What our industry needs now is an immediate reexamination of structure, upskilling of talent, and re-assessment of how work is designed, executed, and delivered to clients -- Kathy Bloomgarden, Ruder Finn odwpr.us/4kQDyaF

Most Americans believe companies should remain neutral on political and social issues, but new findings from @ipsosus.bsky.social suggest that a growing number now think it's appropriate for brands to make political statements and to take a similar stand on racial-justice issues odwpr.us/46dBlQG

Multicultural creators are not amplifying brand messages - they are shaping trust, relevance and culture from within their communities -- Daisy Cabrera odwpr.us/4aFd4nT

Donald Trump recently said that bad PR and bad PR people were the reason his poll numbers were down -- Andrew Blum, AJB Communications odwpr.us/3OnEbwo

While YouTube doesn’t count the largest total number of active users, it stands out as the most widely used platform across all generations, according to a report by casino rankings site PlayersTime odwpr.us/40e714O

In 1976, Canada spent millions to honor the U.S. on its 200th birthday. The recent actions of the U.S. government make a repeat of that highly unlikely for the upcoming 250th birthday celebration -- Rene Henry odwpr.us/3MwmkTk

Communicators are often catalysts for workplace AI adoption, serving a vital role in translating this adoption between an organization's technical teams and its broader staff, according to Institute for Public Relations research sponsored by New York Life odwpr.us/4qFFnbG

For the media, the Epstein files are a field day; for the people mentioned in them it is a PR nightmare -- Andrew Blum, AJB Communications odwpr.us/3OiPMN3

While finding the right solution to a problem is still important, the work that differentiates effective communications leaders is problem-finding—identifying the real risk before it becomes visible, reputational or irreversible -- Frank DeMaria & Elie Jacobs, Purposeful Advisors odwpr.us/3OdSun3

Because cybersecurity remained insulated longer than other verticals, the best PR people could stick to a tried-and-true playbook that had worked for a decade or more. But over the last few years, the name of the game has changed -- Nate Hawthorne, ICR odwpr.us/4rI0D1j

Why Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s latest public relations move has him beating Trump at his own game -- Fraser Seitel odwpr.us/4apxPUl

Executives are moving faster, embracing flexibility and making decisions with urgency even in the face of uncertainty, a new study from Padilla finds odwpr.us/4rItZN7

Artificial intelligence is playing an increased role in the communication and marketing sectors. This technology will strengthen agencies’ performances, but it will never replace the creativity and ingenuity that only people provide -- Gil Bashe, FINN Partners odwpr.us/401yYg5

Apologies are often seen as a weakness or as proof that a leader has lost control of the narrative. But Donald Trump's failure to apologize after he posted—and then deleted—a video with a racist clip of Barack and Michelle Obama shows how flawed this mindset is -- Paul Oestreicher odwpr.us/4aqZzbf

In this episode of Taking the Lead with Ken Jacobs, DePaul University's Ron Culp reflects on what effective leadership looks like when career paths are less predictable, expectations are shifting, and leaders are being asked to develop people at every stage of their journey odwpr.us/4qTBIIe

Financial marketing is entering a new era where brands must move beyond mere storytelling and increasingly demonstrate to audiences that they’re prepared for change -- Kevin Windorf, Financial Communications Society odwpr.us/4ke0ujD

The new playbook for surviving a public crisis -- Katherine Maiorana, Sachs Media odwpr.us/3Oiqgr3

Why crisis situations typically start with a decision, not a mistake -- Monica Marshall , Ruder Finn odwpr.us/4qXoVV2

Keys to building a communications plan that successfully prepares companies for a cyber incident -- Ashley Grund , Michael Landau & Lauren Odell, Gladstone Place Partners odwpr.us/4rmAfdw

On the PR’s Top Pros Talk podcast, Doug Simon, CEO of D S Simon Media, spoke with Sean Layton, Executive Vice President of Earned Media at Zeno Group, about AI, earned media, and emerging platforms redefining how reputation is built and where influence truly lives odwpr.us/49YNsCc

How debt market volatility is creating a new crisis communication scenario -- Phil Denning & Lee Pacchia, ICR odwpr.us/4t1wkEs

In today’s B2B and supply-chain crises, proactively managing your GEO footprint is now a reputational necessity -- Steve Halsey, G&S Integrated Marketing Communications Group odwpr.us/4rvrWfx

Communications strategies to build more housing of all kinds -- David Ball, Ball Consulting odwpr.us/4jTH5V

Why tracking macroeconomic, legislative and consumer confidence indicators is a beneficial habit for PR agency leaders to adopt -- Rich Jachetti, The Stevens/Jachetti Group odwpr.us/4r5XwQK

The global economy is threatened by wave of insularity that's cutting people off from the world beyond their immediate environment and making them more unlikely to listen to—or do business with—people from other countries or with opinions different from theirs, says Edelman report odwpr.us/49HMf1J

As markets begin to stabilize and borrowing costs continue to come down, companies are preparing to make bolder decisions in 2026 -- Paolo Ramos, Water & Wall odwpr.us/4r4oEiZ

How to tell whether you’re dealing with a crisis firm or simply a “PR firm that does crisis” -- Maria Stagliano, Blue Highway Advisory odwpr.us/3YR71Hl

Spokespeople must shift seamlessly from live TV to podcasts, regional multicultural outlets to national Zoom interviews - all sometimes in the same week -- Daisy Cabrera odwpr.us/45VJlVZ

To thrive in the uncertainty surrounding them, brands must make a profoundly counterintuitive shift: embrace the chaos -- Sasha Boghosian & Ryan Colaianni, Motio odwpr.us/3LUSK9F

While the danger of being on the president’s bad side is seen as a major source of concern for brands, the potential negative effects of artificial intelligence pose an even greater reputational threat, according to Global Situation Room report odwpr.us/4sLjOZz

American companies must now employ smarter—not louder—communications to navigate today’s evolving global tariffs -- Andrew Frank, KARV odwpr.us/49NcNPs

I challenge Sir Martin Sorrell to a debate for charity on the death of PR. Sorrell brings obituary… I’ll bring the living facts -- Richard Torrenzano, The Torrenzano Group odwpr.us/3NlQJ6O

The forces that will redefine corporate strategy and reputation management in 2026 -- Jared Nelson, DGA Group odwpr.us/4jKf7Lx

Healing the Sick Care System: Why People Matter, a new book from FINN Partners chair global health & purpose Gil Bashe, says that current healthcare system is not broken because it lacks innovation, talent or investment, but because it has lost sight of people it exists to serve odwpr.us/3YD5CUF

In an era of heightened political polarization, rapid news cycles, and social media scrutiny, PR pros are under constant pressure to respond, react, or remain silent -- Gina Rubel, Furia Rubel Communications odwpr.us/4qe7IGE

If 2025 was the year PR learned to coexist with machines, 2026 will be the year we must learn to outrun them -- Stefan Pollack, The Pollack Group odwpr.us/3YGNkSu

Relationships aren’t the product in public relations. They’re the process -- Dustin Siggins, Proven Media Solutions odwpr.us/4aXucHm

On the PR’s Top Pros Talk podcast, Doug Simon, CEO of D S Simon Media, spoke with John Duffield, health futurist and patient survivor, former SVP of technology experience at Omnicom Health about an extraordinary journey redefining what’s possible across the healthcare ecosystem odwpr.us/3NpsggN

For public relations agency owners planning to sell, preparation and investment across several key areas will yield the highest valuations and exit terms in 2026 -- Rick Gould, Gould+Partners odwpr.us/3YR7N7n

What worked for brands in 2025 won’t carry them forward into 2026 -- Anna Crowe, Crowe PR odwpr.us/452tmoZ

O'Dwyer's publishes guide to the top crisis communications firms for 2026. Jan. magazine features profiles of experts in this area plus thought leadership to guide you throughout the year odwyerpr.com/magazine/pr-...

Increasingly, the first “reader” of your press release isn’t a journalist—it’s an AI system deciding whether your content is credible enough to reference. That shift changes what visibility really means -- Erik Carlson, @notified-official.bsky.social odwpr.us/44ZMyUj

The earth entered 2026 spinning on its axis without the marvelous Morty Matz aboard for the first time in 100 years. He died on June 25 just a few weeks before he would have turned 101. Matz practiced PR for 70 years. We were friends for 30. Here's the wizard I knew -- Bob Brody odwpr.us/4puTBM3

Reputation isn’t a byproduct of crisis management. It must guide strategy -- Gil Bashe, FINN Partners odwpr.us/49DfrYZ

O'Dwyer's sr. editor Jon Gingerich writes how artificial intelligence changed the world in 2025. Unfortunately, not all that change was for the better, he stresses. Read his full article included in our Jan. '26 special issue on crisis communications odwpr.us/4qHPU6Q

After weeks of PR and political wrangling, who won the PR battle over the release of the Epstein files? -- Andrew Blum, AJB Communications odwpr.us/4qAUuUm

While predictions of economic improvement in the coming year from corporate and financial decision makers are down slightly from last year’s numbers, the overall outlook is still strongly positive, according to a new survey from Teneo odwpr.us/4qzVHv2

In 2025, reputational crises were less about isolated missteps and more about how quickly leadership, clarity and proportional judgment reacted under pressure -- Ronn Torossian, 5W PR odwpr.us/4sqKP4y

Breaking news press conferences with many speakers can sometimes be hard to carry out totally without a hitch -- Andrew Blum odwpr.us/4pdWSzj

Layoffs, agency consolidations, client spending cuts and massive AI-related disruptions upended the PR business in 2025 odwpr.us/3YPEqC9