Sword and the Script

Public relations is like a puzzle; paid, earned, shared and owned media each serve as a piece, working together to create one complete and effective communication strategy The PESO Model consists of four different communication channels: paid, earned, shared and owned media.

Cliff notes to 3 studies on AI visibility in maromm: lessons on visibility ownership, consistent messaging, and emerging manipulation from recent reports Many of the studies and surveys about AI and marketing or comms are giving me déjà vu: I've seen this story before: AI visibility is increasingly important, but nobody owns it, which was also true of social media when it first gained in prominence; Clarity and consistency of messaging matters to AI visibility; that's been true of marketing...

Public relations is more than just social media, publicity or promoting an organization; it's about two-way communication that builds trust, credibility and third-party validation When some people hear the term public relations (PR), they automatically think of social media, press releases or just communicating with the public. These actions can be a part of public relations, but they don't fully represent what the profession is really about.

Mid-2026 data reveals AI delivering underwhelming returns while B2B marketing and PR grapple with fractured media, longer sales cycles, and the enduring value of trust and reputation Regular readers know I spend a lot of effort on these pages sorting through studies in surveys. Now that we are halfway through 2026, I've taken some time to go back through all of the surveys I've covered here and on my Substack newsletter.

CMOs face a new 'trilemma' of delivering stronger growth with flat budgets while rapidly implementing AI; 70% of them are not ready CMOs are accustomed to doing more with less, but now they've got another 'more' on their to-do list, according to Gartner. Businesses have always wanted more results from marketing with less budget, but now they also want more results, with less budget while implementing AI. That was one of the key findings coming from the analyst firm's 2026 CMO Spend Survey ( PDF).

The public increasingly distrusts sources who decline to comment on news stories when asked; this allows someone else to frame the coverage More organizations are responding to questions from reporters they don't like with a phrase such as "no comment." "Source refusal is now the norm, not the exception," according to a new study by the Reynolds Journalism Institute at the University of Missouri, with help from SmithGeiger, a research firm.

Public sentiment sours on AI as companies reap the consequences of alarmist messaging on jobs, energy costs and failed initiatives; the fix doesn't start with a messaging exercise - it starts with a listening tour A Pew Research study published in March 2026 found "50% of Americans are more concerned than excited about the increased use of AI in daily life." Another 38% are equally excited and concerned. Just 10% are more excited than concerned.

Voice interfaces are normalizing AI as an arbiter of truth in everyday conversations, and introducing a human behavioral change with significant implications for credibility and third-party validation The central benefit of public relations (PR) comes from the credibility of a message shared through a third-party. As I’ve long quipped, nothing you say about yourself has the credibility of someone else saying it about you. Why?

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“The AI systems will remember when you said nothing.” and “The editors will remember when you said no.” This is an age-old question in media relations: Should you take an interview with a publication that has a small audience? While there could be valid strategic reasons for declining, my answer is usually a resounding “yes,” for most companies. Sarah Evans recently dusted the question off for the AI visibility era in a LinkedIn post.