CRISIS OF COMMUNICATION PRACTICES IN THE COVID ERA

This study is concerned with the issue of crisis communication in the period of the first and second wave of viral infection known as COVID19. The aim of the authors, based on a comparative analysis, is to define fundamental mistakes, made by the leaders of the executive, in communicating decisions and recommendations to citizens. The authors generalize the knowledge from the theory of communication, marketing communication and generally valid principles applied in crisis communication, intending to point out the importance of their observance. They compare the defined principles with the public communication of the two Slovak prime ministers during the outbreak of the pandemic and its development from March to October 2020. They conclude that especially in the second wave of COVID 19, the communication of an executive leader significantly deviated from the standard procedures applied in the context of the institution's crisis communication with the general public.