Monthly Archives: January 2026

Making Headlines: How to Land a Tier 1 Placement

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The ultimate thrill is to land the cover of The Rolling Stone or so went the famous 1970s classic rock song. While most B2B clients are not looking for a mention or feature in Rolling Stone magazine, many do aspire to the pages of Tier 1 media.

In fact, as public relations professionals, we are asked by prospects and clients frequently, and often early in the relationship, “How can we get our company in The Wall Street Journal?” We like to answer that question with a “Yes and” approach. Yes, we can likely find a way to present you to Tier 1 media and we’ll do it through it a comprehensive media credibility-building campaign.

What Is Tier 1?

PR best practices consider traditional Tier 1 publications as the largest-circulation, generally consumer-facing, national and international publications and broadcast programs. Typically, the list includes the likes of The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, The Associated Press, Reuters, Bloomberg, CNN and similar. 

Although these outlets may be household names, it’s important to remember a Tier 1 mention of your company may not hold as much value as a mention in a key trade publication read consistently by your target customer or decision maker. All the same, a positive mention in a Tier 1 publication is a goal for many and is typically seen as a business win.

Trust the Process

Editorial coverage is referred to as earned media for a reason. Sources have to work their way through the process to gain a journalist’s attention and confidence. If the reporter is not familiar with a source, they will most certainly Google the subject matter expert (SME). 

Good PR practitioners win coveted, positive Tier 1 media placements for their clients by taking the time to build credibility through proactive media outreach and a steady stream of content.

In considering a PR partner, it’s important to understand no guarantees exist when working with the media. If a PR agency guarantees coverage, particularly in Tier 1 media, they are either lying or masking the truth. Press coverage is never guaranteed—unless that coverage is purchased as sponsored content, in which case it is not earned and typically carries significantly less weight with readers as well as search engines. 

Tips to Climb to Tier 1

  • Build credibility. A Tier 1 placement requires a healthy online presence. SMEs can work with their communications teams to strengthen their digital footprint by writing blogs, posting LinkedIn newsletters and offering original commentary on LinkedIn and other forums. Additionally, they should be working with their media teams to proactively seek out trade and local media opportunities, as well as podcasts and newsletters, to offer their expertise. 
  • Understand the journalists covering your space. Your communications team should know who is writing about the topic on which your SME can speak and what they’ve been saying.  
  • Tie into trends and avoid promotion. The slightest hint of promotion will turn any good journalist away. They are interested in news that impacts their audience. PR professionals should aim to tie the SME’s insight to an issue in the news or trend. 
  • Back up your pitch with data. Good PR professionals will back up insights and claims made in pitches with data or statistics to validate statements where possible.
  • Explain why it matters to audiences. Communications professionals should know the audiences of the publication for whom the reporter is writing and ensure the pitch connects with them. 

Sealing the Deal

Outreach to Tier 1 media requires an all-in approach. Reporters work on deadlines and often have multiple sources eager to comment on the same topic. Sources should be ready for their call or email and communications teams should aim to beat their deadline to strengthen their source’s chances of being included in the article.

The cover of the Rolling Stone may be a thrill, but for many business owners and executives, a national consumer publication article bearing their name is a bucket-list achievement. Engaging with a good PR team and committing to the process can get your company and your executives there, while earning valuable other earned media along the way. 

Journalists Are Using AI to Filter You Out

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Your AI content isn’t yours, and people are noticing.

For some, the advent of ChatGPT has democratized public relations, marketing, graphic design and countless other creative fields, empowering just about anyone to create whatever content they want anytime, anywhere. And, yes, people are noticing—but their reaction might not be positive.

In the case of public relations, some unwanted or unintended recognition is happening among journalists who are filtering for and flagging AI-generated email pitches and/or contributed content.

This can lead to a simple admonishment if the AI content runs up against an outlet’s AI policy. Alternatively, the impact can be more extreme, leading to an outright ban of the offending organization and/or the public relations pros connected to the infraction. It comes down to the outlet’s AI policy, a nascent but growing best practices area for media outlets. Some I’ve spoken to have told me if contributed content is deemed to be 30% or more AI generated, they will return it for re-writing. Others, at their discretion, say they reject outright any content deemed to be written—in whole or part—by AI. By the way, it’s not all about my beloved em dashes anymore.

As for email pitches, what’s clear is some reporters are turning this shiny tech resource against itself.

To be sure, journalists have always applied filters to their email inboxes. Some journalists use built-in tools to file or discard certain messages, keywords or even the emails of ne’er-do-well publicists and public relations people who have run afoul of basic rules of the road.

However, with AI—ironically—journalists are now leveraging their own artificial intelligence tools and resources to identify AI vagary (a tell-tale indicator of either AI or ill-informed public relations people), relevance to their beats or interests, lack of clear opinion, perspective or concrete angle and clean, simple writing. Still other journalists are training Google’s Gemini or ChatGPT (used by 77% of journalists according to Muck Rack’s State of Journalism 2025 Report) to look for the superlatives that drive editors out of their logophile minds such as:

  • Unique
  • Best-in-class
  • Unprecedented
  • Cutting edge

So why should you care as a non-communications professional leading an organization? For the same reason you deploy public relations in the first place: to protect and enhance your reputation. If the media are filtering you out because AI has become the driver of your public voice, that public voice will be overlooked and ignored in the din of others clamoring for attention.

Here’s what I advise:

  1. Understand the AI practices of your public relations team, be they an external agency or an in-house communications department. And if you’re tasking your marketing team with executing your public relations efforts, I respectfully submit you are likely mismanaging your marketing team at best and at worst failing to execute PR properly, which wastes your organization’s money and the time of everyone involved.
  2. If you don’t already have an AI policy for content, create one that addresses how and when to employ AI for content and communications purposes, leaning heavily into fact checking as well as using AI to support, not lead, your comms work.
  3. Deploying AI in preliminary research and outline generation makes sense, but don’t use it to write. AI content is often obvious to outside observers and it often dilutes your messaging and thinking to a malaise of sameness.
  4. Understand the media you’re pitching and what, if any, AI policies they employ before sending them anything remotely connected to AI content.
  5. Using AI to improve or better articulate your message is one thing, but asking an algorithm to grab a journalist’s attention without original thinking on your part is the fastest way to prove how you are not a good source of information for serious media doing serious work.
  6. Work with PR professionals who understand how journalists work and who follow ethical practices to ensure your reputation is in the best possible hands.

Remember good tech is designed to enhance, streamline and assist while leaving the human aspects of the work—in this case creativity and communications—intact. Used poorly, technology takes over the world, destroys humanity and runs for governor of the Great State of California.

Hard Crisis Communications Lessons in the Wake of the Brown University Shooting 

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When a mass shooting occurred at Brown University on Dec. 13, 2025, the institution faced an immediate test of leadership in a crisis that went beyond basic security protocols. What unfolded revealed critical gaps between institutional readiness and real-time execution, which presents lessons for all organizations. 

The clearest failure came six hours after the spree shooting ended. At a press briefing, University President Christina Paxson was asked by NBC 10 WJAR’s Dan Jaehnig what students had been doing in the lecture hall when the shooting occurred. Her response was, “I do not know.” Twice. On camera. 

This type of response highlights what many organizations face when leaders respond publicly without an established communication strategy: ambiguity and lack of situational leadership. Brown University’s early messaging also missed opportunities in two other areas that offer lessons in leadership and communications during a crisis. All of this can create a lack of confidence among the University’s stakeholders that can have long-term, negative consequences for all involved. 

Establish Incident Command Authority 

In the first 30 to 90 minutes of any crisis, your communications must reflect a clear, single point of accountability. In this instance, students, faculty, parents, alumni, employees and area residents needed to know who was in charge and what was being done to protect those in the university’s charge. While early messaging addressed grief and institutional solidarity, it lacked clear messaging regarding operational direction from leadership. In the hours that followed, the university’s leaders were vague regarding what conditions would end the lockdown, how safety assessments were progressing and what would prompt an all-clear on campus. This lack of clarity can foster additional fear and concern among those directly impacted, as well as their loved ones and the surrounding community. 

Your opening message, even in the chaos of an active shooter event, must name the incident command structure explicitly. Example: “In the wake of this unspeakable act, our President and Chief of Campus Safety are operating in unified command with Providence Police and the FBI. While we mourn those lost, we are determined to seek justice. As such, we will be updating our community every 60 minutes as new information becomes available and is verified. Our goal is to provide fact-based information only for the benefit of all concerned while doing all we can to support those affected by this tragedy.”  

Separate Operational Updates from Emotional Messaging 

The two statements released to alumni and students were appropriate in tone but lacked operational details. A well-rounded crisis response provides two distinct communication streams operating simultaneously. 

One stream delivers operational facts. For example, where the shelter-in-place order is in effect, what areas have been cleared, what clearing of campus areas looks like for students and authorities, how students, faculty, and staff can access mental health resources and what time the campus command will release its next update. These messages must be frequent (approximately every 60 minutes at minimum), no more than a few sentences and tied to undeniable conditions. 

A separate comms stream covers the human element. This should explicitly describe the organization’s commitment to safety, acknowledgment of trauma and solidarity with affected families and the wider community. Here, leadership’s role is essential, but only after the operational picture is secured and clearly communicated through established and secure channels.  

Announce A Third-Party Review and Security Assessment Immediately 

Brown University’s most effective move came on Dec. 23. The school announced it would conduct two external After-Action reviews and a security assessment of the campus, both of which will be overseen by a committee of the Corporation of Brown University, the university’s highest governing body. It should not have taken 10 days to publicly communicate such action. The university could have communicated its intention to pursue the After-Action reviews and a security assessment within 48 hours of the all-clear announcement from authorities, with the operational particulars of these actions sorted and announced later. Parents and university employees want to know what will be done to protect them, and they should not need to wait 10 days to learn what, if any, actions will be taken. 

When you announce an external assessment in the wake of a crisis, you signal intentional transparency to demonstrate your institution takes accountability seriously. As communications professionals, we know delays only invite speculation, especially in today’s fast-paced news cycle where social media and online channels fill the void with endless commentary. 

College and other institutional leaders should view the December tragedy at Brown University as a reminder that crisis communications are fundamentally about command, clarity, reassurance and follow-through. When “I don’t know” is the response from leadership in the immediate aftermath of any incident involving the loss of life, confidence is lost and doubt becomes pervasive. A solid crisis communications plan can help ensure your organization can shape the narrative rather than be defined by it. 

New Year, New PR Habits

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Gyms across the country are cashing in on countless new memberships as New Year’s Resolutions have begun in earnest as many of us aim to make 2026 a year of personal and professional growth. Like all resolutions, it’s the follow-through that counts.

For business leaders as well, the new year provides an opportunity to start the year off with resolve to address pain points and produce better business outcomes. This includes addressing all aspects of the business from technology to operations to communication and marketing initiatives.

As PR pros focused on building brands, protecting reputations and raising awareness for our clients, we offer a few best practices here to help your business succeed in 2026 from a public relations perspective.

Building Sustainable Goals for Better Strategy

According to Forbes, more than 80% of resolutions end up failing by February. Why? We don’t build in the resources necessary to make them sustainable.

Just as someone who hasn’t stepped foot in the gym in years is unlikely to immediately run a marathon, businesses that have not invested consistently in communications will find it difficult to secure a high-profile media win with their target audiences right out of the gate. With that in mind, here are some good communications habits to incorporate in 2026 to set your business up for success in the eyes of your employees, stakeholders, clients/consumers and the public:

  • Invest in Communications: As mentioned above, building brand awareness through PR can take time as the company needs to build credibility before it can be seen as a trusted source by the media. Ensure your company is putting budget aside and support from the top either to make sure your in-house comms team has the resources they need or to engage a PR agency team who knows your specialty.
  • Commit to Transparency: Whether it’s a communications partner or an internal team, transparency about company goals and setbacks is imperative. Prioritizing candor about the organization not only builds trust among your team members but can also lead to more effective strategic planning by allowing your communications team a greater opportunity to get ahead of potential roadblocks. Transparency should also extend to your audiences, maintaining a consistent and open level of communication to ensure they don’t feel isolated or unheard.
  • Be Proactive Storytellers: Don’t wait for stories to come to you. To further build out thought leadership, identify accessible subject matter experts who can serve as effective spokespeople and provide an informed, unique perspective on topics in your industry. A good communications team will be able to work with your thought leaders to refine their ideas and get them ready for media interviews or on-camera appearances.
  • Understand your audiences: Take steps to stay better connected with your audiences’ needs, whether through improved social media engagement or more consistent brand messaging. This clarity can provide greater guidance for both internal and external communications efforts. A communications team can also be an excellent sounding board for new business decisions, ensuring they are aligned with your target audiences and reflect your branding.
  • And new for 2026, Keep AI Search in Mind: In 2025, we saw online search begin to evolve rapidly with more users relying on artificial intelligence (AI) for search and this will continue to be the case in 2026. Good communication strategies in 2026 will consider AI search in content they produce, as AI search scours the internet to produce summaries from multiple pieces of content with trusted third-party media content high on the list. Savvy comms teams will encourage content that avoids jargon and focuses on clarity.

The phrase “New Year, New Me” is commonly thrown around at the start of the new year. But it’s important to remember building better habits is no easy feat. It requires setting up resources to help you find success. To ensure your company is capturing the share of voice among your competitors you want to see and owning the conversation in your space, work with your communications team or engage a public relations agency specializing in your industry to learn their plan to build stronger audience connections in 2026.