Keith M. Hearit Crisis Communication Management: Applying Theory To Real Cases !!top!! Official

The organizations that survive are not necessarily the wealthiest or most powerful. They are the ones that understand the grammar of accusation and apology. They know when to fight (denial, provocation) and when to yield (mortification). They know that a crisis is not a problem to be solved but a narrative to be navigated.

Johnson & Johnson, led by CEO James Burke, enacted a strategy Hearit would categorize as mortification combined with corrective action . They immediately recalled 31 million bottles ($100 million cost), halted advertising, introduced tamper-resistant packaging, and communicated transparently through the media. The organizations that survive are not necessarily the

Hearit argues that Exxon misdiagnosed the genre of accusation. The public was not asking whether Hazelwood was drunk; they were asking whether Exxon’s safety culture was toxic. By focusing on legal defeasibility (lack of control over a rogue captain), Exxon appeared arrogant and indifferent. The absence of a timely, heartfelt apology was read as an admission of deeper guilt. They know that a crisis is not a

Exxon chairman Lawrence Rawl engaged primarily in defeasibility (blaming the ship captain, Joseph Hazelwood, who had been drinking) and denial of intent (“It was an accident”). Rawl refused to apologize publicly for weeks, hid from the media, and minimized the spill’s impact. Hearit argues that Exxon misdiagnosed the genre of

This article explores Hearit’s foundational theories—specifically the "rhetorical stance" of apologia, the typology of crisis responses, and the concept of "corporate apologies"—and applies them to real-world cases, from the infamous to the instructional. The Rhetoric of Apologia Before Hearit, crisis communication was often dominated by situational crisis communication theory (SCCT), which focused on attributions of responsibility. Hearit shifted the lens toward rhetorical theory . He posits that a crisis is fundamentally a genre of rhetorical discourse. When an organization faces an accusation, it enters a public argument where the stakes are legitimacy and survival.

Gross negligence, environmental destruction, and lack of compassion.