Recommended Books
Curated collection of essential reading for government communicators and PIOs
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Trust : Why It Breaks and How We Mend It
by Christine Townsend TRUST: Why It Breaks and How We Mend It explores the psychology, behaviour, and systems that shape trust in modern life. Drawing on research, lived experience, and years of work in communication, public service, and crisis leadership, Christine Townsend examines how trust forms, why it fractures, and what genuine repair requires.
AI Playbook: The Strategic Guide to AI for Marketing and Communications
by Joanne Sweeney From Joanne Sweeney, a globally recognised digital communications authority with over 25 years of experience, comes AI Playbook, the ultimate guide for marketers and communicators navigating the fast-evolving world of artificial intelligence.
The Communications Golden Hour: The Essential Guide To Public Information When Every Minute Counts
by Doug Levy Once the importance of the first 60 minutes was recognized and trauma care was streamlined around that golden hour, survival rates after car crashes and other major injuries improved dramatically. The same systematic approach works for communications, too. The Communications Golden Hour provides a framework that streamlines planning, preparation and training for emergencies large and small, from natural disasters to major crimes and everything in-between.
Community Engagement: A Straightforward Guide for Public Communicators
by Christine Townsend Community engagement is essential for building trust, understanding, and cooperation between public sector organizations and the communities they serve. This book aims to demystify the concept of community engagement, illustrating its critical role in enhancing the effectiveness of public communication.
The Frontline Communicator: A Comprehensive Handbook for Public Information Officers
by Christine Townsend The Frontline Communicator has become a trusted resource for thousands of public information officers, communications leads, and frontline professionals navigating the demands of modern-day public service. This fully updated and expanded second edition goes deeper — addressing not just what you do, but how you sustain yourself while doing it.
Productivity
Media Relations
The Media Training Bible: 101 Things You Absolutely, Positively Need To Know Before Your Next Interview
by Brad Phillips
Delivering an effective media interview today is more challenging than ever before. Today's media spokesperson must compete with shrinking audience attention spans, cope with social media overload, and confront sensationalized reporting. Given those challenges, how can you create positive messages that cut through the noise and motivate your audiences? How can you respond to difficult questions in a confident manner that increases your credibility?
Crisis Communications
Communication and Misinformation: Crisis Events in the Age of Social Media
by Kevin B. Wright (Editor)
Focuses on how misinformation emerges and spreads during crises, and what communication strategies reduce harm. Highly relevant for rumour control, myth-busting, and maintaining trust under pressure.
Preparing for Crisis: A First Responder's Guide to Messaging When it Really Matters
by Judy Pal
In the event of a crisis, today more than ever, first-responder public information officers (PIOs) including police, fire, EMS, hospitals and other agencies on the front lines, must be prepared to communicate immediately. When time is of the essence, telling people what they need to know will help an agency come through a crisis with the trust and confidence of a community intact.
Effective Crisis Communication: Moving From Crisis to Opportunity
by Robert R. Ulmer
In this fully updated Fourth Edition of Effective Crisis Communication, three of today's most respected crisis/risk communication scholars provide the latest theories and innovative approaches for handling crisis. Unlike other crisis communication texts, this acclaimed book answers the question, "what now?" and explains how organizations can create the potential for opportunity, renewal, and growth through effective crisis communication.
The Politics of Crisis: An Insider's Prescription to Prevent Public Policy Disasters
by Eric Kowalczyk
Across the country minority communities feel under attack by police officers. The Politics of Crisis explores how to change public policy decisions to reform the role of law enforcement. Centered around the harrowing events of the Freddie Gray riots that gripped Baltimore in 2015, The Politics of Crisis is a powerful examination of how everything can go wrong when police no longer serve their communities.
Crisis Communication Strategies: How to Prepare in Advance, Respond Effectively and Recover in Full
by Amanda Coleman
Crisis Communication Strategies is a must-have handbook which covers the whole span of the crisis from preparing and laying the groundwork before it occurs, during the incident, and the aftermath, including the move to recovery. It guides readers through each phase, providing details of what to consider, what should be done, and tips and checklists for improved responses.
Ongoing Crisis Communication: Planning, Managing, and Responding
by Timothy Coombs
Ongoing Crisis Communication: Planning, Managing, and Responding provides an integrated and multi-disciplinary approach to the entire crisis communication process. Drawing on his extensive firsthand experience, Dr. Timothy Coombs uses a three-staged approach to crisis management (pre-crisis, crisis, and post-crisis), explains how crisis management can prevent or reduce the threats of a crisis, and provides guidelines for how best to act and react in an emergency situation.
Crisis Ahead: 101 Ways to Prepare for and Bounce Back from Disasters, Scandals and Other Emergencies
by Edward Segal
Crisis Ahead includes dozens of anecdotes, stories, and lessons about how companies, organizations, and individuals - ranging from Amazon, Apple, and the European Union, to Disney, Starbucks, and entrepreneur Elon Musk - have prepared for, created, managed, and communicated about crisis situations.
Communication Skills
Digital Communication
Public Sector Communication in the Digital Age
by Mandla J. Radebe, Karabo Sitto-Kaunda, Elizabeth Lubinga (Editors)
Explores public-sector communication challenges and opportunities in digital environments, with applied case studies and frameworks. Particularly helpful for government communicators balancing transparency, engagement, and credibility online.
Digital Communication Management: Theories and Practices for a Global and Volatile World
by Mark Badham; Vilma Luoma-aho
A very recent, practitioner-friendly textbook on managing communication in a digital-first, high-volatility context, including digital crisis comms, stakeholder trust, and misinformation "hijacking." Ideal for PIOs modernising their approach across platforms.
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