Public Relations Stories and Strategies

World PR Forum Wants Your Say on Public Relations Rules

Take the Global Alliance Survey before October 2, 2026 Who actually makes up the rules for public relations? Who decided what counts as good measurement, how you're

Cognitive Surrender and What it Means to Public Relations

For decades, PR professionals have tried to influence what people think or how they think it.  AI may be changing something even more fundamental: whether people do much

Turn Small Talk Over Drinks into Your Best Public Relations Tool

Every PR person knows the moment: you're holding a coffee or a glass of wine at a networking event, the small talk has dried up, and the person standing next to you

Public Relations in Egypt

Most people don’t experience a country… they experience its reputation.  Long before a flight is booked or a business deal is considered, a story has already landed in y

The Mentorship Myths Holding PR Professionals Back

Most of us are waiting for mentorship to look a certain way. A senior person who takes us under their wing. A scheduled coffee every two weeks. A defined relationship wit

Can this AI Tool Spot Your Next PR Crisis Before You Do?

As a communications professional you’ve used ChatGPT, Claude, or Copilot in the last 30 days.  Probably in the last week.  Probably earlier today.  And at some point y

Two Thirds of the Room but Almost NONE of the Corner Offices

In Canada, women make up roughly two thirds of the public relations profession. They are the majority in the classrooms, the majority in the entry level roles, and the ma

Good Girls Are Quiet

Most women don't lose their voice all at once. It happens slowly, quietly, and with the best of intentions. They soften their tone here. They hold back an opinion th

The Paradox of Polarization… Division Makes PR More Valuable

There’s a booming business in divisiveness. And PR is caught right in the thick of it. Recorded at the June 2026 IABC conference in Toronto, Doug Downs speaks with Fred

Sticky Stories Start with the Itch Your Audience is Already Scratching

Generic messaging fails for a simple reason. It speaks to everyone, which means it actually speaks to no one. The messages that stick, the ones people repeat, forward, an

Reputation Management vs Reputation Architecture

Reputation isn’t your shadow anymore. It’s your operating system.  It’s no longer something you manage. It has already been decided, by AI, based on patterns inside your

Why the Future of IABC May Be Less Stage and More Circle

What happens when a conference has no keynote, no formal agenda, and no single expert at the front of the room?   The new IABC International Chair calls this an “unconfe

Communications Needs a New Compass

As a communications professional you’re operating in the most complex information environment in history. Misinformation. Disinformation. AI generated deepfakes of execut

The “Transmission” Problem in Public Relations

Communications has always been built around a sender mentality. We decide what people need to know, we package it, we push it out. That model came from journalism and bro

Choice Architecture: The Framework You're Already Using

Every communications campaign you have ever built had a choice architecture inside it. The order you sequenced your calls to action. The option you listed first in a peti

Stories and Strategies Trailer

Recognized as the most listened-to PR podcast in the World by Podchaser, Goodpods, and data from Rephonic. Also recognized as one of best Independent Interview podcasts

The Case for Good Journalism in Today’s World

“Journalism is dead.”  You've heard it. You've probably said it.  And honestly, the evidence seems pretty hard to argue with.  Newsrooms gutted, trust in tat

Why Public Relations May Be the Secret Weapon in AI Search

Every PR professional has sat in a meeting where leaders ask you to “show up in AI” Here’s the problem. The AEO/GEO industry has built an entire measurement apparatus ar

The Human Blind Spot in Crisis Communications

There is a prayer that crisis communicators have been quoting for decades.  “Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things

The History of Color

This episode first published in April, 2021 We haven't always seen color the same way. Pink used to be for men. Blue for women. People HATED colorful outfits when