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Read some of today’s best PR and Comms industry news clips:
Journalists now have an AI reputation and PR is keeping track (Fast Company - October 9, 2026)
Congressional Oversight Is Political. Your Response Must Be, Too (Bloomberg Government - October 13, 2026)
How To Manage Your PR Budget In The Era Of AI Search (Forbes - October 12, 2026)
The Press Release Isn't Dead; Most Of Them Are Bad (Forbes - October 13, 2026)
Communicating a historic first and sustaining the message past the launch (PR Daily - October 12, 2026)
Social media updates and new features to know this week (PR Daily - October 13, 2026)
The 3 step process for correcting internal comms mistakes (Ragan Communications - October 12, 2026)
How the New York Life's comms team went from uneasy about AI to leading the company (Ragan Communications - October 12, 2026)
PR Doesn't Need a New ROI Formula. Ask These 4 Questions Instead. (PRNEWS - October 12, 2026)
Jeanette Fors-Andrée: The Hardest Question Should Be Asked Before a Crisis (Media Marketing - October 12, 2026)
Young Changemakers 2026: Amira Williams In Conversation with Paul Holmes (PRovoke Media - October 10, 2026)
PR Agency Moves: Brunswick, APCO, Prosek, WPP Hires (Everything-PR - October 13, 2026)
Q&A with Nick Puleo, President of Comsint Communications: How to Prevent Your Brand Campaign From Becoming a Reputation Crisis (citybiz - October 13, 2026)
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Summary Section:
Journalists now have an AI reputation and PR is keeping track
By Pete Pachal
Fast Company - October 9, 2026
It's no secret the PR industry has been obsessed with "Tier 1" media—big national or global brands like The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal—for decades. But AI answers favor topical authority above general authority, meaning the engine will often cite the work of a lesser-known journalist on a niche beat at a trade publication before someone less immersed in the topic, even if they work for a prestigious outlet. It's revealing that, when Muck Rack compared the journalists PR teams pitch most with the ones AI cites most for a given brand, the overlap was just 2%.
Congressional Oversight Is Political. Your Response Must Be, Too
By Libby Greer
Bloomberg Government - October 13, 2026
Next year’s expected political environment will require legal teams to work seamlessly with government relations and communications experts to build the political scaffolding — including audience targeting; relationship building; third-party validator activations; earned media; paid advertising; and polling, data, and insights — to weather the forthcoming turbulence. Companies must engage trusted politicos and seasoned strategists to plan from the first whisper of an oversight investigation to the last echo on social media.
How To Manage Your PR Budget In The Era Of AI Search
By Kristi Piehl
Forbes - October 12, 2026
To maximize impact, marketers can reallocate resources to build brand credibility by investing in earned media, like news and podcast interviews, and in authentic social media. Those are the signals AI search is built to trust. A well-rounded marketing budget should include building a crisis playbook, monitoring your reputation, and providing employees with media training, social media training and executive coaching. Consider investing in one strategy each quarter throughout 2027 to build a framework you can expand in 2028, once leaders and stakeholders see the benefits.
The Press Release Isn't Dead; Most Of Them Are Bad
By Lee Caraher
Forbes - October 13, 2026
According to Muck Rack’s 2026 State of Journalism report, 86% of journalists said at least some of their published stories started with a pitch or a release. Newsworthiness is a test, not a feeling. The interesting version of the story already contains proof, context, and stakes. The boring version is just an announcement. If you can cut and paste a quote from company to company, it’s worthless. Only 14% of journalists rank pre-written quotes among the resources they find valuable in a pitch. The fix is specificity.
Communicating a historic first and sustaining the message past the launch
By Andrea LaToya Williams
PR Daily - October 12, 2026
1. Build multiple narrative arcs before you need them - There may be an institutional story alongside individual stories, local and hometown stories, stories about culture and representation, leadership stories and behind-the-scenes stories. There will also be unexpected narratives that only become visible once the work begins. 2. The people closest to the story will often show you what you missed - Families, participants and communities often recognize meaning that an institutional communications strategy can overlook. 3. When the story is still unfolding, communications has to evolve with it - Not every moment needed to become content, not every compelling story needed to be told immediately and access to people’s experiences did not automatically mean we were entitled to use them.
Social media updates and new features to know this week
By Allison Carter
PR Daily - October 13, 2026
Meta released a ton of new AI ad tools for its network of apps. Instagram is testing a new option to allow users to opt in and see Reels directly in their Home feed. Threads is introducing Gems, a digital badge designed to recognize perspective, discussion, and originality. X Lift reads your website and generates ad campaigns based on what it finds. On Pinterest, brands can now boost existing posts from users. Reddit is expanding its connection with CRM tools as well as new optimization options.
The 3 step process for correcting internal comms mistakes
By Sean Devlin
Ragan Communications - October 12, 2026
1. Before anything goes wrong, agree on who signs off on corrections - sorting potential mistakes by type, naming who owns each fix, and walking leaders through the plan. 2. Fix the small stuff fast and acknowledge the big stuff first - when the stakes are high, communicators shouldn’t wait for a formal, corrected version of the message before saying something. 3. In the meantime, write for your leaders - a short draft helps, and so does telling them up front what you’re not going to ask them to do.
How the New York Life's comms team went from uneasy about AI to leading the company
By Sean Devlin
Ragan Communications - October 12, 2026
Comfortability with AI all started at the top, with New York Life chief communications officer Paul Gennaro. With his guidance, we've come up with what we call 'the way.' If you're going to draft a press release, there are going to be parts along that timeline where it's expected that you're going to use Gen AI, while still being the human in the loop.
PR Doesn't Need a New ROI Formula. Ask These 4 Questions Instead.
By Susan Thomas
PRNEWS - October 12, 2026
What matters also depends on the business objective. A company entering a new category may need to know whether credible publications are accurately explaining its point of view. An established company may care more about whether communications is driving engagement and inquiries from target buyers. The goal is to follow the path from visibility to trust, action and, ultimately, business growth. But PR pros do not need to wait until they can draw a straight line to revenue before reporting anything meaningful. They simply need to be precise about what they know.
Jeanette Fors-Andrée: The Hardest Question Should Be Asked Before a Crisis
Media Marketing - October 12, 2026
In our interview for Media Marketing, she explains why preparation begins with the question an organisation least wants to hear and why an operational failure calls for demonstrable action. We discuss the high ethical expectations of Swedish society, the pressure that speed and clicks place on journalism, and the spread of unverified accusations from social networks to traditional media. We pay particular attention to the conditions of interviews, the interviewee’s right to retain their own angle and an organisation’s obligation to think first of those affected by a crisis.
Young Changemakers 2026: Amira Williams In Conversation with Paul Holmes
By Paul Holmes
PRovoke Media - October 10, 2026
In an interview with PRovoke Media founder and editor Paul Holmes, Amria talks about jher educational background and how she “ ended up going into PR purely because of the Taylor Bennett Foundation,” seeing PR “as an opportunity to kind of combine my creative thinking with my interest in media theory and my strategic thinking, and apply all of that into lots of different types of work.”
PR Agency Moves: Brunswick, APCO, Prosek, WPP Hires
By EPR Editorial Team
Everything-PR - October 13, 2026
PR agency moves from October 1 to 12, 2026 were led by senior hires and new roles. Brunswick hired Ramiro Prudencio from McKinsey, APCO named Kelly Williamson its first chief client officer, Prosek Partners opened a San Francisco office, Golin Ketchum won a CDC campaign with a $65 million minimum, and WPP's Jon Cook announced his exit.
Q&A with Nick Puleo, President of Comsint Communications: How to Prevent Your Brand Campaign From Becoming a Reputation Crisis
By Kevin Parker
citybiz - October 13, 2026
Who should review a campaign for reputation risks? Bring in someone with public relations experience, particularly crisis communications, while there is still time to make changes. Ideally, that person should sit outside the team that developed the concept and be able to raise concerns independently. Ask them to examine the campaign as people will encounter it: a cropped image, a short clip or a screenshot without the caption. Cultural and political associations can become more apparent when the work is separated from its presentation. What needs to be in place before launch? Decide who will monitor reaction, who can pause distribution and who has authority to respond. Agree on what would warrant clarification, revision or withdrawal. That preparation matters because morally charged conversations can spread quickly.
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All reports made with the help of Report Mule.