Great day and weekend to all! Here's your Friday Daily PR Brief - January 23, 2026
Dr Pepper goes viral; Managing trust in the Generative Engine Optimization era; Two shifts reshaping how media actually works; more!
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Read some of today's best PR and Comms industry news clips:
PR Roundup: Dr Pepper Goes Viral as PR Faces a Reality Check (PRNEWS - January 22, 2026)
GEO: the New Crisis First Responder (O'Dwyer's - January 22, 2026)
Watch: PR trends for 2026 from PRSA ICON (PR Daily - January 23, 2026) [VIDEO]
PR Drives Blockchain Adoption in Institutions (5W Public Relations - January 23, 2026)
Davos signals a power shift for corporate affairs and communications leaders (Axios - January 22, 2026)
The 2026 M.Cast™ Report: Trends Every Leader Needs to Watch (PRGN - January 22, 2026) [PODCAST]
The Epstein files situation provides a tutorial on how to prolong a PR crisis (Agility PR Solutions - January 23, 2026)
Good and Bad PR: No winners for brand Beckham, Ryan Air's Musk spat, and Jet2 forgets its passengers (PRmoment (UK) - January 22, 2026)
Getting Ready to Mark America's 250th Anniversary (CommPRO - January 23, 2026)
Managing trust in the Generative Engine Optimization era with comms experts from Axios, TIME and Mozilla (Muck Rack - January 23, 2026)
Trust Is the Currency — What Nonprofit PR Can Learn from the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders (Everything PR News - January 20, 2026)
Two shifts reshaping how media actually works (FINN Partners - January 21, 2026)
CSOM – Just Because You Can, Doesn't Mean You Should (HMA PR - January 22, 2026) [PODCAST]
Summary Section:
PR Roundup: Dr Pepper Goes Viral as PR Faces a Reality Check
By Nicole Schuman
PRNEWS - January 22, 2026
From Dr Pepper’s savvy elevation of a creator’s viral jingle to new data revealing what’s holding PR teams back, we examine how brands and agencies are adapting to shifting media dynamics, AI realities and a changing early-career pipeline.
GEO: the New Crisis First Responder
By Steve Halsey, Principal and Chief Growth Officer at G&S Integrated Marketing Communications Group
O'Dwyer's - January 22, 2026
In today's B2B and supply-chain crises, proactively managing your GEO footprint is now a reputational necessity.
Watch: PR trends for 2026 from PRSA ICON [VIDEO]
By Allison Carter
PR Daily - January 23, 2026
The one thing we know about 2026: It’ll be unpredictable. But a few brave practitioners put their hand at foreseeing the PR trends, movements and skills you’ll need to know. See what these communications pros had to say about the coming year in the profession.
PR Drives Blockchain Adoption in Institutions
5W Public Relations - January 23, 2026
Learn how PR drives blockchain adoption in institutions by translating technical capabilities into business outcomes and regulatory compliance strategies.
Davos signals a power shift for corporate affairs and communications leaders
By Eleanor Hawkins
Axios - January 22, 2026
Corporate affairs and communications chiefs are being treated like principals — not support staff — in Davos this year. The shift is indicative of the rising influence of the role. Executives on the ground tell me this is the most extensive schedule of communications and corporate affairs-tailored programming they've seen in Davos.
The 2026 M.Cast™ Report: Trends Every Leader Needs to Watch [PODCAST]
By Terrie Ard
PRGN - January 22, 2026
Terrie Ard highlights key trends for 2026, focusing on AI, consumer shifts, and the power of human strengths in Moore’s M.Cast Trends Report.
The Epstein files situation provides a tutorial on how to prolong a PR crisis
By Arthur Solomon
Agility PR Solutions - January 23, 2026
The Epstein files matter is a self-made PR crisis for the Trump administration. The decision not to release all the files, as the law required, and the ubiquitous redactions, provides a lesson in how to prolong a PR crisis.
Good and Bad PR: No winners for brand Beckham, Ryan Air's Musk spat, and Jet2 forgets its passengers
By Andy Barr, Owner, 10 Yetis Digital
PRmoment (UK) - January 22, 2026
Are you ready for the latest instalment of Good and Bad PR? A gentle reminder to those who are new to these parts. Yes, I could talk about the lunacy of Trump’s speech or other heavyweight global issues, but in this part of the internet, I leave that to the heavyweight media types, and I stick to the lighter elements.
Getting Ready to Mark America's 250th Anniversary
By Dominic Calabrese
CommPRO - January 23, 2026
As America prepares to mark its 250th anniversary in 2026, communicators have a unique opportunity to spotlight the places, stories and shared history that continue to shape the nation.
Managing trust in the Generative Engine Optimization era with comms experts from Axios, TIME and Mozilla
By Kristen Dunleavy
Muck Rack - January 23, 2026
At the end of 2025, Muck Rack hosted the first-ever Generative Pulse Summit. More than 100 communicators came together for a day of education and networking about all things Generative Engine Optimization (GEO).
Trust Is the Currency — What Nonprofit PR Can Learn from the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders
Everything PR News - January 20, 2026
Two of the most recognizable humanitarian organizations in the world—the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders—offer instructive examples of how nonprofit PR can either reinforce or strain public trust.
Two shifts reshaping how media actually works
By Ashley Blais
FINN Partners - January 21, 2026
January is always a reset. The gyms are packed. Everyone is manifesting something. Media teams are opening dashboards with fresh eyes, trying to separate what actually worked from what simply ran. This month’s Media Pulse looks at two shifts already reshaping how media works in practice.
CSOM – Just Because You Can, Doesn't Mean You Should [PODCAST]
By Abbie Fink
HMA PR - January 22, 2026
As crises unfold in real time, journalism’s role as a trusted source is under pressure. In this episode of the Copper State of Mind podcast, Abbie Fink explores how the rapid media cycle and volume of real-time content is reshaping journalism, ethics and public trust.
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Totally agree. AI's PR impact, what do you thnk? Brilliant!