A City in Crisis: Communication Network, Ethics, and Power in the City of Dallas

Abstract

The conceptual framework for this research builds on Manuel Castells’s work to find the specific network configuration of actors, interests, and values that engage in their power-making strategies to operationalize a communication network and understand the roles and powers of programmers and switchers at a local level. The study explores the role and purpose of communication networks within cities from the perspective of administrators and elected officials and their responsibility to provide communication as a public good. The research design is an organizational autoethnography of the city of Dallas that incorporates various perspectives from those who were a part of the network. The research outcomes suggest that media are not the only entities with powerful communication networks and mass communication capabilities. At the request of citizens, cities are working harder to provide access, information, engagement, and additional communication during crises. Dallas is an example of cities building powerful communication networks that are comprised of various channels. The research explores the operationalization of an organizational communication network within the city of Dallas and its power, particularly during a crisis of legitimacy from the vantage point of those who control the network and manage the message. This research offers definitions for an organizational communication network and network power and explores how to operationalize it. Ethics policy recommendations for networked cities, both large and small, are also presented. Keywords: communication network, organizational communication network, power, ethics, Network Society, agenda setting, crisis communication, Information Age, Digital Age, social media, Castells, Foucault, Habermas, Arnstein, McCombs