Beschreibung:
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Drawing on two representative online surveys in Hong Kong (HK) and the United States (US) during the COVID‐19 pandemic, this study investigates, from a public‐centric perspective, public expectations of effective government pandemic‐crisis communication. The study looks specifically at what the publics want to be communicated in times of a global pandemic and how. In each region, the findings identify four significant dimensions. Three are culturally universal dimensions—basic responsibility, locus of pandemic‐crisis responsibility, and disfavour of promotional tone. The fourth is culture‐specific—personal relevance for HK and frequency for the US. Among the significant dimensions, the most highly expected is what people consider to be the government's basic responsibility in pandemic communication, that is, a basic responsibility dimension. This includes providing instructing and adjusting information and securing accuracy, timeliness, and transparency in pandemic communication. In both regions, respondents preferred by far traditional media and nongovernmental sources to social media and governmental sources.</jats:p>