Utilizing computational methods for analysing media framing of organizational crises: The ‘Datalek’ scandal during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands

Abstract

Media framing of organizational crises is an important factor to consider in crisis communication since it can shape stakeholders' perceptions of organizations and discussions in the public sphere. This takes place in complex media ecologies where public communication happens at a large scale, both in the news and on social media. Here, computational methods offer new venues for analysing media framing in flux throughout the crisis life cycle. Especially methods for automated content analysis can quickly and efficiently reveal what media frames emerge in a crisis context and how they change over time across different channels and platforms. The present study showcases the benefits of such methodological approaches by critically exploring the example of the data breach at the national municipal health service in the Netherlands. Using computational methods for media frame analysis on news texts (N1 = 519) and social media postings (N2 = 2986), this article reconstructs how the incident was perceived throughout four crisis stages (build-up, outbreak, chronic stage, termination). The article critically discusses the relevance of researching media framing empirically with emphasis on the benefits but also limitations of computational approaches. It concludes with some general pointers for crisis researchers interested in such methods as well as their implications for practitioners in the field.