The Role of Public Relations in Crisis Management in the Social Media Era

Case Study: Centre Point of Indonesia in Makassar City

Abstract

The purposes of this study are to understand the public relations activities in the management of the public outcry against the reclamation project known as Centre Point of Indonesian (CPI) and to determine the supporting and inhibiting factors of the Makassar City public relations campaign regarding the management of the crises arising from the reclamation project. This study uses the qualitative descriptive method and the case study approach. The phenomenon was explained, and the research data was sourced through interviews, observation, and documentation. The results showed that the management of the Makassar City public relations crisis regarding the reclamation project involves identification of complaints, processing of public complaints, and adherence to standard operational procedures to improve the image and reputation of the government. This study found that the supporting factors of the public relations campaign include cultural similarity, advanced education, and social media, while the inhibiting factor is the negative perception of the government by the community. In general, this paper contributes to the research on crisis management and is a thought-provoking contribution to the development of communication science and public relations crisis management. In particular, this research is expected to contribute to the public relations management of Makassar City.