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Comms Gone Rogue (In the Best Way)

Comms Gone Rogue (In the Best Way)

Ash + Lizzy
August 02, 2025

20,813 founders and comms leaders start their weekend with The Colab Brief.
Join them to get weekly analysis of PR trends and non-traditional media moves.

813

Welcome to The Colab Brief, where we break down the comms trends that actually matter, drop the receipts behind the headlines, and share the stuff people are whispering about but not posting.

No recycled LinkedIn takes. Just sharp insights, blind items (👀), and the occasional Slack gem that deserves daylight.

Think of it as your agency backstage pass.

Let’s go. ⚡

Have feedback on the new look/feel? Hit us up.

🔥 Hot Takes

Journalists Are Taking Over Comms - and Honestly, Thank God

Kyle Wiggers (formerly TechCrunch) just announced he’s heading up comms at AI2—and he’s far from the only one.

✨some personal news ✨ https://t.co/I5cil1insD
— Kyle Wiggers (@Kyle_L_Wiggers) July 31, 2025

Big brands are quietly hiring former reporters, editors, and even economists to lead their content and comms efforts. We’re talking:

SoFi
Shopify
GoodRx
Ramp
Instacart
Brex
Freddie Mac
Apollo
(and the list keeps growing).

These aren’t fluff pieces or corporate blog filler, they’re doubling down on developing their own unique content engines. These teams are building newsroom-style operations with real editorial standards, actual reporting, and subject-matter expertise.

It makes sense because journalists know how to tell a compelling story, ask uncomfortable questions, and package information in a way that people actually want to read. It’s not “content.” It’s coverage with credibility.

Nerdwallet and Zillow were early to this game, hiring economists and reporters to create daily finance and real estate columns that media outlets picked up en masse. It worked then (hello, backlinks and domain authority), and it still works now.

This trend isn’t just a vibe, it’s a smart business decision. Comms teams that think like newsrooms are winning earned media, LLM rankings, audience trust and giving our reporter friends the stability (and salary) they’ve deserved for years.

This shift comes alongside a continued wave of journalist layoffs. This week alone - notices from CNN, buy-out offers from The Washington Post and Fortune’s latest downsizing.

🕵️‍♀️ PR PostScript

If you’ve got something to get off your chest about working in PR - client chaos, pitch fails, internal politics, or just the absurdity of it all, this is your confessional. This space is for 100% anonymous stories from inside the industry. No names, no judgment, just the raw, real stuff no one posts on LinkedIn. 🍵

Share anonymously here.

🎯One Tip

GEO Unleashed - Prompts for LLM Domination 🔥

The AI revolution is redefining how brands break through, and generative engine optimization (GEO) is the key to ensuring our clients shine in LLM responses.

Ready to level up your strategy? Try this:

➡️ Copy/paste our prompt here:

Prompt: You are an expert in generative engine optimization (GEO) and LLM narrative strategies. My client is a [industry, e.g., "health tech"] startup aiming to boost visibility through PR. I want to design a narrative-driven PR campaign that maximizes the likelihood of my client being featured in LLM responses when users ask about industry leaders or innovations.

To analyze this:

Generate 5-10 sample user queries that people might ask an LLM about [industry], such as "What are the top health tech innovations in 2025?" or "Which companies are revolutionizing healthcare with technology?"
For each query, simulate how you (as an LLM) would craft a narrative response (100-150 words) based on your training data, incorporating my client’s startup. Include 3-5 real-world sources (e.g., The New York Times, TechCrunch, BBC, or emerging platforms like Substack) that could shape the narrative, reflecting authoritative and widely accessed media.
Extract all cited sources across the simulated responses.
Aggregate and rank the sources by frequency of citation. Provide insights on why these sources influence LLM narratives (e.g., high domain authority, frequent inclusion in training data, or broad audience reach).
Recommend a prioritized list of 5-10 PR pitching strategies (e.g., thought leadership articles, case studies, video content) and target outlets, tailored to LLM narrative preferences and 2025 media trends.

Output in a structured format with sections for queries, narrative responses, extracted sources, ranking, and recommendations. Be transparent about your reasoning and adapt to the evolving AI landscape.

🌐 Why It Matters: LinkedIn’s Open API

LinkedIn just made a major move: its Member Post Analytics API for personal profiles is now globally available. That means PR teams can finally access real-time metrics on executive posts, aka no more clunky spreadsheets or guesswork.

This shift gives comms teams a live view into performance including follower growth, impressions, engagement, right inside the tools they already use. It moves reporting from reactive to proactive, making it easier to build dashboards, spot trends early, and tie content to business outcomes.

And because platforms like Hootsuite, Buffer, and Sprinklr are integrating the API, PR pros can now align LinkedIn post performance with broader campaign workflows from scheduling to strategy.

The bottom line? It’s not just a quality-of-life upgrade. It’s the missing link in measuring executive visibility:

Benchmark against competitors and peers
Optimize content with data, not guesswork
Attribute outcomes across earned, owned, and social

LinkedIn just became a real-time influence engine and we finally have some data to justify the time spent.

📡 Under the Radar

Substack writers, niche creators, rogue reporters you should be watching. Today we’re focusing on journos who banded together to create new, independent media platforms.

📧 404 Media [Tech Journalism]

Curated by: Jason Koebler, Emanuel Maiberg, Samantha Cole, Joseph Cox (former Vice Motherboard staff who left amid layoffs and restructuring)
Focus: Investigative technology journalism covering AI, data breaches, corporate tech practices, online safety, and digital vulnerabilities.
Why Subscribe: Offers deep dives into tech controversies and trends (e.g., AI-generated content, Google search exploits), providing comms pros with narrative ideas for crisis PR, pitching strategies, and industry intel to position clients amid tech scandals.

📧 Compiler [Tech Policy]

Curated by: Mike Farrell (award-winning ex-journalist from national publications, founder and CEO of Compiler Media, Inc.)
Focus: Tech policy, people, and global forces shaping the digital future, with emphasis on AI, innovation, and societal impacts.
Why Subscribe: Delivers expert analysis on tech policy trends (e.g., AI leadership like Sam Altman), arming comms and PR professionals with insights for regulatory narratives, thought leadership pitches, and strategic positioning in the evolving digital landscape.

📧 Defector [Media/Culture]

Curated by: Tom Ley, Barry Petchesky, Samer Kalaf, Giri Nathan, Chris Thompson (former Deadspin staff who resigned en masse after firings, forming a worker cooperative)
Focus: Independent journalism on media, culture, sports, and societal issues, with occasional tech and digital media critiques.
Why Subscribe: Provides unfiltered takes on media industry dynamics and cultural shifts influenced by tech (e.g., platform changes, content creation), offering comms pros inspiration for authentic storytelling, crisis management in media, and rogue perspectives on digital trends.

👀 In the Wild

PR this week: the good, the bad, the embarrassing.

A Feel Good PR Moment 💓

A coalition of PR firms, dubbed the LA Strong Comms Coalition, is stepping up pro bono to support small businesses devastated by the recent wildfires in Los Angeles. In just six months, the team helped secure over 30 media features, giving local merchants visibility and breathing room as they rebuild, long after the news cycle moved on.

From neighborhood storefronts getting national airtime to community staples reconnecting with customers, it’s a rare but beautiful thing: PR not for spin, but for lift.

🧨 It’s Giving: Public Infrastructure, Scrapped for Political Points

The NYT feature on the shuttering of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting hits hard. After nearly 60 years of powering local PBS and NPR affiliates, CPB is being dismantled after Congress pulled $1.1B in funding. That decision doesn’t just gut a budget it guts a pillar of accessible, community-rooted journalism.

From rural radio to educational kids’ programming, CPB quietly underpinned some of the most trusted, non-partisan media in America. With its closure, hundreds of local stations are at risk of layoffs, programming cuts, or total shutdown.

Expert Take:
This isn’t just a political move it’s a cultural loss. CPB’s demise strips away one of the last remaining pieces of public-interest media infrastructure. It means fewer local reporters, fewer trusted voices in underserved communities, and fewer places where truth isn’t paywalled or partisan. In a moment where trust in media is already fragile, this is the kind of move we’ll look back on with deep regret. It’s a loss for all of us.

🕵️ It’s Giving: Publicist as PR Provocateur (and Journalist)

This NYT profile of Mitchell Jackson underscores a seismic shift in the PR world: former journalists carving out an entirely new lane in crisis and communications strategy. Jackson, once a Vice writer who suffered his own very public cancellation, now leans into reputation rehabilitation, turning outrage into opportunity for clients like Candace Owens, Caroline Calloway, and other high-stakes (and urm, controversial) personalities.

He’s not playing it safe: Jackson wagers on scandal, owning that divisiveness is a strategic asset. He’s less press whisperer, more narrative architect - media manipulation with a former-reporter’s instinct for the compelling and controversial.

Expert Take: Mitchell Jackson personifies today’s PR turn toward journalist-driven tactics. This feature is a must-read for anyone reimagining comms strategy in the age of virality and backlash, or if you just want a sneak-peek into what it’s like representing some of culture’s most controversial characters.

Term Sheet is Hitting the Airwaves 🎙️

This week, Allie Garfinkle announced Fortune’s keystone newsletter, Term Sheet, is no longer just a print publication. It’s gone full digital. The first episode was defense-tech themed and we loved getting to see a glimpse of Allie’s personality through the video interview format. Worth a watch!

⚡Quick Links:

Overplayed or already out their news that still deserves a mention.

Dotdash Meredith is rebranding to People, Inc.
American Eagle has officially responded to their viral ad.

🔁 Media Moves

Who's going where and why it matters. Not just job shifts - power dynamics, layoffs, and behind-the-scenes moves.

🧳 Zoltan Simon transitioned from Budapest bureau chief to regional editor and reporter at Bloomberg, remaining based in Budapest.

🧳 Nicki Jhabvala moved from The Washington Post to The Athletic as Commanders reporter.

🧳 Nicole Wootton-Cane moved from Manchester Evening News to a new role at The Independent.

🧳 Brooke Kushwaha joined The New Bedford Light as an environment reporter covering climate on the South Coast, after a brief hiatus (formerly at Vineyard Gazette, Houston Chronicle).

🧳 Jacob Kleinman moved from freelancing (previously at Inverse) to Deputy Entertainment Editor at Polygon.

🧳 Dasha Burns joined C-SPAN as host of the new show "Ceasefire," in addition to her roles at POLITICO, where she’ll bring together political leaders across the aisle to find common ground.

🧳 Erik Wemple moved from The Washington Post to The New York Times, where he will cover media from Washington for the Business section starting in September.

🧳 Noah Baustin moved from the San Francisco Standard to POLITICO as California’s energy and environment reporter.

🧳 Jemima McEvoy moved from Forbes to The Information as a features reporter, focusing on tech for the Weekend section.

🧳 Bree Fowler was laid off from CNET today, with no notice and limited time to access her computer before it was bricked. With over a decade of experience covering tech and cybersecurity, she is seeking new opportunities as a reporter or potentially with a cybersecurity company.

🧳 Brock E.W. Turner departed from Modern Healthcare after over three years. More details to come about his next chapter.

🧳 Amy Mackinnon joined the Financial Times in Washington in a newly created role covering the US relationship with Europe; previously at POLITICO.

🧳 Barry Malone departed from his job as Deputy Editor-in-Chief at the Thomson Reuters Foundation to go independent, focusing on amplifying under-reported stories.

🧳 Kenyatta Victoria landed a gig as Assistant Editor at EBONY; previously Commerce Writer at Us Weekly.

🧳 Jaclyn Jeffrey-Wilensky joined The Wall Street Journal as a data reporter; previously at U.S. News & World Report, WNYC, and The COVID Tracking Project.

🧳 Lizzie Kane was laid off from the Chicago Tribune, where she was a housing reporter; previously at Bloomberg Businessweek and IndyStar. She is seeking new journalism opportunities.

☕ Totally Unrelated

Stuff that doesn’t fit anywhere else but still slaps - aka things we shared this week in Slack.

Things We’d Never Thought We’d See - Anthony Hopkins in a Skims Neck Trainer 👀

View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Anthony Hopkins (@anthonyhopkins)

Add this officially to the list of things I never thought I’d type. This week, Kim K unveiled the latest viral addition to her Skims line, the Seamless Sculpt Face Wrap. The wrap itself made the waves on our Slack channel because how amazing - I mean, insane. The internet went wild making comparisons between the face (head?) covering and the piece wore by Hannibal Lector in the famous horror film, Silence of the Lambs. Sir Anthony got in a bit on the fun. Joke or not, the face wrap is sold out, and KK remains a marketing genius.

We’re pleading the fifth on how many Colab ladies are on the wait list.

On Our Bookshelf 📚

We live for a good book in our circle. Here are a few things we’re currently reading (for fun, not for work). Safe to say, there is probably something for everyone in this mashup.

📖 The Storyteller by Dave Grohl
A surprisingly tender, funny, and deeply human look at life through the eyes of the Foo Fighters frontman. Equal parts rock-and-roll memoir and love letter to family.

🌄 The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye
An epic, sweeping historical romance set in colonial India. Think Outlander, but with sharper prose, less time travel and more elephants.

⚡ Electricity of Every Living Thing by Katherine May
A lyrical and raw exploration of autism, identity, and nature. Would be perfect for fans of Wintering craving another walk through the wild.

🚶‍♂️ Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose
A gripping biography-meets-adventure story following Lewis and Clark’s expedition, full of wilderness, politics, and big existential questions.

🏝️ Isola by Allegra Goodman
A quietly captivating novel about grief, creativity, and reinvention, set against a dreamy Mediterranean backdrop with big art girl summer energy.

Something else on your mind? Say hello.