The Red River spring flood of 2009: Revealing leadership and spokesperson credibility through the discourse of renewal

Recurring types of natural disasters such as the 2009 Red River spring flood pose unique challenges to the communities involved and to their leaders; but also provide opportunities for renewal. Organizations involved in natural disasters typically are not seen as responsible for the disaster itself. This characteristic impacts the communication responsibilities of the spokespersons involved. Discourse of renewal (DR) is an effective alternative to the image restoration and apologia typically used by spokespersons during a crisis; however, the use of DR throughout the life cycle of a crisis and the role spokesperson credibility plays in successful renewal have not been fully explored.;The 2009 Red River spring flood impacted many communities along the river's banks; however this study focused on the city of Fargo, North Dakota. The city's flood efforts were led by Mayor Dennis Walaker and his team, all of whom had previous experience with managing a flood crisis. Walaker and many others served as spokespersons during this crisis. Using a thematic analysis of the direct statements made by spokespersons as published in the local print media during the 2009 Red River spring flood, this study extended DR and spokesperson credibility research. Specifically, this study identified how key spokespersons utilized DR throughout the life cycle of the 2009 Red River spring flood as reported in the media, how spokesperson credibility was represented in the media coverage, and the nature of the relationship between the elements of DR and credibility.