It’s time for a mid-year check-in on PR trends. Has AI destroyed PR as we know it? Is TikTok the only social media channel that matters?

Back in December, Bill Byrne of Remedy Public Relations and I discussed which PR trends we’d be keeping an eye on as we headed into the new year. Some of the trends we noted: AI in PR. The shrinking number of media outlets. How silos impact our work. The role the C-suite plays in the success of a PR program.

So, where are we now? And what trends should we be watching as we enter the second half of 2025?

I’m excited that my colleague Bill Byrne is joining me again. He’s frequently named a Top 10 PR expert and influencer and often contributes to marketing industry trades, including Ragan PR Daily, Muck Rack, and Bulldog Reporter.

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Michelle's book - B2B PR That Gets Results - is available now

Book a no-obligation call to talk about your needs here.

About the host: Michelle Garrett is a B2B PR consultant, media relations consultant, and author of B2B PR That Gets Results, an Amazon Best Seller. She helps companies create content, earn media coverage, and position themselves as thought leaders in their industry. Michelle’s articles have been featured by Entrepreneur, Content Marketing Institute, Muck Rack, and Ragan’s PR Daily, among others. She’s a frequent speaker on public relations and content. Michelle has been repeatedly ranked among the top ten most influential PR professionals.

The public relations industry is undergoing a seismic shift, driven by artificial intelligence, hybrid work, a changing media landscape, and deepening political divides.

Across four generations — Gen Z to Baby Boomers — PR professionals are navigating these transformations, each with unique perspectives on where the industry is headed.

On this episode of PR Explored, we discuss the findings of this year’s USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism‘s survey, as compiled in its Global Communication Report.

“The future of the PR industry depends upon how tomorrow’s leaders tackle the critical issues we are beginning to face today,” said Fred Cook, director of the USC Annenberg Center for Public Relations and chair emeritus of Golin.

Cook is my guest on this latest episode of PR Explored.

www.michellegarrett.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prstrategist/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PRisUs

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Threads: https://www.threads.com/@prwritergal

Michelle's book - B2B PR That Gets Results - is available now

Book a no-obligation call to talk about your needs here.

About the host: Michelle Garrett is a B2B PR consultant, media relations consultant, and author of B2B PR That Gets Results, an Amazon Best Seller. She helps companies create content, earn media coverage, and position themselves as thought leaders in their industry. Michelle’s articles have been featured by Entrepreneur, Content Marketing Institute, Muck Rack, and Ragan’s PR Daily, among others. She’s a frequent speaker on public relations and content. Michelle has been repeatedly ranked among the top ten most influential PR professionals.

Burnout in the PR and social media marketing fields is rampant.

Many communications pros are exhausted. The non-stop news cycle. The demand to be “always on.” The rising stress level, as day-to-day responsibilities continue to grow.

Surveys repeatedly show that those working in public relations and social media marketing experience some of the highest rates of burnout.

It’s no wonder, because, more than almost any other group of workers, we’re under pressure to stay in touch with our audiences, even during the most challenging circumstances. We’re so consumed with worrying about what our audiences need, we may have forgotten about taking care of ourselves.

So what can we do about it?

My guest, Breanne A. Mertz, DBA, Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Tampa, and I talk about burnout and how practitioners and their employers can address it.

Mertz has extensively researched social media marketer burnout and shares insight on how her findings apply to those working in PR, comms, and social media.

www.michellegarrett.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prstrategist/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PRisUs

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Threads: https://www.threads.com/@prwritergal

Michelle's book - B2B PR That Gets Results - is available now

Book a no-obligation call to talk about your needs here.

About the host: Michelle Garrett is a B2B PR consultant, media relations consultant, and author of B2B PR That Gets Results, an Amazon Best Seller. She helps companies create content, earn media coverage, and position themselves as thought leaders in their industry. Michelle’s articles have been featured by Entrepreneur, Content Marketing Institute, Muck Rack, and Ragan’s PR Daily, among others. She’s a frequent speaker on public relations and content. Michelle has been repeatedly ranked among the top ten most influential PR professionals.

The media relations game is ever-changing. While traditional media outlets remain coveted by businesses that want to be in the news, non-traditional outlets are on the rise.

Podcasts, newsletters and social media influencers now often play a key role in effective media outreach. PR pros need to ensure they’re immersed in as much client-relevant content as possible, regardless of where it comes from.

PR Consultant Michelle Garrett and her guest, Peter Himler, founder of Flatiron Communications and veteran of agencies including Edelman and Hill & Knowlton, discuss how to reconcile clients’ desire for coverage in legacy media with the impact of a new cadre of earned media platforms.

www.michellegarrett.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prstrategist/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PRisUs

X/Twitter: https://x.com/PRisUs

Threads: https://www.threads.com/@prwritergal

Michelle's book - B2B PR That Gets Results - is available now

Book a no-obligation call to talk about your needs here.

About the host: Michelle Garrett is a B2B PR consultant, media relations consultant, and author of B2B PR That Gets Results, an Amazon Best Seller. She helps companies create content, earn media coverage, and position themselves as thought leaders in their industry. Michelle’s articles have been featured by Entrepreneur, Content Marketing Institute, Muck Rack, and Ragan’s PR Daily, among others. She’s a frequent speaker on public relations and content. Michelle has been repeatedly ranked among the top ten most influential PR professionals.

Eleanor Hawkins, a communications strategist and writer at Axios, and PR Consultant Michelle Garrett discuss trending topics in the world of communications. Hawkins authors the weekly Axios Communicators newsletter covering topics and trends that impact how leaders, brands and employers communicate.

www.michellegarrett.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prstrategist/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PRisUs

X/Twitter: https://x.com/PRisUs

Threads: https://www.threads.com/@prwritergal

Michelle's book - B2B PR That Gets Results - is available now

Book a no-obligation call to talk about your needs here.

About the host: Michelle Garrett is a B2B PR consultant, media relations consultant, and author of B2B PR That Gets Results, an Amazon Best Seller. She helps companies create content, earn media coverage, and position themselves as thought leaders in their industry. Michelle’s articles have been featured by Entrepreneur, Content Marketing Institute, Muck Rack, and Ragan’s PR Daily, among others. She’s a frequent speaker on public relations and content. Michelle has been repeatedly ranked among the top ten most influential PR professionals.

Newer to PR? Or maybe you’ve worked in PR for a while but are trying to keep up with the changing landscape. Sure, writing is important. But what other skills and aptitudes are vital for today’s public relations and communications professionals?

As roles become more sophisticated and communication challenges more complex, PR pros must prove value, adapt to new technologies, navigate ethical challenges – and there is so much unknown. And unknowable.

My guest is Steve Ryan, Assistant Professor of Instruction & Program Director of Public Relations at Temple University.

www.michellegarrett.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prstrategist/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PRisUs

X/Twitter: https://x.com/PRisUs

Threads: https://www.threads.com/@prwritergal

Michelle's book - B2B PR That Gets Results - is available now

Book a no-obligation call to talk about your needs here.

About the host: Michelle Garrett is a B2B PR consultant, media relations consultant, and author of B2B PR That Gets Results, an Amazon Best Seller. She helps companies create content, earn media coverage, and position themselves as thought leaders in their industry. Michelle’s articles have been featured by Entrepreneur, Content Marketing Institute, Muck Rack, and Ragan’s PR Daily, among others. She’s a frequent speaker on public relations and content. Michelle has been repeatedly ranked among the top ten most influential PR professionals.

In this episode of PR Explored, host Michelle Garrett, a public relations consultant, is joined by Christopher Penn of Trust Insights to discuss the impact of AI on public relations, particularly in terms of search.

The conversation covers the evolution and deployment of AI models, the importance of SEO and broad content distribution, and the ethical implications of AI in content creation.

The discussion also touches on the efficiency of AI in automating repetitive tasks and its potential to transform the workload of PR professionals.

Penn, a veteran in the AI field, provides insights on how the rapid advancement of AI tools impacts marketing and communications, emphasizing the need to adjust strategies to gain visibility on AI-enabling platforms like YouTube, LinkedIn, and Google.

www.michellegarrett.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prstrategist/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PRisUs

X/Twitter: https://x.com/PRisUs

Threads: https://www.threads.com/@prwritergal

Michelle's book - B2B PR That Gets Results - is available now

Book a no-obligation call to talk about your needs here.

About the host: Michelle Garrett is a B2B PR consultant, media relations consultant, and author of B2B PR That Gets Results, an Amazon Best Seller. She helps companies create content, earn media coverage, and position themselves as thought leaders in their industry. Michelle’s articles have been featured by Entrepreneur, Content Marketing Institute, Muck Rack, and Ragan’s PR Daily, among others. She’s a frequent speaker on public relations and content. Michelle has been repeatedly ranked among the top ten most influential PR professionals.

AI is transforming how we search and engage with content online. In this episode of PR Explored, host Michelle Garrett is joined by digital marketing expert Andy Crestodina to discuss how AI-based search is reshaping the PR and marketing landscape. From AI optimization strategies to leveraging PR for brand visibility in generative search engines, Andy shares actionable insights to help professionals navigate this rapidly evolving space.

Whether you’re a PR pro looking to stay ahead or a marketer curious about AI’s impact, this conversation dives deep into strategies, challenges, and the future of PR in an AI-driven world. Don’t miss this insightful episode packed with practical tips for thriving in the age of AI.

www.michellegarrett.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prstrategist/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PRisUs

X/Twitter: https://x.com/PRisUs

Threads: https://www.threads.com/@prwritergal

Michelle's book - B2B PR That Gets Results - is available now

Book a no-obligation call to talk about your needs here.

About the host: Michelle Garrett is a B2B PR consultant, media relations consultant, and author of B2B PR That Gets Results, an Amazon Best Seller. She helps companies create content, earn media coverage, and position themselves as thought leaders in their industry. Michelle’s articles have been featured by Entrepreneur, Content Marketing Institute, Muck Rack, and Ragan’s PR Daily, among others. She’s a frequent speaker on public relations and content. Michelle has been repeatedly ranked among the top ten most influential PR professionals.