To save one's image : An analysis of the crisis communication of Fredrik Virtanen following #metoo

Several studies have been made on the crisis communication efforts made by politicians and athletes following a personal crisis, but few focus on the efforts made by other people of influence whose image and personal brand get hurt during a crisis. The aim of this study is to examine nine of Swedish journalist Fredrik Virtanen’s statements after he was accused of rape and sexual assault by several women during #metoo. The theoretical framework is based on Goffman’s theories on impression management and Benoit’s image repair theory. The chosen method for this study is a combined qualitative text analysis and critical rhetorical analysis. The results show that a variety of image repair strategies are visible in Virtanen's communication and that the most frequently used strategies aresimple denial, differentiation, attack accuser and minimization. The results support earlier studies on image repair that claim that the cultural and societal as well as the circumstantial context is an important aspect in the success or failure of an image repair effort. The results also imply that without support from people or organisations that have previously been affiliated with the accused, who can assist in the communication efforts, the accused will have a harder time repairing their image