The Public Relations Blog

In this episode, Martin Waxman joins host Jason Mudd to discuss AI’s impact on communications and marketing, why training matters, and how to avoid “AI slop” by pairing AI with real expertise. 

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When every week brings a new issue, even strong leaders can get worn down. PR crises start to feel like background noise, but the risks keep rising.

Crisis after crisis has a way of wearing people down, even very strong leaders. When every week brings a new issue, a public relations crisis can start to feel like background noise instead of a real warning. That is when trouble sneaks in. The stakes go up, but the energy and focus at the top go down.

Public relations is no longer just about media mentions. Today, it helps shape how people and AI tools discover, trust, and choose your brand.

Public relations services are no longer just about getting your name in the news. Now they play a big part in how people find and trust your brand across search, social media, and AI tools that answer questions for your buyers. If you want your company to show up in those answers, you need to think about PR in a new way.

The PESO model — paid, earned, shared, and owned media — remains one of the most widely recognized frameworks in integrated communication. Over time, some academics have introduced an alternative ordering: SOEP (shared, owned, earned, paid). This is not a replacement for PESO, nor a new industry standard. It’s a reflection of how some practitioners and researchers interpret the evolving priorities inside organizations.

Learn ethical digital PR link tactics during a public relations crisis to earn trusted coverage, protect branded SERPs, and sustain visibility without backlash.

A public relations crisis can change how your brand shows up online overnight. One bad headline or upset thread can climb to the top of search results and stay there. When that happens, you don't just need to fix one story; you need to protect your long-term digital reputation.

Use this post-crisis plan for social media and reputation management to restore trust, update stakeholders, and track SEO recovery metrics.

A social media-driven PR crisis can hit faster than a summer storm in Florida. One post goes viral, and within hours, you may see angry comments, customer cancellations, and negative content climbing to the top of search results. Brand trust drops, revenue takes a hit, and your name online starts to look very different from the brand you have worked hard to build.

Data breaches no longer just threaten your systems; they threaten your reputation.

In today’s real-time digital environment, companies must be ready to communicate quickly, clearly, and credibly when cyber incidents occur. What you say (or don’t say) in the first few hours can either protect or permanently damage your brand’s reputation.

Here’s how to respond when a breach hits and prepare your team before the next one.

In this solocast, On Top of PR host Jason Mudd discusses the ethical and practical differences between exclusives, advances, and embargoes and how to use them correctly in media relations.

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Learn how to spot red flags and take action when online reputation management is failing to protect trust, visibility, and brand credibility.

Online reputation management sounds simple on the surface: Watch what people say about your brand online, and keep it positive. In real life, it is more like caring for a garden. When you stop paying attention, weeds grow quietly. By the time you notice, they are everywhere, blocking the healthy parts you want people to see.

Discover why social channels must be part of any public relations crisis plan and how to prepare response protocols, roles, and monitoring upfront.

Public relations crises do not wait for your team to get into the office. A quick video on TikTok, a frustrated thread on X (formerly Twitter), or a sharp comment on Instagram can turn into a roaring public fight before your morning coffee cools. Once it spreads, screenshots and stitches keep the story alive long after the original post is deleted.