This Week in PR Takes - Week 21

Week 21

Author

Brian Kramer
June 20, 2025

Take of the Week:
This week’s Take of the Week is less of a take and more of a reminder from Eleanor Hawkins, but a really important one as we watch the earned media landscape change before our eyes. There are so many excellent points in her newsletter, I am going to quote her conclusion and closing reminder here (*I have Eleanor’s permission to quote directly from her story). I highly recommend that we all give this a read and bookmark it in case any colleagues or clients have questions about these definitions and topics:

Zoom in: As a refresher, here are the general parameters for engaging with U.S. media, which should be agreed to ahead of time by both parties.

  • On the record: Everything said can be shared, quoting the source by name, title and affiliation.

  • On background: The information can be shared without naming the particular source, but affiliation, rank or position can be used — for example, "a spokesperson for the company said ... "

  • On deep background: The information can be shared, but how it's attributed is often vague — such as "According to a source ... " — and should be carefully discussed.

  • Off the record

    : Information stays between the reporter and the subject. It cannot be used for publication.

  • Embargoes: A great tool for sharing complicated, data-heavy reports ahead of launch— but there must be a conversation first. Blasting embargoed materials is bad form.

The bottom line: While the shifting media landscape may feel like the Wild West, interview parameters and media relations shouldn't.

Chuckle of the Week:
- Anyone who has worked it consumer PR has almost definitely lived Adam’s take

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The Rest of the Takes:
- “Going Direct” has been a topic du jour and is worth of a massive deep dive in of itself, and Rachael has some salient points on topic
-* I would love to feature a take/counter take on this topic in an upcoming newsletter. Please send me a direct message on LinkedIn if you would like to write about this.
-The always on-point Carly wrote about the changing PR playbook due to Google’s AI Overview
- Noah poses a great question, what if you could earn with the content you own?
- Yazan on what it means for PR people to think like a journalist
- We hear about TechCrunch almost as much as we experience Adam’s Chuckle of the Week, and Abby asks if the publication is worth engaging with at all
- Jeremy wrote about how the CCO should be a truth teller and not a “yes” person
- Daniel answers the question, are PR people supposed to be encyclopedias or connectors?
- Nick jotted down a handful of ways to upset a reporter

That’s it for this week’s takes, thanks for reading.

-Brian