Media and Crisis communication : Do frames align in cases of extraordinary crises? A qualitative analysis of FOCUS online and Bild's coverage of the 2015-Germanwings airplane crash

The media and crisis communication of a company operate according to different logics. The media are known to be more entertainment driven, while the company tries to remain trustworthy and publishes information only once it is confirmed. Does this difference in logic and in framing a crisis persist when the crisis occurs without any warning signs?Different crisis life-cycle models exist of which two of them are presented and discussed within this study. Additionally, media framing, media logic theory and crisis communication theory are further going to be clarified in order to identify if the difference in framing an extraordinary crisis persist.One of the addressed research questions aims to determine if there was a difference in covering the event between Germanwings and two German media, Bild and FOCUS online. The objective of the second research question is to discern if there was a frame-alignment between the two different types of media, Bild and FOCUS online.The results show that Bild and FOCUS online applied different frames while covering the event. While Bild merely focused on emotional stories and speculations over the cause of the accident, FOCUS online based their coverage on facts and statements. Furthermore, FOCUS online aligned their frames with Germanwings crisis reportage, whereas Bild merely covered according to the media logic theory