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Eye roll, please … (click-bait) headlines that riff on the mass media-AI theme of “Is X dead?” Journalism. Book writing. Heartwarming founder backstories on organic soup cans. Come on: This moldy oldie dates to the days of the Gutenberg press putting traveling troubadours out of work. 

Here's the latest example from Entrepreneur: "PR Isn’t Dead. It Just Needs to Speak AI." What's more, writer Elisette Carlson's subhead confuses me: "I’ve spent years helping brands get press and learned that the win isn’t the headline" (my emphasis). 

Like ... Entrepreneur's headline? 

Ah, but it's a good thing that Carlson cuts to the chase: AI taken in the right spirit works as a partner, not an adversary. In fact, it can keep your greatest hits alive far longer than in days of yore.

Here's what we can learn from Carlson, Founder of SMACK! Media and an expert whose marketing and comms experience dates back more than 20 years. 

Press is data. I love this line: "Today, coverage is input (ital). Your press and exposure become data for generative systems." In other words, where humans read, AI scans--or if you prefer, "reads" phrases and searches for text elements that allow an article to live on in its ecosystem. Put another way, AI searches before people online do and under the right conditions, will call up information again and again. So what unlocks all this? True to its name, it's the keyword. But what comprises that exactly?

The quote is the keyword. It's tempting to think that AI appreciates the pirouettes of catchy content first and foremost. But that's simply not the case. Yes, you'll want to engage readers and engage reporters. But as Carlson rightly asks, what happens once the initial splash of press coverage has subsided? The riddle that has vexed many a PR pro centers on how to keep the momentum going. AI solves this because it reaches for anchor text, headings and pull-quotes. These aren’t just aesthetic: Where AI is concerned, they’re semantic beacons.

Pay heed to the paywall. It's a mistake to assume that AI penetrates a content paywall where frustrated readers can't. Turns out that if your best hits live behind paywalls, you’re invisible to AI. And for the foreseeable future, publications large and small aren't about to give AI a pass–though arguably, they should. It’s their loss.

Here's how to translate all this into something actionable that AI will find searchable.

Plant, don’t post. No longer should press coverage be considered 'one/won and done." Keep it alive in your domain, linked and updated as though it's evergreen content--which is just the way AI treats it. 

Structure every story. Headlines, metadata and internal links now inform the PR craft. Again, ask yourself how AI sees the content universe, because intentionally crafting these elements translates to your AI ace in the hole.  

Optimize for AI recall. Remember who's the boss here: You. Artificial intelligence can only do what it's trained to do, so keep in mind that what you feed it today will supply it with tomorrow’s “best X for Y” answers.

Carlson sums it up well: "Every feature, podcast or quote can keep working for you if you structure it, reshare it and teach AI – and your audience – how to find it again." In other words, AI can create a righteous feedback loop where the audience that first sought out your piece will return to it. Over and over..

And if people keep coming back to Carloson’s piece -- maybe in part because AI loves that headline I find annoying -- so much the better. 

Lou Carlozo is the Editor in Chief of Qwoted, the world's most widely used platform that unites journalists, PRs, sources and podcasters. He is a Pulitzer Prize finalist, a Polk Award Winner (both for team reporting) and the host of the Bankadelic podcast, ranked Number 3 for its coverage of AI and finance as ranked by Million Podcasts. Connect with him on LinkedIn.  

Gallup’s latest numbers on media trust paint a bleak picture. Just 28% of Americans say they have a “great deal” or “fair amount” of confidence in newspapers, television, and radio to report the news fully and fairly. That’s the lowest level since the question was first tracked in the 1970s, when trust was above 70%.

There are some predictable patterns in the data. Partisan divides play a significant part, with Republican trust at a record low of just 8%. (Democrats, though still far more trusting, have also declined to 51%). Age gaps are clear too, with older people placing far more faith in traditional news sources than younger groups. But the headline takeaway, and this really kills me as a career journalist, is that belief in the media has hit rock bottom.

Why does this matter for comms? Whether you pitch stories, manage reputational issues, or try to build a narrative, you now operate in an environment where fewer and fewer people trust the platforms through which your messages travel. Even a good story, in a respected outlet, now lands in a climate of skepticism.

It also affects who your message resonates with. If younger audiences doubt the credibility of traditional cable news, is a brand profile on one of those channels – however glowing – likely to sway them? Or if it’s conservative voters you’re trying to reach, can you rely on a mainstream media strategy to get the job done? 

Now, this doesn’t mean media relations no longer matter. They obviously still do. But it means communicators need to be more deliberate about trust as part of the channel strategy. That might mean reconsidering your mix of traditional earned media with owned or direct channels, or collaborating more with creators and influencers your audience believes in, not just hoping a legacy outlet’s name will carry the weight. 

It also reinforces the value of proof over polish. If people don’t trust the media to tell the story faithfully, they’ll look straight past the headline and into what’s underneath. Numbers. Evidence. Real people. Tangible assets that a reader, viewer or listener can grasp. Because, if audiences are increasingly inclined to question what they consume, you have to double down on earning their trust—and that’s far harder than it used to be.

-Alasdair Lane

"OpenAI Unveils Web Browser Built for Artificial Intelligence"

The New York Times, Oct. 21, 2025

Hidden in this bread-and-butter piece by Times AI writer Cade Metz is an opportunity for comms pros to get out in front of an omnipresent high-tech conversation.

It's been a year of ups and downs for OpenAI and its ChatGPT platform, especially when the China-based DeepSeek showed up as formidable (and arguably overhyped) competition. Now comes word of an A.I.-powered web browser built around ChatGPT, and Metz opens the door to many a question regarding what Atlas is and why anyone should care. 

PR pros should distinguish between the AI-driven web search being offered by Google and how Atlas is built to move the ball forward—or won’t. “Hype or breakthrough” angles often appeal to tech writers so long as they say something substantive and new. 

Consider positing a subject matter expert to predict how Atlas could change web search forever. How would Google fight back? Will this truly propel Sam Altman and company to the front of the AI race? Point to trends and revelations – the growth numbers behind Comet’s Perplexity, for example – while avoiding the perennial cold oatmeal of "My source is here to comment on topics of interest like…"   

Remember that journalists love stories that show instead of tell: “We tried Atlas as a search engine alternative. Here’s what we found.”

The trend here is bonehead simple to spot: AI will only grow in capability and complexity, promising to do incredible things. (Name them if you can: Reporters prefer specifics over platitudes.) Here's how this latest move from OpenAI is a game-changer, a headline grab or a bit of both. 

-Lou Carlozo

True story: I played lead guitar in an ’80s Philly hair band. One perk was that we had no trouble getting girlfriends (at least my bandmates didn't). Sometimes they dated several groupies at once. Were the guys OK with that? Of course. But what about the ladies they chased, or who chased them?

Four decades after dancing on bartops and playing behind-the-back solos, I'd argue that what was true then applies today in the journalism-PR tango: no keeping secrets. 

We’re not talking here about the blind "spray and pray" approach, which I'd compare to sending pro forma book queries to multiple literary agents under the same roof. But even in that instance, you'll likely see a clear directive on the agency website that lets you know whether this is OK. (Take it from someone who just pitched a memoir to 65 agents and publishers. With no luck. Yet.)     

I get the discernment issue here. There's no billboard in front of the newsroom to guide your actions. So picture me holding up a big honking sign instead. And it says this: It's bad form.

I recall a few instances at the Chicago Tribune when a PR person started a conversation with me that caught my interest. So I’d arrange a follow-up conversation, only to learn days later that another reporter (usually of higher rank) had accepted the pitch … and that the comms “pro” was headed that-a-way. 

I found this demoralizing—and annoying. No one wants to be treated as an object, as though you've got a bullseye painted on your back and raw meat tied to your ankles. Where's the public relations "relationship" in that? And for that matter, why did they waste my time only to pull the plug because a better opportunity came along?    

To PRs who would argue on behalf of the innocuous mistake: Don't. If you couldn’t be trusted to do (or know) the right thing to begin with, why should I extend grace in this instance? “Ah, but I had no idea,” you might argue. Well, there is this thing known as the “appearance of conflict.” Traditional journalists live and breathe by this. It doesn’t have to be bad to look bad.     

There is a crucial exception regarding the multi-pitch play, though. 

I believe it's fine to pitch multiple journos on the same team if you make full disclosure from the get-go to each and every one. This kind of transparency in the business of earned media is a beautiful thing. You may even engender some good vibes from folks like me. "You know, I really think the music critic is the one for this. I'll walk over to her desk and mention it."

Back in the day, I’m not sure the boys in the band told their many, many girlfriends about each other. I doubt it. Maybe it’s no coincidence that three out of four wound up in messy divorces. No matter. That could have nothing to do with anything. Except perhaps this: Anyone who values a relationship – and isn’t just out for themselves – knows that cheating on someone is just plain dumb. 

-Lou Carlozo

Who's going where and why it matters. Not just job shifts - power dynamics, layoffs, and who's headed out. 

Yes, when news items mention specific individuals, I'll search for and include links to their LinkedIn or X profiles where available and verifiable. Here's the updated list with those additions:

🧳 NOTUS launched "Perspectives," a new opinion vertical edited by Richard Just, focusing on weekly symposia and longform reported pieces to bring diverse voices to congressional readers; CEO Arielle Elliott noted the site's readership includes 85% of congressional offices. (X)

🧳 David Rohde, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner for international reporting, joined MSNBC as senior national security reporter; previously senior executive editor of national security and law at NBC News, and author of five books including Where Tyranny Begins.

🧳 Fortesa Latifi joined Yahoo News as senior writer on the features team; previously at Teen Vogue. (X)

🧳 Syedah Asghar joined MSNBC's Capitol Hill team as producer. (X)

🧳 Laura J. Nelson joined The Wall Street Journal as enterprise reporter based in Los Angeles, covering big California stories and the politics-tech nexus; previously at the Los Angeles Times. (X)

🧳 Brandon Carter joined The New York Times Opinion as staff editor; previously led the social team at The Washington Post. (X)

🧳 Sam Walker joined MoneyWeek as online writer, covering personal finance and investing. (X)

🧳 Liam Dillon joined Politico to cover rebuilding in Los Angeles and housing issues across California. (X)

🧳 Grant Rindner joined Playboy as editor for the print magazine. (X)

🧳 Robyn Tomlin named executive director of the American Press Institute. (X)

🧳 Carlos Garcia joined Fortune as crypto reporting fellow; previously at The Wall Street Journal and NPR. (X)

🧳 Felix Salmon joined Bloomberg News as senior writer; previously chief financial correspondent at Axios, where he wrote "Axios Markets." (X)

🧳 Stacy Cohen joined This Week in Fintech to scale the community for 200,000 founders, investors, and operators; previously at TechCrunch.

Feedback? Comments? Something else on your mind? Say hello. 

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