Risk is one of the main features of modern societies. With the Internet, ... increased risk associated with information: free accessibility, interactivity, globality, and connectivity of personal, economical, political and media communication ... On the other hand, ... increased opportunities to secure information ... Does the Internet increase or decrease the risk of a communication breakdown? It has been demonstrated that trust is one of the features in complex modern societies which compensates for risk. ... does the Internet increase trust ...? The questions ... are seen in a much broader context: does Internet communication force a structural transformation of the public sphere?

Crisis Communication and the Internet: Risk and Trust in a Global Media