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Communication scholars have studied the persuasive power of humor messages, but research provides mixed results. Also, the literature has been slow in demonstrating the practical effects of humorous messages on desired outcomes (e.g., organization–public relationships). Through an online experiment in the context of weather messages with samples of U.S. adults residing in the Southeastern U.S. (N = 209), we compared a humorous social media message designed to build relationships with the public to a non-humorous message in predicting OPRs and perceived community resilience when there is no high-impact weather on the horizon. Compared to a humorous message, a non-humorous message appeared to be more effective in increasing perceived community resilience and three dimensions of positive OPRs – trust, control mutuality, and commitment. The effects were more robust for community members with low to moderate levels of weather salience (i.e., the psychological value and importance that people have for the weather).

External funding is an important yet understudied area of inquiry in crisis communication research. With external funding being a keystone of assessing and broadening research impact in both academia and industry, it is important for scholarship to examine effective practices for funding proposals. This study explores the best and worst practices for funded research through an expert consultation survey of 36 global communication scholars with track records of funding success. Findings reveal motivating factors for seeking, securing and managing funding, as well as institutional factors. Findings also inform best and worst practices for securing external funding, including bridging theory and practice and establishing strong research partnerships.

With contributions from leading academic experts and practitioners from diverse disciplinary backgrounds including communication, disaster, and health, this Handbook offers a valuable synthesis of current knowledge and future directions for the field. It is divided into four parts. Part One begins with an introduction to foundational theories and pedagogies for risk and crisis communication. Part Two elucidates knowledge and gaps in communicating about climate and weather, focusing on community and corporate positions and considering text and visual communication with examples from the US and Australia. Part Three provides insights on communicating ongoing and novel risks, crises, and disasters from US and European perspectives, which cover how to define new risks and translate theories and methodologies so that their study can support important ongoing research and practice. Part Four delves into communicating with diverse publics and audiences with authors examining community, first responder, and employee perspectives within developed and developing countries to enhance our understanding and inspire ongoing research that is contextual, nuanced, and impactful. Offering innovative insights into ongoing and new topics, this handbook explores how the field of risk, crisis, and disaster communications can benefit from theory, technology, and practice.

It will be of interest to students, researchers, and practitioners in the fields of disaster, emergency management, communication, geography, public policy, sociology, and other related interdisciplinary fields.