What We’re Reading is a monthly roundup of current news, commentary, challenges and trends that impact our industry and clients. This month’s coverage focuses on what organizations do before a story breaks and how well they explain themselves once it does. Microsoft’s buyout offer and the difficulty of communicating AI-related workforce change show how much framing shapes employee trust, while a new data center poll suggests communities respond to concrete local benefits and transparency far more than to promises about AI. The organizations that come out ahead see change coming, set expectations early and are ready to respond before they have to.
Public Relations
Columbia Giveaway Will Help One Person Survive the ‘Tech Bro’ Apocalypse – Andrew McLemore, GearJunkie
“In this campaign, Columbia is poking fun at tech billionaires building doomsday bunkers by giving away one of its own, stocked with Columbia gear, to someone who can prove their survival skills. I thought this was a smart way to tap into a bigger cultural conversation while still tying directly back to the brand. It’s a good example of how brands can earn attention by finding a timely idea they can credibly own, rather than simply jumping on what everyone else is talking about.” – Lindsay Erickson
Disney+ to stream upcoming Super Bowl – Catriona Marangi, CNBC
“The Super Bowl is already sold out of ad spots, the earliest that’s ever happened, and Disney is now adding Disney+ as another place to watch it. It’s a smart way to make a big event even bigger and fits a larger pattern. Disney launched a standalone ESPN streaming service last year and is adding Formula E to Disney+ in December. YouTube and Netflix are both going after live sports too. Live events are one of the few things that still pull everyone in at the same time, and the companies that own them have a lot of leverage. For anyone planning a big moment, it’s a reminder to think about every place your audience might show up.” – Jenny Cummings
Reputation Management
The Ipsos Reputation Council Report 2026: Life After Predictability – Ipsos
“Silence as a strategy is not something I generally subscribe to. Sure, sometimes less is more, and of course, context is king, but it’s a little alarming that in interviews with 200 senior communications leaders, 61% said they stay quiet on divisive issues even when they could speak authentically. More than a third said they’ve stayed quiet in the past year on issues they once would have addressed. Silence can be the right call, but only when it’s a thoughtful decision. The organizations that come through this period well will know when to speak and what their message is before they need to say it.” – Kate O’Neil
Phishing email to Knicks employees an ‘unfortunate mistake,’ MSG rep says – ESPN
“This is a good example of how a well-intentioned decision can create a reputation issue. Using championship rings as part of a phishing test distracted from the lesson itself and shows why companies need to think carefully about how internal messages will land with employees.” – Grace DuFour
How to Destroy a Reputation in Hollywood, as Told in 5 Women’s Lawsuits – Debra Kamin, The New York Time
“The Times reviewed court filings, text messages and hundreds of anonymous websites and fake social profiles. It found that five women allege they were targeted by smear campaigns built to push damaging claims up search results. The lawyer, publicist and digital strategist named in the suits dispute the allegations, which remain unproven. What makes this story worth reading is the mechanism. The alleged tactic doesn’t need a platform, just enough low-profile content to shape what people find. As more people get answers from AI summaries, that kind of seeded content becomes a risk for any executive or brand. It’s a good reminder that while reputation can take years to build it can be destroyed in seconds.” – Ava Rosenberg
AI & Emerging Technologies
“Parents sue OpenAI, alleging GPT-4o coached their daughter off seizure medication” – Aditya Mehta, TechCrunch
“Hardly a day goes by when we don’t read some scary headline about all of the terrible things that AI might do or is doing, and this is no exception. This is a truly tragic situation. However, this also makes me realize that the ways in which AI is going to positively revolutionize the practice of medicine will be extraordinary. Unfortunately, the LLM companies are doing a terrible job of showcasing that. This is a major area of opportunity for them while they work to provide guardrails to prevent a recurrence of situations like this one.” – Nick Kalm
AI Just Found a Bug That Puts Up to 70% of the World’s Websites at Risk – Robert McMillan, The Wall Street Journal
“The most telling line in this piece isn’t technical. It’s the PHP security lead’s first reaction on learning of the flaw: ‘How do I communicate this?’ Even with two months to plan, the disclosure got blown up when the patch date leaked two days early, forcing the team to go public on a timeline it didn’t choose. That is the new shape of cyber crisis response: AI compresses the gap between disclosure and exploitation to hours, so holding statements, customer notices and the decision to take a site offline have to be drafted before the fix ships, not after the reporter calls. Any client running a site on WordPress or Drupal was in scope last week, most without knowing it, which makes this a good moment to ask whether their incident playbook still assumes a patch window that no longer exists.” – Keegan Pavlik
Journalists now have an AI reputation and PR is keeping track – Pete Pachal, Fast Company
“This Fast Company article is an interesting read, as it looks at how AI visibility is creating a new way to measure a journalist’s impact, with niche trade publications often outperforming major national outlets in AI-generated answers. It’s an interesting shift both PR teams and clients that have traditionally prioritized Tier 1, national coverage, and a reminder that media strategy needs to account for not just where a story appears, but how it shapes the information people find through AI.” – Haley Hartmann
ESG Communications
The No. 1 Reason Americans Would Support a Data Center – Robinson Meyer, Heatmap News
“Developers have spent two years selling data centers on the promise of AI and national competitiveness. This new poll of more than 2,500 voters suggests that pitch barely registers. Enabling AI ranked last among reasons to support a project. What moves people is local and concrete: tax revenue for schools and emergency services, lower property taxes, grid and sewer upgrades. The top objections are just as practical: higher power and water bills, and too little transparency about the deal. The lesson holds for every siting fight I’ve worked on. Lead with what the community gets, and show your work.” – Michael Grimm
Employee Communications
Microsoft Is Trying to Shed a Lot of Workers. Just Don’t Call It a Layoff. – Chip Cutter and Isabella Simonetti, The Wall Street Journal
“Microsoft’s buyout offer shows how much framing matters when a company is reducing headcount, particularly as public skepticism around AI-related cuts grows. Positioning the move as voluntary gives employees some agency, but it also invites scrutiny of what’s driving it. It’s a reminder that being clear and honest about the business rationale is what keeps a company from having its narrative written for it.” – Emma Smits
Why AI is making layoffs harder to communicate – Evan Nierman, Fast Company
“What I appreciate most about this article is it points out the importance of knowing the audience you are speaking to, ‘Employees are listening through a very different filter from shareholders.’ That is the core challenge facing organizations today as they navigate implementing AI, keeping employees engaged (and retained), making capital investments, and still looking to make money as a successful business. The longer an organization waits to start bringing its audiences along on its AI journey, the harder it is to communicate the impacts without those being viewed skeptically through built up opinions that have solidified in those key stakeholders.” – Andrew Moyer
Media Relations
What is the Cook Political Report, and why is Washington so obsessed with it? – Ian Ward, The Washington Post
As AI, social media and prediction markets change how people follow politics, the Cook Political Report offers a useful communications lesson in the value of staying power. Ian Ward’s recent feature explores how the outlet has maintained credibility across the political spectrum through deep sourcing, strong relationships and a consistent focus on an audience that wants more than the latest headline. For brands and communicators navigating similarly fragmented audiences, the takeaway is that relevance doesn’t always mean chasing the newest platform or trend. Sometimes the strongest strategy is knowing what your audience trusts you for and continuing to deliver it well. – Abby Ruth