The Techlash and Tech Crisis Communication

by Nirit Weiss-Blatt

Overview

Over the years, tech companies were accustomed to cheerleading coverage of product launches, but in recent years the long tech-press honeymoon ended. It was replaced by a new era of mounting criticism focusing on tech’s negative impact on society. This emerging tech backlash is a story of pendulum swings between tech-utopianism and tech-dystopianism. When and why did media coverage shift to corporate misdeeds, and how did tech companies respond?

The Techlash and Tech Crisis Communication provides an in-depth analysis of the evolution of tech journalism and reveals the “inside story” of the Techlash. Furthermore, it shows how Big Tech companies defend themselves from scrutiny by attempting to reduce their responsibility. From employee activism to political pushback, the ramifications are growing.

Until now, the interplay between tech journalism and tech PR has been underexplored. Through analysis of both tech media and corporate crisis response, The Techlash and Tech Crisis Communication examines the roots and characteristics of the Techlash. Insightful observations by tech journalists and tech PR professionals are added to the research data, illuminating the profound changes in the power dynamics between the media and the tech giants they cover. Nirit Weiss-Blatt explores theoretical and practical implications for both tech enthusiasts and critics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781800430884
Publisher:	Emerald Publishing Limited
Publication date:	03/24/2022
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.43(d)

About the Author

Nirit Weiss-Blatt, Ph.D., is a Former Research Fellow at the University of Southern California, Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, USA. Her expertise is in the tech news field. Since 2005, she has worked on both sides of the fence, beginning her career in tech public relations, later switching sides to work as a tech journalist and a deputy editor. These experiences led her to examine the various forces which shape the tech discourse.

Table of Contents

THE PRE-TECHLASH ERA Section 
Chapter 1. Tech News and Tech Public Relations 
THE TECHLASH ERA Section 
Chapter 2. Big Tech – Big Scandals 
Chapter 3. Tech Crisis Communication 
Chapter 4. Evolving Techlash Issues 
THE POST-TECHLASH ERA Section 
Chapter 5. Never-Ending Criticism?

Editorial Reviews

In this deeply researched work, Nirit Weiss-Blatt provides an invaluable record of tech media's mood swing as its portrayal of Silicon Valley lurched from utopian to dystopian. This is much more than a book about tech's PR problems. Weiss-Blatt's trenchant analysis of the news industry restores nuance to the debate over technology and society.

Jeff Jarvis

Nirit's in-depth study of tech media chronicles the reputational rise and fall of an entire industry while providing valuable insights to those who work in it. The book provides PR professionals, journalists, and students with a comprehensive analysis of the Techlash's core issues. Whether you're working in tech journalism or tech PR, the book will broader your understanding of the media scrutiny, the tech clients, and, thus, help you define the future correspondence between the two.

Fred Cook

In this deeply researched work, Nirit Weiss-Blatt provides an invaluable record of tech media's mood swing as its portrayal of Silicon Valley lurched from utopian to dystopian. This is much more than a book about tech's PR problems. Weiss-Blatt's trenchant analysis of the news industry restores nuance to the debate over technology and society.--Jeff Jarvis, Director, Tow-Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism, The Leonard Tow Professor of Journalism Innovation, CUNY

Nirit's in-depth study of tech media chronicles the reputational rise and fall of an entire industry while providing valuable insights to those who work in it. The book provides PR professionals, journalists, and students with a comprehensive analysis of the Techlash's core issues. Whether you're working in tech journalism or tech PR, the book will broader your understanding of the media scrutiny, the tech clients, and, thus, help you define the future correspondence between the two.--Fred Cook, Chairman of Golin, Professor of Professional Practice, Director of the USC Center for Public Relations

From the Publisher