionals, this study examines how an organization that frequently responds to crises proactively manages on- and offline communication before, during, and after crises. The results provide the first empirical evaluation of an emerging model: the blog-mediated crisis communication model (BMCC). The lessons shared by the American Red Cross are insightful for researchers to understand the process of blog-mediated crisis communication in the nonprofit sector, which are also relevant for other public relations professionals. The findings support components of the original BMCC model, but also clearly indicate important revisions, including renaming the model the social-mediated crisis communication model (SMCC).