“I Owe You an apology”: Research Paper
Arden Kurhayez, Dr. Michael Blight, Courtney Kurhayez, & Julia Vock
It all started when…
Dr. Michael Blight allowed my Introduction to New Media class to research and present any topic of our choice. In 2018, YouTuber apology videos were only beginning. This new concept was profound to me. I couldn’t comprehend what was considered a good or a bad apology.
I first caught on to this new method of crisis communications when Logan Paul released a video titled “So Sorry” over his controversial vlog in the Aokigahara forest, also famously known as Japan’s “suicide forest”. Initially, this project solely focused on Logan Paul’s written and video apology. However, as time went on, apology videos were becoming a new norm on social media.
Under the guidance of Dr. Michael Blight, my peers and I investigated 40 YouTuber apology videos and connected them to William Benoit’s Image Repair Theory. This allowed my team and I to see if “new-age” celebrities were utilizing old crisis communication practices.
Specifically, I learned how to identify peer-reviewed journal articles, transcribe videos, analyze complex data, and write major takeaways from the data. The research project was accepted as the Top Paper in Popular Culture at the Central States Communications Association 2020 Annual Conference (CSCA). I would like to thank my brilliant team members and mentor for this opportunity.