This Week in PR Takes - Week 44

Programming note:
As I wrote last week, I am deeply thankful for this community. Thank you so much for providing me and others so much joy and knowledge this year. I truly believe that we are moving the PR/Comms industry forward through sharing and learning. This will be the last post for 2025, and we’ll start fresh in 2026 with a This Week in PR Takes Week 1!

Another small programming note - I had the idea of creating a leaderboard as a way to cap off the year, and create a Techmeme-like way of recognizing those with great takes. I even shared a prototype with a few folks, but Q4 became jammed with work (hooray!) and it’ll have to be a 2026 project.
 
Take of the Week:
I don’t personally know Monica Earle, but my goodness you have to be hiding under a rock if you’ve never come across her name as one to listen to in PR / Comms. She didn’t just come up with a take around should we ask journalists for questions before an interview; she conducted a survey and provided analysis. On top of all of that, she still managed to get in an 80s movie reference (not one I usually quote, but I know it well enough so that I won’t be put in a corner).

It’s awesome.

The net-net, maybe don’t ask for questions - but shoot your shot, and ask for themes and context. Personally, I usually ask for the types of questions or topics that a reporter would want to discuss, just in case that spokesperson needs to have data on hand.

Resource of the Week:
The Tech Comms stack is getting deep and crowded. Amanda Coffee is diligently tracking it, so we know the players, their capabilities, etc. I highly recommend going to Bury the Lede to follow this list as she builds it out next year.

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The Rest of the Takes:
Media and PR
- Meredith Klein had a Q&A with Axios’ Eleanor Hawkins, it’s a great read to learn how a Comms reporter approaches the beat (also, don’t pitch her)
- Simon wrote an example of emailing editors that I have to believe is fiction and not fact
- Zeba put together a great take on the reporter/PR relationship
- Justin shared his “source pitch” and why it’s so successful

PR Misc.
- Dustin wrote about how we need to remember the 3 T’s as we ender 2026 (Topic, Title, Time)
- What does it take to mature, excel, and then dominate in PR? Brandon gives us a punchy take.
- Love this question, is comms valued or tolerated at your company? Stephanie dives into the answer here
- It’s undeniable that Sarah is super smart, she dove into why earned media isn’t a channel - it’s an authority system.

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

-Brian
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bkramer/