The Scoop: Updated Data Gives New Peek Into What’s Fueling AI Search Today
Muck Rack’s latest analysis reveals that 99% of links cited by AI chatbots come from non‑paid media, with journalism leading at 27% of all citations and more than half of those stories published within the past year. Corporate blogs contribute a close 24%, while aggregators and encyclopedias account for 17.4%. Paid content and press releases together make up just 0.3% and 1.1% of AI‑referenced material respectively. The report also shows model‑specific preferences: ChatGPT leans heavily on Wikipedia, Claude on PubMed Central, and Gemini on Reddit.
How to Connect Social KPIs to Larger Business Objectives
Patrick Pho, head of the content studio at Volkswagen of America, stresses that social media must be tied to clear business objectives to avoid wasted effort. He outlines a three‑step process: define a specific objective (exposure, consumption, or engagement), set...
The Scoop: GameStop CEO Wants to Buy eBay. He Just Couldn’t Explain How on CNBC.
GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen announced a $56 billion bid to acquire eBay, describing the deal as half cash and half stock. During a live CNBC interview he could not detail how the roughly $16 billion financing gap would be covered, repeatedly deflecting...
If Your Pitch Is Dying in a Journalist’s Inbox, Try This Instead
Savannah Stevens, talent manager at The Washington Post, warned PR teams at the Ragan PR Daily Conference that pitches fail when they ignore the audience and the journalist’s workflow. She emphasized that subject lines act as the first hook, and...
The Secret to Pure Michigan’s Ongoing Success
Pure Michigan, the state’s official travel campaign, celebrated its 20‑year anniversary by highlighting the region’s diverse natural and urban attractions across two peninsulas. The program’s consistent, authenticity‑driven messaging has earned it spots on Fast Company’s “Brands That Matter” list alongside...
Social Media Updates and New Features to Know This Week
Meta’s daily active users slipped to 3.56 billion in Q1, ending a streak of steady growth and highlighting the impact of external disruptions in Iran and Russia. The company is rolling out an AI‑driven chat interface that lets marketers manage campaigns...
The Scoop: After Spirit Folds, Other Airlines Step in to Win Loyalty
Spirit Airlines abruptly ceased operations Saturday after a failed bid for a federal bailout, leaving thousands of passengers stranded and about 17,000 employees out of work. Major U.S. carriers—American, United, Delta and Frontier—quickly introduced rescue fares, with caps ranging from...
Turning Adversaries Into Advocates: The Communications Leader’s Guide for Strategic Influence
The article offers a step‑by‑step guide for communications leaders to convert internal adversaries into advocates. It starts by urging a mindset shift from judgment to curiosity, then stresses building trust through genuine listening before presenting data. The piece highlights finding...
3 Copilot Capabilities for High-Stakes Comms Work
Microsoft 365 Copilot now offers three high‑stakes capabilities—content analysis, email coaching, and inbox triage—directly within PowerPoint, Excel and Outlook. These tools let communications professionals extract key insights, pressure‑test drafts and prioritize urgent messages in seconds, dramatically shortening briefing cycles. Each...
Budweiser Celebrates 150 Years of Being America’s Beer
Budweiser marks its 150th anniversary with a national TV commercial, limited‑edition cans and a cross‑country tour of its Clydesdale horses at parades, fairs and sporting events. The campaign leans heavily on patriotic language, positioning the lager as "America's beer" during...
How to Repurpose Existing Content for Multiple Channels
Azad Yakatally, social media lead at Spring Health, urged marketers to stop chasing brand‑new ideas and instead recycle existing assets across channels. At a Ragan conference he demonstrated how a single webinar, white paper or testimonial can be split into...
Chaos to Clarity: 5 Internal Comms Lessons From a Major Merger
S&S Activewear recently completed a major acquisition and faced the classic internal‑communications chaos that follows a merger. To restore order, Director of Internal Communications Paralee Johnson implemented a structured, cross‑channel strategy that aligned employees and clarified shifting priorities. The company...
Tariff Refunds Are Coming. Explaining Them to Consumers May Be Difficult.
A Supreme Court ruling struck down IEEPA tariffs, opening the door for up to 330,000 importers to claim a share of roughly $166 billion in refunds. The new refund portal currently processes about 63% of eligible entries, with payouts taking 60‑90...
The Scoop: Disney Says It’s ‘Prepared to Fight’ FCC License Review
The Federal Communications Commission announced an accelerated review of broadcast licenses for Disney’s ABC stations, citing an investigation into the company’s diversity, equity and inclusion policies. The action follows President Donald Trump’s public criticism of ABC after a Jimmy Kimmel...
3 PR Trends From the Upcoming World Cup
The 2026 FIFA World Cup, set for June 11‑July 19 across U.S., Canada and Mexico, offers brands a massive cultural moment even without official sponsorship. While only 12% of Americans identify as soccer fans, the tournament’s broader appeal draws non‑fans, creating a...
Optimizing Content for GEO Means Fixing What Audiences Can’t See
At the Ragan Social Media Conference, Sparkcade Marketing founder Brent Bowen emphasized that GEO optimization goes beyond readable copy—it requires precise metadata such as descriptions, tags, and file names. He explained that large language models (LLMs) rely on these hidden...
The State of Internal Communications in 2026
The 2026 State of Internal Communications report from Simpplr, based on surveys of 450 internal communications professionals and 75 C‑suite leaders, shows the function has become more established yet faces plateaued progress. Organizations struggle with measurement, targeting, and leadership alignment,...
Social Media Updates and New Features to Know This Week
Meta faces a class‑action lawsuit from the Consumer Federation of America alleging the company profited from scam ads that may represent roughly 10% of its revenue, raising questions about its enforcement practices. The tech giant also introduced a parental AI...
When CrowdStrike Failed, This Communicator Eased the Chaos at Providence Health
Providence Health faced a massive outage after CrowdStrike and Microsoft systems failed, disrupting its Epic electronic health record platform. Chief communications officer Melissa Tizon was alerted late at night, quickly assembled a response team, and began translating technical details into...
My Op-Ed Was Flagged as AI. It Wasn’t.
A senior PR director’s op‑ed was rejected after an AI‑detection tool flagged it as machine‑generated, even though the piece was crafted collaboratively in real time. The incident highlights a growing tension between editors’ demand for authentic, human‑written content and the...
Why You Want More Disagreement in the Workplace
Julia Minson, a Harvard Kennedy School professor, argued at the Ragan Employee Communications and Culture Conference that disagreement—differences in belief or expertise—should be embraced rather than instantly resolved, because it fuels learning without escalating into conflict. She introduced the HEAR...
The Scoop: Nike, Meta and Microsoft Detail Top Priorities as They Slash Jobs, Offer Early Retirement
Meta announced a 10% workforce reduction, roughly 8,000 jobs, to fund a $100 billion AI push. Nike will cut about 1,400 positions as it grapples with slowing sales and heightened competition. Microsoft is offering voluntary retirement packages to roughly 7% of...
Top Takeaways From Ragan’s Employee Communications and Culture Conference 2026
The 2026 Ragan Employee Communications and Culture Conference in Boston highlighted the tension between AI‑driven tools and the human touch in internal communications. Speakers warned that framing AI adoption as a cultural moment can ease employee anxiety, but over‑reliance on...
The 3 Elements Behind Every Effective Story
Ragan Training has launched a new online course, “Storytelling Systems That Drive Behavior and Business Outcomes,” which breaks effective PR storytelling into three core elements. First, practitioners must define the meaning of the story before crafting any message, establishing clear...
3 Fixes for a Splintered Brand
Continental Battery Systems, after expanding to more than 160 U.S. locations, faced a fragmented brand as teams used inconsistent materials and messaging. Partnering with The Point Group, the company first secured internal alignment through site visits and employee interviews, then...
The Scoop: Nike Admits Misstep, Replaces Running Ad After Boston Marathon Backlash
Nike faced backlash after a Boston Marathon store sign read “Runners welcome. Walkers tolerated.” The phrasing was deemed exclusionary, especially toward adaptive athletes and casual walkers. Nike removed the sign within days, issued an apology, and replaced it with an...
4 Essentials for Protecting Brand Voice in AI Outputs
Susan Oguche, former EVP of Cavaliers Operating Company, warned that brand voice cannot be left to chance when using generative AI. She outlined a four‑step framework—data feeding, constraining the system, creating a voice profile, and final human approval—to keep AI...
How Nonprofits Can Win Back the Public’s Trust After Repeated Scandals
A new Global Situation Room report finds public confidence in philanthropy eroding after high‑profile scandals, with 52% of experts saying nonprofits gave in to political pressure and 44% noting corporate donors damaged reputations by dropping DEI initiatives. The study highlights...
The Scoop: When to Call in the CEO
Recent coverage highlights a growing pattern of restaurant CEOs stepping into ads and social media, especially when brands face operational or financial headwinds. McDonald’s CEO became a meme after tasting a new sandwich, while Burger King’s Tom Curtis narrated a...
AI Has Changed Entry-Level Hiring. Most Interviews Haven’t.
AI tools have lifted the baseline of communication fluency among entry‑level candidates, making polished answers appear commonplace. However, this surface polish can conceal a lack of real judgment, which is critical when stakes rise. Hiring leaders are urged to redesign...
2 Strategic Choices that Shape Spokesperson Success
Ragan Training’s new online course, “Building and Training Effective Media Spokespeople,” teaches communicators how to diagnose common spokesperson failures and strategically match the right voice to each situation. The program emphasizes that breakdowns stem from inadequate preparation rather than personality,...
Does Your Intranet Still Matter in an AI-First Workplace?
The article argues that intranets remain vital in an AI‑first workplace because they serve three distinct jobs—pull (answering employee queries), push (delivering proactive messages), and people (building culture). AI reshapes how each function operates but does not replace the intranet;...
The Scoop: Live Nation Vows to Keep Fighting After Antitrust Ruling
A federal jury concluded that Ticketmaster and its parent Live Nation operate as a monopoly in violation of antitrust law. Live Nation responded that the verdict is not final, noting several motions remain, including a bid to strike expert testimony,...
4 Qualities Every Effective Spokesperson Must Possess
The PR Daily article highlights a new Ragan Training course that defines four essential traits for corporate spokespeople: credibility, composure, clarity, and coachability. It argues that charisma or technical expertise alone are insufficient when addressing regulators, stakeholders, or the public....
Inside United Airlines’ ‘Mean Girls Day’ Campaign and the Pivot that Made It Work
United Airlines' social team built a Mean Girls Day campaign for Oct. 3, featuring actor Jonathan Bennett. When Taylor Swift announced a new album release on the same day, the team quickly re‑engineered the concept, weaving Swift’s buzz into the video...
The Attention Crisis: Why Your Internal Comms Aren’t Landing
DraftKings and PlayPlay are co‑hosting a free webinar on April 29, 2026 to tackle the growing attention crisis in internal communications. As employees face inbox overload, constant notifications, and shorter attention spans, traditional text‑heavy messages are increasingly ignored. The session will showcase...
If They Can’t Access It, It Doesn’t Exist: Rethinking Comms for the Deskless Majority
Internal communications often miss the mark not because the message is poor, but because desk‑less workers can’t access it. Research from Interact and Ragan shows only 1% of communicators feel very effective reaching frontline staff, while 67% battle information overload....
The Scoop: Hollywood Bands Together to Oppose Paramount-Warner Bros. Deal in Open Letter
More than 2,500 actors, writers and directors have signed an open letter denouncing the proposed $110 billion Paramount‑Warner Bros. merger. The letter argues the deal would deepen media consolidation, threaten jobs, and narrow the range of stories financed and released. High‑profile...
Social Media Updates and New Features to Know This Week
X announced a more aggressive bot purge, eliminating 208 fake accounts per minute and revamping its algorithm to prioritize original, high‑quality posts while adding voice replies and global auto‑translation via Grok. YouTube clarified a bug that showed 90‑second unskippable ads...
Creating a ‘Shared Understanding’ Around Change Comms
Jessica Pantages, VP of corporate marketing at Egnyte, warned that traditional top‑down emails no longer create shared understanding during continuous organizational change. She highlighted how AI adoption, economic pressure and private‑equity ownership fuel change fatigue and fragment communication across Slack,...
The CEO Whisperer: How Comms Leaders Become the Most Trusted Voice in the Room
Today's top communications leaders are evolving from message makers to strategic advisors embedded in C‑suite decision making. By mastering business fluency, engaging early in discussions, and listening intently, they become the trusted “CEO whisperer” who shapes outcomes, not just narratives....
TikTok, Threads and the New Disinformation Pipeline
The article warns that misinformation now spreads through a rapid, remix‑driven pipeline across TikTok and Threads before traditional media or PR teams notice it. TikTok’s content‑first algorithm and Threads’ fast‑moving reply culture let false claims gain credibility without source attribution....
Stop Measuring Activity and Start Measuring Impact
The article argues that internal communication should be judged by impact, not by activity metrics such as open rates or clicks. It introduces the "Kick Butt Indicator" framework, which starts with desired outcomes—awareness, understanding, behavior change—and works backward to define...
The Scoop: Airlines Explain the Reason for Higher Baggage Fees
Major U.S. carriers Delta, American, Southwest and JetBlue announced higher checked‑baggage fees in early April. All airlines attributed the increase to soaring fuel costs and broader operating‑cost pressures. The fee hikes come as airlines grapple with volatile oil prices and...
How to Use Storytelling to Stand Out in a Content-Saturated World
Laura Mansfield, senior vice president of public relations at Tombras, emphasizes that authentic storytelling is the antidote to a content‑saturated, algorithm‑driven market. She warns against over‑reliance on AI, describing it as a tool that should be used intentionally rather than...
4 Reasons Your Writing Accidentally Sounds AI-Generated (and How to Fix It)
Generative AI is prompting brands to label content as “AI‑free” after a 2024 study showed readers prefer human‑labeled copy by 30 percent. The article outlines four stylistic cues—repetitive sentence structures, overused words like “delve,” excessive negative parallelism, and frequent em...
PR, Media & Communications Industry Report
LexisNexis released a new industry report on generative AI adoption in PR, media and communications. The study, based on global research, finds many teams lack governance policies, training, and oversight, exposing them to misinformation and reputational risk. It outlines practical...
A Landmark Ruling Is Reshaping Social Media. Communicators Should Pay Attention.
A Los Angeles jury found Meta and YouTube liable for designing addictive features such as infinite scroll and autoplay, awarding $6 million to a plaintiff who claimed mental‑health harm. The verdict marks the first successful effort to hold social‑media platforms accountable...
The Scoop: McDonald’s CEO Humanizes Himself in New Video Interview
McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski sat down with WSJ reporter Tim Higgins for a video interview after his “Big Arch” post went viral for the wrong reasons. He acknowledged the backlash, joked that his kids warned him, and stressed the need...
The Modern Internal Newsletter
Internal newsletters often add to inbox clutter rather than driving engagement. PoliteMail’s new guide reframes them as strategic, outcome‑focused channels, emphasizing purpose, audience segmentation, scannable design, visual discipline, cadence, compelling subject lines, and deeper metrics. The seven best practices provide...