The biggest communications storylines for 2025
A look into the future from communicators.
If anyone has a crystal ball, would you share it with us?
Because right now, the future is looking a little murky.
But we polled some smart communicators to figure out where the practice might be headed. We asked on LinkedIn: “What is the biggest PR storyline you see on the horizon for 2025?”
The answers fell into several categories: AI, the media, sustainability and more.
Answers have been edited for style and brevity.
AI
Michelle Songy is founder and CEO of Press Hook:
The rise of AI-native PR pros: We’ll welcome the first wave of young professionals who “grew up” with generative AI. How will AI reshape their daily workflows? Will they accelerate into strategic roles by automating tasks that traditionally consume so much time?
The freelance and consulting boom: Tight budgets and layoffs are pushing both PR pros and clients towards project-based work. This creates a dynamic marketplace where specialized skills and agility are key. PR pros can leverage their expertise to build independent careers, while clients gain access to top talent without long-term commitments.
Christy Ragle is owner/lead consultant at WholeHeart Communications:
Authentic, human-focused storytelling gains more ground as consumers tune out AI-generated messaging that is generic and boring. PR pros continue to positively leverage AI for idea generation and “blank-page-busting,” but gain new value as strategic storytellers.
Bob Oltmanns is owner and president of OPR Group:
The exploding proliferation of misinformation, disinformation, deepfakes, etc., not just from within the U.S., but from nefarious sources around the world, intending to influence U.S. consumers, voters, financial markets, social behaviors and more. Those forces are well ahead of our profession’s understanding and ability to combat them.
Jennifer Jones-Mitchell is founder of Human Driven AI.
I am hoping the biggest storyline will be legislative guardrails around AI development and the existing AI models. This tech is evolving quickly. Deep fakes are already seeping into the world. Market manipulation through AI is coming. We cannot afford to allow the companies to regulate themselves, especially as quantum computing gains critical mass because it will supercharge AI in ways we can it even imagine yet.
Ben Haber is executive vice president at Racepoint Global.
Once gen AI is widely available to create multimedia, deep fakes will become way more complicated to identify and control. We’ll also see the rise of AI content and influencers on social media that will present new opportunities and challenges for brands.
Media
Jon Amar is a public relations consultant.
Brands divert more funding and attention from top tier media to trade publications, nonprofit newsrooms, and owned media.
Tom Spalding is senior strategist at C2 Strategic Communications.
I think a top story, not the biggest picture, but snapshots of current trends, include:
1. The continuing emergence of nonprofit-based digital only news outlets and their long-term viability.
2. The even-more-prolific e-newsletters and how to properly gain metrics on reach.
3. Increasing segmentation of microblogging sites as Twitter alternatives as X displacement grows. Also looks like big focus will be on paid user/subscriber. Social now has a paywall I only see growing.
Lauren Stralo is director of public relations at LevLane.
How to be a responsible news consumer and encourage responsible news consumption. We’re living in a headline obsessed society right now, and headlines, no matter how sensational, rarely convey the full picture.
Stephanie Fung is founder of Pilea Consulting.
Digital literacy and the role PR professionals have in bringing digital literacy to the masses. This entails people using and consuming digital outlets, content and programs critically to ensure misinformation isn’t spread and AI tools are being used, not as a be-all-end all, but as a tool that is fallible.
Sam Butler is founder and principal at 35thAvenuePartners PR.
I predict a reckoning in the world of content creators. We’ve just seen Russian money funneled to YouTubers/podcasters through Tenet Media. The interests of brands and influencers will diverge, creating new conflicts and confusion. More journalists will jump ship from their employers to build new media brands around themselves. And I anticipate some high-profile content creators will be exposed for past scandals, affiliations or relationships that they’ve worked hard to keep under the radar.
Much of this is already happening. But as PR teams seek to deepen their work with emerging media and voices, their enthusiasm risks overshadowing the due diligence necessary to build and protect reputations.
Kelli Flores is managing director of 104 West Partners.
Data will drive storytelling even more than it already does. Knowing audiences better will help agencies craft more compelling, insights-driven narratives for brands that are more impactful and will result in more meaningful engagement.
Additionally, “trophy hits” in the media will continue to have waning influence, and influencers across more niche platforms like LinkedIn, Reddit, Substack and Medium will become even more crucial for brands, offering stronger content distribution and creating more impactful channels for brands.
Sustainability
Kevin Petschow is corporate communications North America lead for Nokia.
One of the biggest public relations storylines on the horizon for 2025, aside from artificial intelligence, will likely be the ethical and regulatory challenges surrounding climate change adaptation and corporate responsibility.
1. Climate disasters and accountability: As climate change continues to accelerate, the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events are expected to rise. Corporations, especially in high-impact industries like energy, agriculture and transportation, will face increasing scrutiny regarding their carbon footprints and sustainability practices. Public relations campaigns will need to focus on transparency, as consumers demand more concrete actions toward sustainability, not just greenwashing.
2. Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) regulations: Governments are likely to impose stricter ESG regulations, holding companies accountable for their environmental impact.
Nina Gaertner is a public relations consultant.
The impact of climate change and energy transition in particular, not in general, terms. Companies will have to go beyond statements and develop new key messages due to increasing demand to show measurable progress and transparent results.
Skills PR pros need
Breanna Metalf-Oshinsky is head of public relations at We Are BMF.
The increasing necessity for PR pros to have more extensive operational knowledge of cross-channel promotion and integrated marketing. The expectations of clients and the tactics it now takes to cut through noise means the definition of PR is farther beyond traditional press relations than ever before. Being a PR partner means speaking an ever-broadening marketing language. I’d also pose that’s mirrored in the media industry as editors are increasingly valued (and/or pressured) if they become their own marketing engines and hone their platforms as personalities (which has always been the case but has new crossover with the influencer space now).
Lindsay Scheidell is founder of Hadley PR.
More and more PR folks sitting at the decision-making table. Already seeing the shift.🪑
Michelle Johnson is an adjunct professor and PhD candidate at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.
The necessity for PR pros (and students) to develop information science skills. There once was a time we could be the words people and let someone else do the “mathy” stuff. I envision a future where data analytics is a basic skill PR practitioners must possess. Predicting crises and mitigating reputation risk in a world of big data will require us to understand the data collection and analytics process
Other
Melissa Vela-Williamson is founder of MVW Communications.
How PR pros need to be unifying, calming messengers to guide raw and uncertain internal and external audiences. We need to counsel top leaders to be responsible, accountable and respectful ambassadors for their organizations. I’ve seen a huge increase in impulsive behavior, unfiltered communication and people-related issues/crises causing organizational and societal challenges in the last few years. I’m worried more about that than AI.
Emily Rand is senior communications staff, trainings and logistics solutions at Lockheed Martin.
More transparent communications (including brand flaws to reinforce authenticity) and the rise and use of short(er)-form content.
Phoebe Netto is founder of Pure Public Relations.
Marketing budgets have been cut and brands that relied on spend, glitz, stunts, celebrity spokespeople, large events and activations to attract attention will need to return to what PR does best: create connections, build credibility, and find the newsworthy angles that create preference and rise above noise (instead of adding to the noise).
Julie Ferris-Tillman is vice president and practice lead at Interdependence Public Relations.
I think tech PR practitioners in particular will be positioned to add value by bringing internal comms and change management to their clients. For example, making news with a cloud computing client, you can help them bring value to their customers by advising on all the things that affect a true cloud migration — including change management and internal comms practices.
Love the comment: “what PR does best: create connections, build credibility, and find the newsworthy angles that create preference.” Also appreciate Tom Spaulding’s note on non-profit news havens opening up. Great summaries and forward-looking trend analysis – thank you, Allison.
The comments on knowledge of cross-channel promotion, integrated marketing, and fluency in reading analytics especially resonate with me. Also curious for examples of authentic, human-focused storytelling. ~ Laurel, Berkeley Lab