Re-centring base responses in crisis communication: South African PR consultants' interpretations of instructing and adjusting information

Purpose This study explores public relations (PR) consultants' interpretation, prioritisation and application of instructing and adjusting information – the base response strategies prescribed by situational crisis communication theory (SCCT). Design/methodology/approach Based on semi-structured interviews with senior PR consultants in Johannesburg, South Africa, the study adopts an interpretivist design to explore consultants' reasoning, constraints and strategic judgements. Findings While South African PR consultants strongly endorse base responses as ethically and strategically crucial, their tone, calibration and blending of instructing and adjusting information vary by crisis type. Guidance and reassurance dominate victim crises, regret is emphasised in accidental crises, and responses become more explicitly apologetic and corrective in preventable crises. Legal advice, client risk aversion and media pressures frequently disrupt ideal sequencing, suggesting that deviations from SCCT prescriptions may result from structural constraints rather than practitioner neglect. Originality/value Providing rare Global South, practitioner-centred insight, the study reconceptualises base responses as crisis-type-calibrated professional judgements rather that static message features, extending SCCT by showing how perceived crisis responsibility shapes the tone and integration of instructing and adjusting information under real-world constraints.