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- Organizational reputation and crisis communication strategies: the case of the Elevador da Glória funicular accidentPublication . Nunes, Tatiana; Sandra, Weinstock; Nunes, Tatiana Filipa GomesCrises represent a threat to organizations and their stakeholders, as they may affect their image and reputation (Coombs, 2023; Fearn-Banks & Kawamoto, 2024). The adoption of appropriate crisis communication strategies, which should be aligned with the potential reputational risk, influences public perception, contributing to reducing the impact of the event, protecting and, in some cases, repairing the organization’s reputation, and restoring trust among its publics and stakeholders (Benoit, 1997). As crises are perceptual events (Coombs, 2023), what organizations say and do during a crisis can influence how they are perceived by their stakeholders and, consequently, their organizational reputation. On September 3, 2025, a serious accident involving the historic funicular Elevador da Glória, in Lisbon, resulted in the death of 16 people, with 12 seriously injured and nine sustaining minor injuries. As one of the city’s most emblematic means of transport, considered the postcard of the city, the accident received extensive media coverage both nationally and internationally, placing Carris, the public company responsible for operating the system, under intense public scrutiny regarding its actions and responsibility in the accident. The study focuses on a qualitative content analysis of the crisis communication strategy developed by Carris. The analysis is based on institutional and media content published between September 3 and September 6, 2025. It includes four press releases issued by Carris, a press conference, and a public intervention by the organization’s leader, as well as news published by the newspapers Público, Expresso, and Correio da Manhã, by Lusa, the national news agency, and by the public television channel RTP during this period. The study also evaluates the adequacy of Carris’ crisis communication response to the accident. It examines how the communication timeline, the messages conveyed, and the tone of communication align with the assumptions of the most relevant theoretical approaches (Coombs, 2023; Coombs & Holladay, 2023; Benoit, 1997). It also analyzes the impact of the actions of the organization’s president, as leader and spokesperson during the crisis, on the construction of public perceptions of the crisis and on the organization’s reputation. The results show that the communication strategy adopted by Carris in response to the crisis was not appropriate to the severity of the accident or to the impact it had on the organization’s reputation. The initial response was slow, preventing Carris from taking control of the public narrative and undermining image repair efforts. Furthermore, the image repair strategies adopted, particularly evasion of responsibility, were not aligned with the attribution of responsibility for the accident to Carris, as advocated in the litera-ture. The performance of the president of Carris, in his role as organizational leader and spokesperson, also revealed a lack of preparation for a crisis of this nature, reinforcing the importance of spokesperson training for crisis scenarios of this magnitude. This accident involving the Elevador da Glória has multiple social implications. Beyond the emotional impact on the families and friends of the victims, as well as the general sense of mourning and public distress in the country, the tragedy called into question perceptions of safety and user trust in this emblematic transport system in Lisbon, leading to the precautionary suspension of all the city’s funiculars (Bica, Lavra, and initially Graça) in order to carry out rigorous technical inspections. Moreover, the way Carris managed the crisis, through a slow response and the adoption of an evasion of responsibility strategy, combined with the lack of preparation of the leader as spokesperson, undermined the credibility of public transport institutions and contributed to public perceptions of insecurity and mismanagement of an essential public service. This study presents several limitations that should be considered when interpreting the re-sults. It focuses only on the initial response to the crisis, within a limited time frame between September 3 and September 6, 2025, making it impossible to assess the long-term effects of the crisis response. In addition, the analysis is limited to press releases, social media content, and media coverage, which are secondary sources, and does not include an analysis of the direct perceptions of Carris’ stakeholders. Finally, as this is a single case study, the generalization of the findings is limited.
- Preparing future communication professionals for disasters and emergencies: integrating WHO RCCE-IM into public relations educationPublication . Nunes, Tatiana; Raposo, Ana Luísa; Claxton, NancyPreparing future communication professionals for disasters and emergencies is a pressing challenge for Public Relations education. Unlike Crisis Communication which focuses on organisational response and reputational threat, Risk Communication within Public Relations emphasises prevention, preparedness and behaviour change. In disaster contexts, communication is not centred on organisational image but on reducing harm, sustaining public trust and protecting lives (L’Etang, 2013; Diers-Lawson & Qureshi, 2021). Recent emergencies, including pandemics, climate-related hazards and complex humanitarian crises, show that risk communication failures significantly exacerbate vulnerability and undermine response effectiveness. Evidence from global health emergencies shows that communication constitutes an intervention in its own right, with direct consequences on mitigating harm and saving lives (Diers-Lawson & Qureshi, 2021). The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Risk Communication, Community Engagement and Infodemic Management (RCCE-IM) framework is a core pillar of preparedness and response. It is one of the eight core capacities under the International Health Regulations (2024) which all States commit to develop and implement (WHO, 2005a). RCCE-IM serves as a vital communication tool, meditating between experts, authorities, media and communities while driving social and behaviour change. Trust emerges as the central organising principle, reinforcing the idea that “the overriding goal for outbreak communications is to communicate with the public in ways that build, maintain or restore trust” (WHO, 2005b). Despite its importance, RCCE-IM is largely absent from PR and Communication curricula, leaving future professionals unprepared for their roles in multidisciplinary emergencies. This paper addresses this gap through a pilot elective course on RCCE-IM in a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Relations and Corporate Communication at a Higher Education Institution in Portugal. Launching in the second semester of the 2025/2026 academic year, the course integrates WHO RCCE-IM principles and tools into PR education oriented toward disasters and health emergencies. This is the first such course in a communications faculty with plans to additionally develop an aligned curriculum for public health and medical students in Ukraine. To assess the impact of integrating RCCE-IM into PR education, this study adopts the WHO Capability Mapping tool (CapMap) as its primary evaluation framework. CapMap is a capability-based self-assessment instrument developed by the WHO Regional Office for Europe to support professionals working in RCCE-IM to identify strengths and areas for development across six interdependent subject areas: evidence generation, risk communication, community engagement, infodemic management, capacity-building and operational management (Gregory & Salvi, 2025). In this pilot course, students complete the CapMap assessment at the beginning and at the end of the semester. Comparative analysis of pre- and post-course self-assessments enables an examination of perceived capability development across RCCE-IM domains, offering an initial indication of the course’s contribution to strengthen these competences. The implementation of this pilot project will allow teams to assess the advantages and areas for improvement in applying this framework in the context of higher education institutions. Based on the conclusions presented, the aim is to extend this methodology to other higher education institutions, increasing the number of communication professionals trained and prepared to act in coordination with the WHO in disaster and emergencies. In conclusion, integrating RCCE-IM into Public Relations education intends to contribute to a necessary reconfiguration of professional training, positioning this framework as both an essential public health intervention and a core communication competence for the future of disaster and emergency communication.