Juan Meng, PhD, is the Head of the Department of Advertising and Public Relations at the University of Georgia, USA. She serves on the national advisory board of the Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations and the Institute for Public Relations (IPR) ELEVATE. Her research specialisation includes public relations leadership, leadership development, women and leadership in PR, and global communication.Ralph Tench is Professor of Communication and director of research for Leeds Business School, Leeds Beckett University in the UK, and past president (2017–2020) of the European Public Relations Research and Education Association (EUPRERA). Professor Tench’s research involves national and international funded projects from the private sector, the EU, public health and research councils.

• Preface 1. Introduction – Strategic Communication and the Global Pandemic: Leading through Unprecedented Times 2. Predicting Publics’ Compliance with Containment Measures at the Early Stages of COVID-19: The Role of Governmental Transparent Communication and Public Cynicism 3. A Short Honeymoon. The Italian Press and the Coverage of the Government’s Strategic Communication on COVID-19 4. Strategic Communication and Political Ideologies in South America. COVID-19 Crisis Management in the Cases of the Populist Governments of Argentina and Brazil 5. How Purpose-Driven Organizations Influenced Corporate Actions and Employee Trust during the Global COVID-19 Pandemic 6. CEO as “Chief Crisis Officer” under COVID-19: A Content Analysis of CEO Open Letters Using Structural Topic Modeling 7. The Role of Social Media Influencers in Public Health Communication: Case COVID-19 Pandemic 8. The Effects of Dangerous World Beliefs on COVID-19 Preventive Behaviors in Singapore: The Moderating Role of Public Health Communication 9. “We Do Not Have Any Further Info to Add, Unfortunately” – Strategic Disengagement on Public Health Facebook Pages 10. COVID-19 Vaccination and Public Health Communication Strategies: An In-depth Look at How Demographics, Political Ideology, and News/Information Source Preference Matter

Juan Meng, PhD, is the Head of the Department of Advertising and Public Relations at the University of Georgia, USA. She serves on the national advisory board of the Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations and the Institute for Public Relations (IPR) ELEVATE. Her research specialisation includes public relations leadership, leadership development, women and leadership in PR, and global communication.Ralph Tench is Professor of Communication and director of research for Leeds Business School, Leeds Beckett University in the UK, and past president (2017–2020) of the European Public Relations Research and Education Association (EUPRERA). Professor Tench’s research involves national and international funded projects from the private sector, the EU, public health and research councils.

• Preface 1. Introduction – Strategic Communication and the Global Pandemic: Leading through Unprecedented Times 2. Predicting Publics’ Compliance with Containment Measures at the Early Stages of COVID-19: The Role of Governmental Transparent Communication and Public Cynicism 3. A Short Honeymoon. The Italian Press and the Coverage of the Government’s Strategic Communication on COVID-19 4. Strategic Communication and Political Ideologies in South America. COVID-19 Crisis Management in the Cases of the Populist Governments of Argentina and Brazil 5. How Purpose-Driven Organizations Influenced Corporate Actions and Employee Trust during the Global COVID-19 Pandemic 6. CEO as “Chief Crisis Officer” under COVID-19: A Content Analysis of CEO Open Letters Using Structural Topic Modeling 7. The Role of Social Media Influencers in Public Health Communication: Case COVID-19 Pandemic 8. The Effects of Dangerous World Beliefs on COVID-19 Preventive Behaviors in Singapore: The Moderating Role of Public Health Communication 9. “We Do Not Have Any Further Info to Add, Unfortunately” – Strategic Disengagement on Public Health Facebook Pages 10. COVID-19 Vaccination and Public Health Communication Strategies: An In-depth Look at How Demographics, Political Ideology, and News/Information Source Preference Matter