In this episode of the PRmoment Podcast, host Ben Smith sits down with the industry’s veteran commentators, Mark Borkowski and Angie Moxham, to dissect the shifting boundaries of media integrity, agency workflows, and national political communication. Together, the panel delivers a timely analysis of an industry facing an existential crisis of trust.

Here's the link to PRmoment's PR Masterclass AI in PR.

1. The threat AI "make-believe" journalists

The episode kicks off with a sobering discussion centered on tech journalist Rob Waugh's latest reporting in the Press Gazette. Waugh exposes an industrial-scale manipulation scheme where entirely fabricated, AI-generated journalist personas have successfully placed hundreds of articles across major global business titles. These ghost writers are systematically deployed to surreptitiously plug crypto schemes, tech startups, and corporate interests.

Borkowski notes that while propaganda and astroturfing are legacy tactics, generative AI scales them to a terrifying degree. The panel recalls the recent Cannes Lions scandal, where an entry won a prestigious award using entirely fabricated media coverage out of South America, highlighting a systemic vulnerability where agencies prioritize superficial metrics over verification. Moxham points out that this "phantom press" is the inevitable consequence of traditional newsrooms being hollowed out by massive redundancies, leaving overstretched editorial teams vulnerable to automated deception.

2. "Back to the Future": The PR revival

In response to this rising tide of automated noise, Moxham champions a radical return to traditional PR foundations—a strategy she calls "back to the future." As algorithmic content compromises independent media, the panel predicts a massive audience backlash that will drive consumers back to trusted, verified heritage brands.

For PR practitioners, the antidote to AI replication is raw human connection. Moxham sharply critiques the modern tendency of junior agency staff to act like "monkeys on a typewriter," hiding behind digital data and email grids. Instead, she urges a revival of "white-eyeballing it"—picking up the phone, pressing the flesh, and stepping out of the office to build deep client and media rapport. Borkowski echoes this, identifying a generational deficit where younger professionals struggle to navigate real-time phone conversations, even as overstretched journalists operate like "galley slaves" with little time to meet. Ultimately, the panel agrees that personal networks are the only asset guaranteed to survive a career, suggesting modern alternatives like personalized WhatsApp voice notes to maintain a high-touch human presence.

3. Political Vacuums and the Power of the Soundbite

Shifting to national politics, the conversation turns to the brewing leadership crisis within the Labour Party. With the party locked in a high-stakes strategic vacuum ahead of a pivotal, by-election, Moxham views Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham as Labour's strongest candidate to stabilize market confidence and protect the country's recent economic growth metrics.

Analyzing the broader communication landscape, Borkowski argues that while figures like Keir Starmer are fundamentally decent, they struggle because they project robotic corporate brands. 

Conversely, populists like Nigel Farage excel because they understand that modern audiences react emotionally to punchy soundbites rather than structured paragraphs. Farage operates masterfully as a "soundbite man," fearlessly voicing the exact grievances an unsettled electorate is thinking. The panel concludes with a stark warning: Reform UK is poised to deploy its deep pockets and sophisticated social media apparatus to destabilize Labour's By-election campaign.

This podcast explores AI integration in public relations via automation strategies and maintaining human expert value.

AI Integration and Strategy
Agencies will implement AI by prioritizing internal efficiency and service innovation. Implementation success requires depth over breadth to maximize impact.

Human Augmentation and Risks
AI should serve as an augmentation tool to support experts rather than replacing critical thinking. Teams must guard against efficiency-focused work becoming low quality.

Operationalizing AI Implementation
Agencies should decentralize AI expertise by embedding champions within teams instead of separate hubs. Prioritizing repetitive tasks allows firms to scale high-value client services.

If you want to learn more about how the future of PR will be impacted by AI, don't miss PRmoment's PR Masterclass: AI in PR.

Details

• Introduction and Optimistic Outlook on AI in PR: Ben Smith welcomed Tom Symondson, who co-leads Accordience's AI team, to discuss the impact of AI on the PR agency model.
• Tom Symondson expressed extreme optimism about AI's impact, asserting that core PR skills like relationships, experience, creativity, bravery, and judgment are irreplaceable. They suggested that AI will automate tasks that are not highly valued by clients or consultants, such as general research and formatting of monitoring reports, allowing consultants to focus on high-value analysis and strategic input.
• Emerging Opportunities and UK Investment: Tom Symondson identified that AI will generate new mandates, clients, and revenue streams, particularly around technology-focused businesses, crises, and regulation issues stemming from AI. They expressed optimism about the UK industry's potential benefit from significant investments in large language models (LLMs) by companies like Anthropic and OpenAI in London and the UK. 
• Three Approaches for AI Implementation in PR: Agencies are anticipated to approach AI integration in three primary ways: improving internal efficiency, changing how client work is currently delivered, and creating entirely new tools and service lines that become new revenue streams. 
• The internal efficiency focus involves automating or augmenting repeatable, client-invisible backend functions such as transcribing meetings, building action lists, and reporting processes. Tom Symondson noted that businesses should focus on depth over breadth, selecting one area for the biggest impact before moving on to the next.
• Understanding AI Augmentation: AI augmentation, distinct from replacement, refers to the technology supporting human experts rather than substituting them, particularly because much of the PR industry's work requires nuance. Tom Symondson gave the example of using an enterprise LLM system for new business research, where the tool supports initial framing but does not replace the consultant’s own deep research process. They emphasized that the challenge for agencies is mapping out where this augmentation will have the greatest impact and providing training to take advantage of the tools.
• Obstacles to Successfully Embedding AI: The three main obstacles to integrating AI into an organization are cost, data and readiness risk, and time. Cost arises because enterprise-level access to AI tools is often high, and data readiness requires extensive security and system sign-off. Tom Symondson identified time as the biggest obstacle, as consultants need more time to experiment with different prompts and processes to understand the full range of AI's impact on their work.
• The Risk of Efficiency Over Effectiveness: Ben Smith cautioned that the "race to efficiency" can be a "race to the bottom" if not carefully managed. Tom Symondson agreed, noting the risk that increased automation could lead to less expert consultants if technology performs more research than people. The opportunity lies in using the time saved by AI to allow consultants to specialize further, for example, spending more time networking, attending events, or researching clients.
• The Role of Human Judgment and Criticality: Ben Smith highlighted the necessity of retaining a critical mind because LLMs, while able to generate answers quickly, still produce errors.
• Tom Symondson added that LLMs are excellent with structured data; therefore, agencies must connect their LLMs to accurate data tools, in addition to training colleagues on drafting effective prompts and knowing when to use the technology. They cited the doubling of AI's ability to complete long tasks every seven months, projecting that in 14 months, AI could complete a 40-hour human task.
• Importance of Openness and Ownership in AI Use: Tom Symondson stressed the need for consultants and agencies to use AI appropriately, ensuring it augments and supports work, rather than replacing critical thinking. A crucial element is fostering a culture of transparency where people are open about how they used AI for research, including what worked well, what struggled, and what human work was needed to finalize the product. This transparency ensures that people maintain ownership of the work product, balancing efficiency with quality.
• Innovation and Use Case Clarity: Ben Smith noted increased innovation in PR firms over the last 18 months, which Tom Symondson attributed to the significantly reduced ease and cost of experimentation, allowing someone to build a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) in a weekend. However, Tom Symondson suggested that there might be less innovation this year as the industry moves toward a "substance phase," focusing on embedding existing AI use cases across the organization.
• Creative Quality and the Need for Uniquely Human Work: Tom Symondson identified the risk of "AI slop" or ideas that look and feel similar due to over-reliance on AI-generated content (e.g., AI writing, image, or PowerPoint generation). Great creative agencies will continue to succeed because their ideas are expected to feel "uniquely human" and grounded in culture, emotional intelligence (EQ), and personality.
• Operationalizing AI Implementation Across Agencies: Recognizing that time is a major barrier for busy teams, Tom Symondson emphasized the McKinsey principle that depth is more critical than breadth when implementing AI.
• Identifying and Managing Repetitive Tasks: In the internal productivity bucket, agencies focus on automating repeatable tasks, such as templating monitoring reports from spreadsheets into client emails, which Tom Symondson estimated could number in the thousands.
• Structure for AI Implementation and Expert Teams: The practical implementation of AI is highly decentralized, residing within the agencies themselves. Instead of a separate AI hub, teams have AI champions who are client-facing staff who integrate AI into their normal day jobs. Tom Symondson stressed the importance of having people work on AI who are connected to the day-to-day client work.
• The Opportunity for PR Compared to Other Marcom Sectors: Tom Symondson suggested that because PR is less structured and repeatable than sectors like production or media buying, the impact of AI is different, offering more opportunity for PR. 
• AI will improve PR's ability to measure and articulate the value of its work by making it easier to structure and analyze diverse data sources. The discussion concluded that in the long term, AI will not replace talent, but rather reduce the fee earned from less-valued tasks, while increasing revenue from high-value services that require judgment, advice, and impactful results.

This PRmoment podcast looks at the PR pitch market in the UK and the PR M&A activity for April 2026.

PRmoment founder Ben Smith interviews Andrew Bloch.

Andrew also runs the advisory firm Andrew Bloch & Associates.

Pitch Market - 
Trading has been generally positive and the market remains resilient, with many agencies out performing expectations. However, operational pressures are evident, including slower client response times and higher-than-expected inflation causing rising costs and impacting profitability. Transparent conversations around value, output, and outcomes are becoming increasingly critical as both sides navigate a more complex and cost-sensitive landscape. Agencies will be closely monitoring the impact of global events but for now, many are benefiting from momentum built in Q1, which shows little sign of slowing. By month-end, most agencies should have a clearer view of the year ahead.

M&A Market - 
M&A activity points to a market increasingly driven by capability consolidation, specialist expertise and tech-enabled differentiation. Large holding groups are continuing to make targeted acquisitions to deepen strengths in high-growth areas such as social, influencer, sports marketing and experiential, with a clear focus on building more connected, end-to-end communications ecosystems. 
Private equity remains active in backing platform-building businesses and specialist agencies with strong vertical expertise, particularly where there is an opportunity to internationalise, professionalise or bolt on proprietary tech and data assets. 

We are also seeing growing value placed on owned technology, data and creator/influencer platforms as acquirers look for defensible IP and measurable ROI. 
Alongside strategic and PE-led deals, founder succession and management buyouts continue to shape the independent agency landscape, while newer niche businesses are increasingly carving out value through highly defined audience propositions before either scaling independently or becoming attractive acquisition targets. 

Overall, the market remains robust for differentiated assets that combine specialist sector expertise, scalable international reach and technology-led or measurable service offerings.

Welcome to the News Review on the PRmoment podcast. In this weekly show I’m joined by Mark Borkowski and Angie Moxham. Here's the agenda for PR Masterclass: AI in PR.

In the PR News Review we look at the biggest news stories of the week from a PR perspective and this week we're talking about the UK local elections results.

We discuss the predictably huge gains for Reform and the huge losses for Labour.

We also talk about the likely comms strategies now for Farage & Reform and Starmer & Labour.

The discussion centres on the shifting political landscape and the starkly different PR challenges facing the parties and their leaders.

Podcast Summary Highlights

Keir Starmer and the Labour Party
The panel offers a blunt assessment of Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership. Despite Labour's significant majority, the speakers argue that Starmer suffers from a fundamental "charisma deficit" and a "robotic" communication style that fails to resonate with the electorate. 

Mark Borkowski describes Starmer as having a "barrister mind" better suited for the High Court than the public stage, noting that his messaging has been overwhelmed by poor decisions and controversies, particularly the "Mandelson stain." Angie Moxham predicts a potential leadership challenge, suggesting a "straight-out shooting" between Angela Rayner and Ed Miliband may be on the
horizon. The consensus is that Labour needs a leader who can project authenticity and positivity to maintain public trust in a volatile environment.

Nigel Farage and the Reform Party
The rise of Reform UK is characterized as a significant disruption to the traditional
two-and-a-half-party system. While Farage is praised for his "fearless communication" and ability to connect with his base, the panel identifies a major PR "own goal": the inclusion of "Tory party failures" like Robert Jenrick. 

Borkowski argues that bringing "old circus acts into a new
tent" undermines Reform's image as a fresh alternative. Farage’s strategy is described as headline-driven and opportunistic, effectively exploiting the "malaise" of current politics to gain momentum, even if his long-term viability remains a question of whether the electorate feels genuinely "more affluent" under his influence.

The Changing Face of Leadership
Beyond the main parties, the Borkowski and Moxham speakers touch on the other party leaders.

Kemi Badenoch is highlighted as an increasingly competent and "safe pair of hands," showing improved focus and delivery.

In contrast, Zack Polanski’s leadership is criticised for being "unpicked" by ego and a lack of maturity, particularly following unprofessional social media conduct. 

The overarching theme of the episode is that in the "age of authenticity," leaders have "nowhere to hide."
Success requires not just policy, but the "spiritual quotient" (SQ) and emotional intelligence (EQ) to lead a nation that is increasingly fatigued by "dystopian" news narratives and systemic stress.

We probably don’t talk about it enough but we’ve all benefited from the increased depth and breadth of public relations which has developed over the past 20 odd years. 

This change has probably been most vividly illustrated in consumer public relations. Which is why it's going to be so interesting to talk to today's guests: Charlotte Brooks MD, Mischief and Dan Deeks-Osbourn, head of strategy, Mischief as we compare consumer PR now, to 20 years ago, when Mischief was born.

Mischief is one of a small band of consumer PR shops in London that have surfed the wave of creative and cultural relevance for the last 20 years. Current clients include Samsung, Just Eat, Eon, Ocado and Coca Cola. Currently 35 people work at Mischief and it is part of the MHP Group. 

On the show this week we talk about the evolution of consumer public relations and strategies for sustained agency success.

Before we start, do check out our next PR Masterclass: AI in PR. Here are the themes:

Is AI making PR more efficient, but less effective?
What are the AI implementation traps
Which media titles control ChatGPT
Why AI is winning the copyright war
What is PR’s Missed AI Opportunity
Why AI means that you will need to redesign your PR team's workflow
How newsrooms are using AI
How are in-house PR and comms teams using AI?

Check out the full speaker line-up on  https://www.prmasterclasses.com/masterclass/pr-masterclasses-ai-in-pr

Here is a summary of what Charlotte, Dan and PRmoment founder Ben Smith discussed on the show:

What was consumer PR like 20 years ago? And how does that compare with consumer PR today?

Is what made a consumer PR firm great 20 years ago, still the same today?

Is consumer PR more powerful now than in 2006?

Why are PR budgets not increasing in line with the increased depth and breadth of work?

Why PR makes marketing distinctive.

Why is most consumer PR bought by CMOs? What happened to the in-house PR managers/directors? 

How has Mischief managed to keep itself relevant as a consumer PR for 20 years?

What's the secret of client retention for PR firms?

What will consumer PR look like in 20 years time?

Evolution of PR landscape
Modern public relations requires integrated multi-channel strategies rather than legacy media coverage focus. Effectiveness is now proven through sales impact rather than outdated metrics.

Strategy in AI era
Algorithms and Large Language Models demand clear messaging and constant, always-on creativity. Teams must balance generalist account management with specialized expertise in content and data analysis.

Agency growth and retention
Long-term client retention relies on consistent impact and transparent partnerships. Agencies must reject complacency to maintain creative standards while expanding influence within broader marketing departments.

A PRmoment Podcast discussion analysing Sir Keir Starmer's failing leadership.

Starmer's leadership critique
Angie Moxham and Mark Borkowski identify poor messaging and lack of decisiveness as fundamental failures in Starmer's administration. Leadership weakness is exacerbated by Machiavellian advisors and poor personnel choices.

Political succession forecast
Analysts predicted brutal local election losses and a potential leadership contest between Miliband and Rayner. Burnham remains a viable alternative but lacks immediate procedural positioning.

Authenticity and system future
Success requires charisma and accountability, qualities deemed lacking in current political leadership. A likely end to the 2-party system, threatening future governance stability as a hung parliament is predicted for the next general election.

Today we’re chatting to Zeno’s Sarah Ogden and Thomas Bunn about its Clarity 2030 report. The report identifies a fundamental shift in the PR sector suggesting we are moving from the "Information Age" (where PR focused on distribution and volume) to the "Intelligence Age" (where PR must focus on strategic counsel and business outcomes).

The report suggests PR has a Readiness Gap - in essence it is saying that currently public relations does not possess the skills required for the future this report predicts.

This is a study across N America, Europe and Asia.

Before we start, do check out our next PR Masterclass: AI in PR. When I put together the speaker lineup for PR Masterclass: AI in PR, I make sure we invite speakers who are actually doing it. Not just talking about it.

Check out the full speaker line-up on  https://www.prmasterclasses.com/masterclass/pr-masterclasses-ai-in-pr

Here is a summary of what PRmoment founder Ben Smith discussed with Sarah and Thomas on the PRmoment podcast:

What is PR’s readiness gap?

What are the skills PR people have, and what are the skills the Clarity 3030 report predicts PR people will need? And what are the skills people with therefore no longer need in PR, according to this report?

What are your other top 5 findings of the report?

In the report it predicted 40% of current people working in PR will leave the sector. What was the justification for that prediction?

What were the main geographical differences coming through in the report?

How does Clarity 2030 view the evolving role of agencies in the PR ecosystem?

Likewise, how does the report predict the role of the in-house team will change?

The report suggests AI will automate the tactical 'heavy lifting' by 2030. If the tasks juniors traditionally use to 'cut their teeth' disappear, how does Zeno—and the wider industry—plan to train the next generation of strategic advisors who have never had to do the tactical groundwork?

Top Findings

The Strategic Pivot: By 2030, "Media Relations" will no longer be the primary KPI for top-tier PR. Instead, Strategic Counsel and Reputation Risk Management are cited as the top priorities for business leaders.

The Talent Mismatch: There is a significant lag in "Business Acumen." The report finds that while PR pros are excellent at storytelling, they are often unable to speak the "language of the boardroom" (finance, operations, and data analytics).

Summary

Meeting discussions analyzed the PR sector readiness gap and the necessity for strategic business advisory evolution.

Industry Readiness Gap Challenges
The PR sector faces a significant readiness gap, with 29% of professionals feeling unprepared for the shift toward strategic advisory roles. High-pressure environments and insufficient investment contribute to projected talent departures.

AI Integration and Skills
Communications teams are pivotally involved in AI adoption, yet lack necessary internal tools. Prioritizing emotional intelligence and creativity remains essential for overcoming the deprioritization of traditional tactical skills.

Strategic Evolution of Roles
Agencies must transition to providing deep business intelligence while in-house teams adopt strategic growth advisor positions. Training programs require fundamental restructuring to emphasize critical thinking alongside AI literacy for junior talent.

Welcome to the PRmoment podcast and on the show today we’re chatting to Jim Donaldson about the news that WPP might sell Burson.

Previously Jim was CEO UK and Middle East at Fleishman and held senior roles at both Weber Shandwick and Hill & Knowlton. He is now a non-exec to a raft of independent PR firms including Woodrow, Schon&Co and Matlin PR.

Before we start, don't miss our new PR Masterclass: AI in PR.

Check out the full speaker line-up at  https://www.prmasterclasses.com/masterclass/pr-masterclasses-ai-in-pr

At PRmoment we usually let these industry navel gazing moments go, as most of the time, the news has been widely covered elsewhere but I’ve found the level of paranoid PR commentary linking PR's future to the Burson deal pretty nauseating.

I get the need for self appointed PR thought leaders to feed the algorithms but much of the analysis of this potential deal seems ill informed.

PRmoment founder Ben Smith put this alternative scenario to ex WPP and Omnicom executive Jim Donaldson about the reasons behind WPP’s plans to sell Burson:

1. WPP needs to grow.
2. It still has quite a bit of debt (total net debt £2.17 billion) and its revenue has decreased in recent years. Sources: https://www.spglobal.com/ratings/en/regulatory/article/-/view/type/HTML/id/3530066 and https://www.fidelity.co.uk/factsheet-data/factsheet/JE00B8KF9B49-wpp-plc/financials
3. Circa 84% of WWP's revenue comes from ad agencies, which it now calls its Global Integrated Agencies. PR is 9%. (including Ogilvy PR and Burson.) https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/detail?dockey=1323-17477290-1Q8TEVR2NNFQVT91FOUCPOQ2BF
4. Ad agencies' market has been decimated by the social media owners and they are petrified about what AI is likely to do to their business models.
5. None of the WPP board have any PR experience, and frankly, they've got bigger problems right now. https://www.wpp.com/en/about/our-leadership/the-wpp-board
6. Burson is a potentially salable asset and WPP can then use those funds to invest in the renewal of its main source of revenue - advertsing agencies.

Here’s a summary of what Jim Donaldson and PRmoment founder Ben Smith discussed:

• Does Jim agree with our alternative hypothesis to the reasons WPP might sell Burson?
• Jim identifies the "huge market shifts" impacting the marketing holding groups currently.
• Was WPP always a reluctant PR firm owner? Many of the deals where Sorrell acquired a PR firm, included a larger ad agency and the PR firm was a much smaller part of the deal.
• How salable is Burson as an asset? Does it have growing or declining revenues?
• Jim describes the holding groups as “a side show” to the most important, mainly positive trends happening in PR at the moment.

This week's PR News review covered Donald Trump's foreign policy, the resulting and global chaos before moving on to disucss NASA's Artemis mission for its public relations.

Trump's foreign policy rhetoric
Mark Borkowski and Ben Smith centered on whether Donald Trump's actions were aimed at selling war or peace?

Borkowski argued that Trump failed in the propaganda war with Iran by not achieving a clean exit.

Global vulnerability, the Axis of chaos and increased defense spending
Participants discussed the global chaos caused by single figures and the growing vulnerability to modern warfare. Governments need to communicate the necessity of a stronger defense, possibly through increased taxation or fund reallocation away from welfare and health.

NASA's Artemis mission PR masterclass
NASA’s Artemis mission to the moon was praised as a PR masterclass due to its precise choreography and positive global impact. The mission served as a strong beacon of positive human ingenuity and counter-narrative to political chaos.

It also served as a "reminder to us all of when America used to have a more positive role in the world."

Melania denies Epstein rumours

Borkowski and Smith discuss why Melania Trump felt the need to make a statement denying rumours she had any connection with Epstein, when there were no rumours she had any connection with Epstein!

Summary

This PRmoment Podcast discussion with James Thomlinson centered on the theme of agency paralysis within the PR industry due to economic pressures and the increasing complexity - of both the PR market and the PR agency business model.

Agency paralysis discussed
James Thomlinson argues that agency paralysis is a trend within the Public Relations industry caused by increased simultaneous pressures and the extensive number of required leadership decisions. These decisions cover flexible working policies, AI platform adoption, strategic sector choices, and new offerings for the business.

AI and decision-making frameworks
Your profit and loss statement is the critical starting point for agency decision-making, covering revenue and cost sides, with workplace culture and client management following. Agencies should analyse all business functions to determine where AI is applicable, selecting tools that improve efficiencies and free up time for strategic or creative tasks.

Agency Model Polarization Predicted
The PR industry is predicted to polarise into 2 main types of agencies due to AI influence: agencies providing platform access and agencies focused on superior culture and original strategic thinking. James Thomlinson believes a 15% profit margin for PR firms is now considered good, and 10% revenue growth is the target for top-performing agencies.