Season 9 of The Public Relations Podcast is underway.

Soft launch this time. No big fanfare. Just notes from the front line of comms.

People I’m helping. Conversations I’m having with other comms pros. Tools I’m testing. AI experiments, too.

And, the podcast keeps opening doors, and I'm getting to help people this time, which will allow me to share what I'm seeing myself on the frontline too, not just gathering other people's voices.

It may be a bit sporadic at first. The bigger ideas for Season 9 will come later. But this is where it starts.

First up? A story from a room I was in the other day, where I was explaining to a group why I believe clear, laser-focused goals beat a perfect list of action steps every single time.

Maybe I'm wrong, but people in comms talk so much about process, but is that grand process actually achieving the goals you were brought on for?

Here is the full version.

Helen Barnett (a former UK national news editor) and myself recently tried to use AI to turn a corproate story into something the mass media would use.

It wasn't always easy but it did show some of the powerful strengths of AI as well as some of it's weaknesses.

We decided to not just give our opinions but to test it.

Apart from some editing to remove gaps, this is every part of our conversation and tests.

Guest: https://www.helenbarnettmedia.co.uk/

(The short version - The long version will be in Episode 23)

Join me and Helen Barnett, a former editor at a national UK newspaper (https://www.helenbarnettmedia.co.uk/), in this special episode of the podcast.

Helen and I (I'm a former radio news editor) try to find the best way to use AI to write a press release.

We don't quite get there...BUT.....

We do uncover a lot of pitfalls along the way and discuss how to fix them.

By the way this is the 14-minute version.

I'll be releasing the full-length episode soon on the podcast where we cover almost double the number of points.

If you're struggling with AI press releases or learning to pitch for the first time, it's worth a watch.

#PR #AIinComms #MediaPitching #CommsStrategy #ThePRPodcast

I want to prove that PR, comms and narrative marketing works in 2025, in (sort of) real-time.

But how?

I've been thinking about this a lot over the past year.

We all know the pressures today:-

“Where’s the ROI on comms?”

Clients want metrics.

Execs want proof.

AI is starting to flood the market with generic content.

You and I know comms and narrative marketing work, but how do we prove that to people who don't get it yet, who could and should be future clients?

Here’s the plan:-

I want to introduce a new element to the podcast.

It's based on an idea I tried last year and thank you to those amazing people who took part in that.

In it we'll do a sort of “business makeover" show focused on comms.

In each special, 30-minute episode:-

1) A real business comes in with a comms challenge. Most likely, they are struggling to stand out as much as they want and need help, but it could be anything a narrative specialist can tackle.

2) Then a guest expert (maybe you?) offers micro-consulting for 15 mins in the show.

3) I then follow up a few weeks later to find out what happened so we can prove the power of comms.

I'm giving you the quick version here. There is more in the video.

To make it happen, we need two things.

1) Comms pros happy to spend a few minutes mentoring in a show. (independent individuals and agencies).

And

2) Case studies - Do you have a client you’d love to reconnect with, or want to showcase your abilities to, that you can bring into an episode for some mentoring with you? If we can focus on promotion rather than reputation problems for now, then many could be ok with a little extra PR. If we have to keep them anonymous, we can, but it just won't be as strong.

As I say, more in the video, but in short....

....I want to find a way that demonstrates these skills in action, rather than trying to explain them.

You and I both know the future is not generic marketing. It's narrative marketing (PR, story-driven campaigns, comms, etc).

It's time we "showed" we showed people that.

#PR #Comms #Podcast #PublicRelations #Marketing #MicroConsulting #AI #Storytelling #MediaStrategy #CommsLedMarketing

In this episode, I unpack a real conversation with a PR freelancer trying to pivot into a new sector — and getting knocked back with that brutal line:

“You don’t seem like you’ve done this before.”

But here’s the twist: in her original industry, she was deeply embedded — known, trusted, and networked. She just couldn’t see the value in what she’d already built.

We talk about:

• Why moving sideways in PR isn’t as easy as it sounds

• The growing importance of specialism in an AI-driven world

• How to tell if your reputation is worth more than your ambition

• And why sometimes the smartest move isn’t reinvention — it’s doubling down on what you already know

This is for anyone who's ever wondered if they’re starting over… when they’re actually standing on gold.

We all know influencers are curating their lives — yet we still buy what they recommend.

Why does that emotional trust stick, even when it’s fake?

In this episode, I unpack a conversation I had with university students about influencer culture, social capital, and what it reveals about how consumers make decisions.

Are you giving people a story worth believing in?

If you would like to discuss any of these ideas, just reach out to me on LinkedIn. Details in the episode.

Are you getting your "goals" wrong?

In the old days of book PR, your goal was to raise awareness in order to sell copies — but not anymore. There’s a new goal. It’s the same in many sectors, where the objective has shifted but people sometimes miss the change.

Kourtney Jason is from Pacific & Court in Brooklyn, USA, an agency that specialises in book PR in 2025.

They realised that books on their own are rarely "news" anymore, so they needed to focus instead on what was newsworthy. The answer was often the author themselves — providing the right angles were found.

There were still book signings to sell the books, but the primary goal and focus had changed.

If you’re someone promoting thought leaders, building a personal brand, or an author (or want to be one), this episode should be useful.

The whole episode (15 mins) is here. 

• Stop defining yourself in generic terms. A "coach" is too generic, even a "wellness coach" — get specific about what you do.

• Don't ignore local media — it's still a springboard to bigger coverage, but find the local angles.

• Books are credibility tools, not sales channels. Use them to open doors through visibility, not through the hard sell.

• Don’t forget to use AI to help find angles.

GUEST

Kourtney Jason - Pacific & Court

LOCATION: Brooklyn, USA

Web: pacificandcourt.com
SUBSCRIBE
- Video and Audio links here - https://thepublicrelationspodcast.com/listen/
Or search for "The Public Relations Podcast" on all good podcast apps
CONNECT WITH ME
- LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-midson/
- Website and newsletter - https://thepublicrelationspodcast.com/
GUESTS
- Check out: https://thepublicrelationspodcast.com/one-sheet/

If you want the truth about where AI is taking PR — and what it’s already capable of today — this is the episode for you.

In this episode, I talk to Jeroen Bos — a friend, technologist, and the man leading innovation at Pr.co, a well-known platform in the PR space.

We talk about what Jeroen himself is trying with his team, what barriers they are coming up against, what’s working, what’s not, and how you can start preparing now.

In this episode:

• Why AI can't replace PR pros — not from a “save our jobs” angle, but because of the real world technical limits of AI

• How AI can help speed up the boring, painful parts of the job

• How smart platforms will mine your past content to unlock hidden stories

• Why AI won’t be writing perfect press releases anytime soon

• The cultural bias problem in AI no one’s talking about

• What the future looks like if you don’t start adapting now

Forget the LinkedIn hype.
This is the real picture — from inside a company already building the next generation of PR tech.

GUEST

There’s a lot of hype around AI in PR — but what we all really want to know is: what can it actually do, what might it do next, and where are its real limits?SUBSCRIBE
- Video and Audio links here - https://thepublicrelationspodcast.com/listen/
Or search for "The Public Relations Podcast" on all good podcast apps
CONNECT WITH ME
- LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-midson/
- Website and newsletter - https://thepublicrelationspodcast.com/
GUESTS
- Check out: https://thepublicrelationspodcast.com/one-sheet/

In a world where AI can run entire campaigns, is there anything left for human PR pros to do?
Yes—but only if you’re willing to operate in the grey zone. In this solo episode, I break down where AI is taking over comms—and where it can’t.

This isn’t about fighting the machines; it’s about focusing on the work AI won’t touch: high-risk decisions, morally complex stories, and trust-based influence that lives off-script.

👉 Why this matters to you if you work in a small agency or in-house comms? Because the safe, scalable, fast-turnaround work is going to be swallowed by machines. But the nuanced, uncomfortable, high-trust work? That’s yours—if you’re brave enough to own it.

Timecodes:

• (03:12) What the “execution economy” means for comms

• (06:45) Real-world use of tools like Magnus for campaign planning

• (11:08) Why AI fails in high-risk spaces

• (15:00) The hidden edge humans still have over AI

• (20:42) Two tracks of future comms—only one leads to long-term relevance

Guest next week: Jeroen Bos, technologist behind PR.co.

"BUT! We can just get AI to do our PR and comms? We can automate it?"

It's an argument being put forward by a growing number of organisations — even if no one quite knows how to do that yet. And that’s the rub. Is it actually possible?

Can you get AI — or perhaps a junior plus AI — replace experienced comms pros?

That was one of the big questions I discussed with Komal Lath (founder of Tute Consult) and Tarunjeet Rattan (of Nucleus PR).

I think we found 5 reasons why it’s not over yet for comms people.

This is part two of a wide-ranging chat looking at the latest agency research from the new PR Agency Insight Survey 2025, with two people on the frontline of PR and comms today.

We also talk about the economic reality of running a comms business, why storytelling still wins (but only if you adapt), why single-channel agencies are going to struggle — and why now is the time to own the stack.

Whether you work in-house or in a boutique agency, this episode has practical ideas you can try right away.

If you’re worried about proving your value, losing your best people, or watching briefs shift towards performance marketing — this one’s for you.

GUESTS
👤 Komal Lath – https://tute.co.in/ | Mumbai, India
👤 Tarunjeet Rattan – https://nucleuspr.in/ | Bangalore, India

🎧 SUBSCRIBE
Watch or listen here: https://thepublicrelationspodcast.com/listen/
Or search "The Public Relations Podcast" on your favourite podcast app.

🤝 CONNECT WITH ME
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-midson/
Website & Newsletter – https://thepublicrelationspodcast.com/

🎙️ GUEST INFO & ONE SHEET
https://thepublicrelationspodcast.com/one-sheet/