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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.

📬 In this [Free] Edition:

• ​​🔥 Hot Takes  - FT digs into PR’s boardroom takeover (spoiler: it’s less media pitching, more CEO therapy).

• 🌱 Job Watch - New comms roles from Dolce & Gabbana, Headway, and Instawork.

• ⁉️ AMA w/ Ash & Lizzy - Drop your PR Qs, we’ll spill the unfiltered answers.

• 🎯 One Tip - Use AI to run crisis sims before the real storm hits.

• 🌐 Why It Matters - Google keeps Chrome, regulators eye AI as the next battleground.

• 📡 Under the Radar - Substack creators shaping the defense + nat sec convo.

• 👀 In the Wild - Anthropic’s $183B flex, Framer’s AI glow-up, and the PR nightmare of AI-generated Holocaust images.

• 🔁 Media Moves - Promotions, departures, and new beats reshaping the media map.

• ☕ Totally Unrelated - Our Slack-approved lineup: creamy keyboards, cozy tea, and the perfect Zoom light.

Have feedback for what you’d like to see? Hit us up!

🔥 Hot Takes - The FT Examines the PR Role

A recent FT article has been making the rounds in PR circles on LinkedIn, and it hits a nerve: boards are needier than ever. With IPOs at historic lows, PR firms aren’t just pitching journalists anymore. They are rebranding as strategic consultants, covering everything from crisis comms and ESG pivots to AI, geopolitics, and even boardroom therapy sessions.

Cue the evolution: media relations is now less than 10% of the job. The real work is hand-holding CEOs, managing activist investors, and translating global politics into something boards can live with. PR pros have become part therapist, part management consultant, part intelligence analyst.

But here’s the hot take: when boards turn to PR firms not just to sell a strategy but to help define it, that signals fragility, not strength. Messaging has become the scaffolding holding up shaky decision-making.

Translation: the PR umbrella keeps expanding because boardrooms are anxious and willing to pay for reassurance.

Bottom line: PR’s rise as a one-stop shop shows its growing influence. But if boards outsource confidence to comms, they risk mistaking spin for strategy.

🌱Job Watch

• Dolce & Gabbana is hiring an Americas Communications Specialist. [Miami]

• Headway is hiring an Internal Communications Manager. [Hybrid, New York]

• Instawork is looking for an experienced Head of Strategic Communications. [Hybrid, New York] 

⁉️AMA w/Ash & Lizzy

Got a PR question that’s been keeping you up at night? Drop it in our new AMA and we’ll answer it in The Colab Brief - from pitch problems to dealing with difficult execs, we’re here to give you our take. 

Share anonymously here.

A&L:

We used to have strict pillars we looked for when bringing on a new client to signal readiness:

1. Funding/Profitability (or some validation on the finance side)

2. Market Fit/ ICP (you know who you’re marketing to and what your selling points are)

3. Customers (someone has purchased your product)

4. Executive Buy-In/Availability (do you have time to tackle PR at your growth stage)

You should still (ideally) have these components in place before you hire a firm. However, our general advice about readiness has shifted a bit with the influence of GEO and the importance of press on showing up on LLMs. 

We know that GEO will go the way of SEO and (eventually) become a paid game, but at this point, the playing field is still level, so we’re encouraging less mature companies to work on their press presence early as a way of infiltrating the LLMs. This doesn’t mean that you need to run right out and hire a retainer-based agency. Early on, you can take advantage of contributor spots like the Forbes Councils or Inc.’s Leadership Forum. Doing something, even if it’s a bit early, may pay dividends down the road. 

🎯One Tip

We know AI can be used to automate a lot of mundane comms tasks, but did you know you can also use it to simulate a crisis situation?

Why it matters: Crises are unpredictable, but their impact can be mitigated with preparation. A simulation provides a safe, controlled environment to test strategies, identify weaknesses, and build muscle memory for high-pressure situations.

How it helps: The prompt creates a realistic scenario (e.g., a data breach or product failure) with escalating stakes, mirroring real-world issues like the Equifax hack or Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 recall. This allows your team to practice crafting responses, managing stakeholders, and coordinating internally without real-world consequences. *Especially helpful if you know something is coming down the pipe.

Prompt:

You are a PR crisis simulation expert. Create a detailed, realistic scenario for a public relations crisis involving the fictional brand 'XY', a mid-sized consumer electronics company known for smart home devices like security cameras and smart speakers. The crisis should escalate over a 48-hour period, starting subtly and building to widespread media coverage and public backlash.

Structure the simulation as follows:

1. Background: Briefly describe XY's brand image, recent successes, and any vulnerabilities (e.g., data privacy concerns).

2. Trigger Event: Outline the initial incident that sparks the crisis (e.g., a product malfunction, data breach, or controversial statement by an executive). Make it plausible and timely, incorporating current trends like AI ethics or supply chain issues.

3. Timeline of Escalation: Break down the crisis hour-by-hour or in key phases, including:

   • Social media reactions (e.g., viral posts on X, TikTok outrage).

   • Media coverage (e.g., articles from outlets like CNN, TechCrunch).

   • Stakeholder responses (e.g., customer complaints, influencer backlash, regulatory scrutiny).

   • Internal impacts (e.g., stock dip, employee morale).

4. Key Challenges: Highlight dilemmas for the PR team, such as conflicting information, misinformation spreading, or ethical decisions.

5. Possible Outcomes: Suggest 2-3 branching paths based on PR responses (e.g., effective apology vs. denial leading to worse fallout).

6. Learning Objectives: End with 3-5 takeaways for PR professionals, focusing on preparation, response strategies, and post-crisis recovery.

Keep the tone neutral and educational. Ensure the scenario is fictional but draws from real-world examples like data breaches (e.g., Equifax) or product recalls (e.g., Samsung Galaxy Note 7). Limit to 800 words.

🌐 Why It Matters: Google Wins Chrome Battle (Sorry, Perplexity)

Google won’t have to spin off Chrome after all. A federal judge ruled the company can keep its browser empire intact, though it has to share more data with competitors and stop locking down exclusivity deals.

Why it matters: For media pros, this keeps Google’s dominance in place - search and Chrome remain the default for online discovery, even as AI tools try to gain a competitive edge. For PR peeps, it’s a reminder that visibility strategies still run through Google’s ecosystem, but regulators are signaling that AI will be the next battleground. That means preparing clients for a world where PR isn’t just about search rankings or press hits, but also about showing up in AI-driven discovery feeds (already doing that, thankyouverymuch). The comms playbook has to stretch to meet the algorithmic supply chain of attention.

📡 Under the Radar

Substack writers, niche creators, and rogue reporters you should be watching. Today we’re focusing on government, defense, and nat’l security newsletters.

📧Resilience Media [Startups/Security/Defence]

Curated by: The Resilience Media Team (editorial team specializing in defense tech journalism, including former TC reporter, Ingrid Lunden)
Focus: News and thought leadership articles on startups, security, and defense, covering emerging trends in the defense technology space.
Why Subscribe: A reliable source for timely updates and insightful analyses that keep professionals and enthusiasts informed on critical developments in security and defence innovation.

📧Slow Boring [Politics/Public Policy]

Curated by: Matthew Yglesias (journalist and co-founder of Vox)
Focus: Daily newsletter providing in-depth analysis on politics and public policy, with a focus on actionable solutions and U.S.-centric topics, occasionally extending to international affairs.
Why Subscribe: Delivers thoughtful, nuanced perspectives that cut through sensationalism, helping readers gain a deeper understanding of key issues and what can be done about them.

📧 HUMINT [Intelligence/National Security]

Curated by: Sasha Ingber (national security correspondent, host of SpyCast, formerly with NPR, National Geographic, and Smithsonian)
Focus: Human stories exploring the intersection of intelligence, national security, and espionage, with reports from global hotspots and insights into the intelligence community.
Why Subscribe: Combines journalistic rigor with compelling narratives from spies and experts, offering unique, engaging content that demystifies complex security topics for a broad audience.

👀 In the Wild

PR, Tech & media this week: the good, the bad, the embarrassing. 

Anthropic’s $183B Valuation Shakes Up AI Startup Landscape 🤖
On September 3, 2025, The Rundown reported on X that Anthropic, the AI startup behind Claude, hit a jaw-dropping $183 billion valuation after a massive funding round. The milestone cements Anthropic as OpenAI’s fiercest rival yet, with investors betting big on “safe AI” as the new differentiator in the generative arms race.

Expert Take: This isn’t just about numbers. It’s a signal that the market is rewarding narratives around trustworthy AI. For comms pros, the takeaway is clear: safety, transparency, and ethics are no longer side notes, they’re investor-grade storylines. Pitching “responsible innovation” isn’t fluffy, it’s the competitive edge.

Website Builder Framer Hits $2B Valuation Amid AI-Driven Design Boom 💻
Framer, the design-forward website builder, locked in a $2 billion valuation on August 29, 2025, as reported by The Rundown on X. The platform’s AI tools make it ridiculously easy to spin up sleek, responsive sites without touching a ton of code, and that’s resonating with creators and SMBs chasing speed and polish.

Expert Take: What’s happening here? The no-code trend just got supercharged by AI. For PR pros, the play is to spotlight how tools like Framer democratize creative power. Messaging that highlights ease + sophistication is going to land with founders, indie builders, and the enterprise teams who secretly want startup-level agility.

AI-Generated Holocaust Images Flood Social Media, Spark Outrage 🖼️
This week, eWeek reported that AI-generated Holocaust images on Facebook triggered massive backlash from survivors and memorial groups, who condemned the distortion of history. The uproar shows just how quickly generative tools can slip into dangerous cultural territory and how unregulated AI output collides with collective memory.

Expert Take: The comms risk here is massive. AI misuse around sensitive history doesn’t just spark outrage, it erodes trust in platforms and tech at large. For PR pros, the mandate is to get ahead of these conversations: highlight safeguards, stress human oversight, and be ready to explain how your brand prevents harm before the internet demands answers.

🔁 Media Moves

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

🧳Jay Peters was promoted to senior reporter at The Verge, where he covers consumer tech, games, and other topics.

🧳Aisha Counts departed from Bloomberg after four years as the creator tech reporter; she is exploring new opportunities.

🧳Miquela Thornton joined Bloomberg as a rotational reporter starting in October, focusing on general assignment and breaking news.

🧳Chloe Malle was named head of editorial content at Vogue U.S. by Condé Nast, formerly editor of Vogue.com, as part of Anna Wintour's succession plan.

🧳Alex Harring is now helming Morning Squawk, CNBC's flagship daily newsletter delivering key business news stories.

🧳Maggie Eastland joined Bloomberg News as a tech reporter based in DC, focusing on industrial policy, semiconductors, and AI after rotations in oil trading, deals, breaking news, and TV.

🧳Amy Harder joined Axios as national energy correspondent based in Seattle, covering the future of energy with a focus on AI's demands and innovation, plus live events.

🧳Elena Cavender was laid off from AdWeek, where she covered the business of creators and brands targeting Gen Z.

🧳Makiya Seminera joined the Associated Press as a reporter on the education team, assisting with early childhood coverage.

🧳Hannah Critchfield joined The Wall Street Journal as an investigative reporter; tips to [email protected] or Signal hcritch.11.

🧳Joe Gould is now anchoring POLITICO's new Global Security newsletter, transitioning from Morning Defense; open to pitches and attending DSEI next week.

☕ Totally Unrelated

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

An ImPRessive Line-Up

Things at our desk we simply couldn’t live without. 

• The best Zoom light (because every little bit of help counts when someone throws a Teams invite your way)

• Grammarly Pro (it's one of those things where it feels wrong NOT to have it) 

• Creamy keyboard (the Tiktokers know) 

• The coziest autumn tea (a hidden Pacific NW fav)

• Bluetooth speaker for background vibes (we love the vintage feel of this one)

A Fun LinkedIn Rant

If you’re looking for an interesting read, check out this post from POLITICO editor, Sarah Wheaton (and peep the comments).

Something else on your mind? Say hello. 

Keep This Stock Ticker on Your Watchlist

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