Public relations in 2026 still does what it has always done — earn credibility through third parties. But the third parties that matter most now include ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews. The companion AI-era piece to the canonical pillar. AI Communications, Citation Share, GEO, and how PR teams operate the new discipline.
The Army National Guard hit 433,000 troops in FY2025, its strongest recruiting year in a decade. Inside the Uncommon is Calling campaign, the federal-state comms structure, and the AI answer-engine problem the Guard has yet to solve.
Peppercomm is a strategic communications agency founded September 1995 by Steve Cody, marking 30 years in 2025. A Ruder Finn Group company. Co-Presidents Jacqueline Kolek and Maggie O'Neill lead the firm; Cody is Founder, Peppercomm and Senior Executive Advisor, Ruder Finn.
This article examines Angelina Jolie's 25-year reputation reinvention, from "wild child" to UN Special Envoy and director, as a case study in strategic communications and personal brand architecture.
Hemp PR is not wellness PR with cannabis vocabulary bolted on. It is regulated wellness communications — every claim a legal exposure, every product page a compliance document. The 2018 Farm Bill set the federal definition; FDA, FTC, and the states all enforce.
PR, strategic communications, and marketing are three different jobs. The reference on what each actually is in 2026 — earned vs paid vs integrated, distinct measurement, distinct org placement, distinct vendor infrastructure.
APCO Worldwide — the largest employee-owned independent in global public affairs. Founded 1984 by Margery Kraus inside Arnold & Porter. CEO Brad Staples since January 2015. 1,200+ employees, 30+ locations, 80+ markets, ~$225M revenue.
Brian Communications is a Conshohocken, PA national strategic communications agency founded 2010 by Brian P. Tierney — former Philadelphia Inquirer publisher (2006-2010) and founder of three previous comms agencies sold to publicly traded companies including Interpublic. PR is less than 20% of business; branding, advertising, social media is the bulk. Clients: Comcast, Uber, Penn Medicine, University of Chicago.
The University of Iowa School of Journalism and Mass Communication — established 1924. Research foundation, strategic communication track, Midwest market concentration, and the AI-era curriculum question every research-grounded journalism school now faces.
Michael Sitrick founded Sitrick And Company in Los Angeles in 1989, building it into a top U.S. crisis communications firm before selling to Resources Connection in 2009 while staying on as CEO.
