Media Content Analysis of Political Crisis Communication: In the Context of Bangladesh’s Mass Uprising in July–August 2024

A K M Zamir Uddin (Ph.D. student), “Media Content Analysis of Political Crisis Communication: In the Context of Bangladesh’s Mass Uprising in July–August 2024,” paper accepted for presentation at the annual International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference (ICRCC), Clemson University, March 9-11, 2026. Abstract: Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) is applied in this study to examine how newspapers framed a political crisis that led to the ouster of the authoritarian government in Bangladesh on August 5, 2024. Through a quantitative content analysis, it investigates how the then-ruling political party, Bangladesh Awami League (AL), applied crisis response strategies to handle the political issue. This research analyzes news stories from two leading Bangladeshi newspapers and posts on the AL’s official Facebook page. The content analysis of the media reports shows that the government has both preventable and victim clusters, although the preventable cluster is dominant. The content analysis of the ruling party’s Facebook posts indicates that the response strategies adopted during the same time the newspaper articles were published are mostly aggressive within the deny strategy instead of accommodative and defensive, aligned with the rebuild strategy. SCCT recommends that an organization adopt the rebuild strategy if it faces a preventable crisis. In this case study, the evidence suggests that the ruling party in Bangladesh took a stance contrary to the recommendation of the theory. This approach worsened the situation, consequently playing a major role in the downfall of the government.