Geopolitical uncertainty, economic volatility, and rapid technological advancement have reshaped the environment in which organisations operate. Against this backdrop, communications professionals are navigating an increasingly complex landscape while remaining focused on their core mandate: building trust, protecting reputation, and fostering meaningful connections with stakeholders.
As the industry approaches World PR Day 2026, themed “The Golden Age of Strategic PR”, Telum Media spoke with three communications leaders: Toni Chan, Global Head of Communications at Lalamove; Jonathan Tan, Founder and Managing Director of VoxEureka; and Abigail Ng, Senior Manager, Corporate Affairs at Temus about what strategic communications means today, the forces reshaping the profession, and what the next decade may demand from communicators.
The forces reshaping modern PR
The communications landscape has transformed significantly over the past decade, driven by a combination of different factors.
Among the most apparent shifts is the fragmentation of the media landscape.
Toni observed that communications has moved away from centralised news outlets towards a matrix of niche podcasts, social media platforms, and online communities.
As a result, the traditional “one-pitch-fits-all” approach is becoming obsolete.
“Success today requires more careful consideration of our communication objectives, tailoring our approach to ensure our messages land effectively, authentically, and precisely with the right audience, rather than just shouting into the void,” she said.
The shift extends beyond where stories are published; it has also changed how people consume information.
Abigail pointed to the Reuters Institute's 2026 Digital News Report, which found that social and video platforms have overtaken both television and news websites as sources of news.
“Audiences don't wait for a journalist to validate a story anymore,” she said, noting the collapse of the traditional media-gatekeeper model.
For Jonathan, the democratisation of communications has a profound impact on public trust.
“You have citizen journalists, Substack, Reddit communities, and so many different canvases and platforms. On one hand, the press's influence has diluted. And at the same time, who do you trust anymore?”
He added that declining trust has become even more pronounced as global leaders increasingly communicate directly through different platforms, presenting competing versions of the truth, and making it harder for audiences to distinguish authentic information from misinformation.
Abigail observed a similar trend, noting that scepticism today extends beyond news media to institutions and carefully crafted corporate messaging.
These developments, however, are not occurring in isolation.
Jonathan believes that AI is accelerating and amplifying many of these existing shifts, increasing both the pace and complexity of change facing communications professionals.
What does strategic PR really mean?
The current communications landscape finds itself balancing two realities: adapting to constant change while remaining anchored to its core purpose.
For Abigail, that core purpose has remained consistent.
Although the media landscape has changed compared to a decade ago, she believes that PR's fundamental role is still to build and maintain relationships between an organisation and its publics.
“What's actually changed is that our realm of ‘publics’ has kept expanding.”
Today, those publics extend far beyond journalists and consumers to include employees, leadership, partners, policymakers, and the wider industry. While communicators can now engage many of these audiences directly, without relying solely on the media, the challenge lies in maintaining consistency across every touchpoint.
“The strategic skill is holding one coherent narrative across all of them,” she added.
That expanded remit has also changed how communicators contribute within organisations.
Jonathan recalled a perspective from another communications leader that has stayed with him: “We are the radar and compass for organisations.”
To him, that captures the role of today’s communicator - to stay close to the ground, continuously sensing cultural, societal, and economic signals before synthesising those insights to help steer organisations and brands in the right direction.
In an environment increasingly shaped by questions of authenticity, creative integrity, truth, and trust erosion, he believes the profession's strategic value has never been greater.
“Whether it's the golden age or not, I think the demands and the stakes of that role is more pertinent and critical than ever.”
Toni shares a similar view, describing PR as a discipline centred on reputation management. Beyond driving positive stories, she believes communicators are responsible for building credibility and trust while helping organisations minimise potential reputational risks.
“It isn't just about crisis cleanup, but proactive prevention.”
That preventive role extends beyond external communications. Toni noted that PR teams can play an active role in shaping internal strategy, such as expanding relevant communications and media training beyond senior executives to better equip employees against emerging reputational risks.
Taken together, these evolving responsibilities point to a broader shift in how the function is viewed within organisations.
As Abigail puts it: “PR sits much closer to strategy now - part storyteller, part strategist, part guardian of reputation, and increasingly a relationship-builder across audiences that used to be handled separately.”
A defining moment for communicators
If today's communications landscape is more complex than ever, it is also opening up new possibilities for the profession.
Jonathan described modern PR as an “expressive blank open canvas”, offering a breadth of opportunities that would have been difficult to imagine when he first entered the industry two decades ago.
From earned media and influencer engagement to creative production and research, the profession has expanded well beyond its traditional boundaries. As organisations increasingly expect integrated communications support, Jonathan pointed out that practitioners and agencies alike must continue evolving their capabilities and skill sets to stay relevant.
Yet with greater influence comes greater responsibility.
As communications becomes more deeply integrated into organisational strategy, Toni believes communicators play the role of a supportive and objective voice within the business.
Rather than stepping in only when issues arise, she argues that communicators should work constructively with internal teams to identify blind spots, address vulnerabilities, and ensure that organisational actions align with external messaging.
For Jonathan, that responsibility is ultimately rooted in integrity.
“It is our responsibility to be not just storytellers, but truth tellers,” he said.
Building on his earlier description of communicators as the "radar and compass" for organisations, he believes practitioners have a responsibility to stay true to their values, speak up when necessary, and help steer organisations towards what they believe is right.
Reflecting on his experience as an agency leader, Jonathan acknowledged that the industry is not without ethical dilemmas. While certain practices may deliver powerful or commercially attractive results, he personally has chosen to walk away from them in order to stay true to his values.
“As agency leaders and communicators, we have the power to decide how we shift influence, conversations, and narratives. If we don't speak up for what we believe is right, then who will?”
Technology, meanwhile, is reshaping how that responsibility is carried out.
Abigail believes communicators will increasingly move away from producing every piece of work themselves towards orchestrating collaboration between AI and people.
“Agents handle scale, synthesis, monitoring, and first drafts; people bring judgment, relationships, and accountability.”
Beyond improving efficiency, she sees AI helping organisations maintain messaging consistency at scale while preserving institutional knowledge as a living resource for stronger storytelling.
However, she cautioned that these capabilities also demand thoughtful governance.
As guardians of coherent and trustworthy narratives, communicators must exercise discernment over what is worth saying, what should remain unsaid, what can be delegated to AI, and what should always remain in human hands.
Jonathan shares a similar belief that, despite rapid technological advancement, certain qualities will always be valuable.
He said that soft skills, contextual intelligence, and relationship-building, will continue to distinguish human communicators from AI. He also believes that human intuition is equally important - the ability to exercise sound judgment, recognise the early signs of an emerging issue, and understand nuances that cannot simply be taught but are developed through lived experience and observation.
Ultimately, all three leaders believe the future of PR will bring both greater opportunities and greater responsibilities. It all comes down to how well communicators balance innovation with judgment, influence with integrity, and scale with trust.
As Abigail concluded:
“For me, the golden age isn't about doing more but orchestrating well. When everyone, and everything, can publish, coherence and trust become the hardest and most valuable things we protect.”
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Every few years, someone declares the death of the media release.
Today, the arguments sound familiar. Journalists don't read them anymore. Everything is social-first. AI is replacing traditional media outreach. It's all about the pitch. Press releases are becoming little more than AI-generated filler.
And yet, when we speak with journalists across Asia Pacific and the Middle East, a different picture emerges.
Media releases aren't dead, but expectations around them have changed significantly.
We've analysed more than 10,000 Journalist Interest Survey responses in the Telum Media platform collected over the past five years, alongside insights gathered from conversations with editors, reporters, and producers across the region.
Key takeaways:
- Journalists still value useful PR content
- Relevance matters more than reach
- The pitch and the release serve different roles
- The best releases reduce friction for journalists
- Modern releases need to support multiple platforms
The conclusion is clear: journalists still value media releases, but they value them for different reasons than they once did.
The media release has evolved from a distribution tool into something far more strategic.
The media release is no longer the story
For decades, many PR professionals treated the media release as the centrepiece of media relations activity.
Write the release. Send it widely. Hope for coverage - “spray and pray”.
That approach was far from perfect, but you could get away with it in an era when newsrooms were larger, competition for attention was lower, and journalists had more time to evaluate incoming information.
Today's reality is very different.
Journalists are producing content across multiple platforms, often with smaller teams and tighter deadlines. Their inboxes are flooded with pitches, announcements, thought leadership submissions, and increasingly, AI-generated content.
As a result, journalists have become far more selective about what earns their attention.
The modern media release is no longer just about news stories. It has become a source-of-truth asset, a newsroom resource, and a content hub that supports broader communications activity.
The best PR teams understand this shift.
“The strongest message from journalists can be summarised in a single phrase: ‘Understand what I cover’. Relevance remains the most important factor in successful media engagement.”
What journalists are actually rejecting
One of the most revealing findings from our analysis is that journalists are not rejecting PR content altogether.
What they're rejecting is low-value outreach.
Across thousands of responses, the same frustrations appeared repeatedly:
- Irrelevant pitches
- Generic outreach
- Mass distribution
- Weak story angles
- Excessive follow-ups
In other words, this is less a rejection of media releases and more a rejection of poor media relations practice.
The strongest message from journalists can be summarised in a single phrase:
"Understand what I cover."
Relevance remains the most important factor in successful media engagement. In fact, our journalist surveys over the past two years have seen a sharp increase in a desire for both relevance and personalisation in pitches.
Journalists increasingly assess pitches within seconds. If the connection to their beat, audience, or current priorities isn't immediately obvious, the opportunity is often lost before the email is even opened.
The pitch and the release have different jobs
One of the biggest misconceptions in modern media relations is treating the pitch and the release as the same thing.
They are not.
The pitch exists to earn attention; the release exists to support the story.
The best pitches are:
- Brief
- Human
- Relevant
- Contextual
- Conversational
The best releases are:
- Structured
- Factual
- Complete
- Reusable
- Easy to reference
At a recent Telum Media event, a senior journalist described the fastest way to kill a pitch with a single word: “Respect”. Or a lack thereof.
A generic greeting. A story unrelated to their beat. A mass-produced email that demonstrates no understanding of their audience.
All signal a lack of respect for the journalist's time and expertise.
High-performing PR teams increasingly write pitches and releases for different audiences. The pitch is written for the journalist. The release is written for the journalist's audience.
That distinction matters.
Why journalists still value media releases
Despite predictions of their demise, journalists continue to actively request media releases.
But they want releases that help them work more efficiently.
The most common requests include concise writing, clear headlines, strong news angles, supporting data (with downloadable images and assets), spokesperson access, and easy-to-use formats.
These preferences reveal the modern role of the release: it functions as a workflow tool.
A strong release helps journalists:
- Understand the story quickly
- Verify information
- Access supporting materials
- Build content efficiently
The best releases reduce friction. And in today's newsroom environment, reducing friction is often more valuable than generating hype.
Think beyond media coverage
Another major shift is that media releases are increasingly serving multiple audiences.
A modern release doesn’t just support journalists; it might also support clients and prospects, employees, investors and analysts, partners, and search visibility.
Rather than creating a single-use document, leading communications teams are building content ecosystems.
The release becomes the foundation for:
- Media outreach
- Newsroom content
- Executive communications
- Social media content
- Email campaigns
- Sales collateral
- Thought leadership activity
This approach not only improves consistency but also increases the return on investment from every announcement.
The role of the modern media release
Not every story needs a release
Perhaps one of the most important lessons is recognising when a media release is the wrong tool.
Releases tend to perform best when there is:
- Genuine news value
- Multiple stakeholder audiences
- A need for factual consistency
- Strong supporting assets
- Broader business significance
They are often less effective for internal milestones framed as major news (or self-congratulatory announcements), generic thought leadership, and untargeted mass outreach.
In some situations, a targeted pitch, LinkedIn strategy, executive commentary programme, or direct relationship-based outreach may be more effective.
Good communications strategy isn't about defaulting to a media release; it's about choosing the right tool for the objective.
A framework for modern media releases
If there is one word that captures what journalists are asking for today, it is respect.
At Telum Media, we summarise this through the RESPECT framework:
R – Relevance
Make it relevant to the journalist, their audience and the moment.
E – Efficiency
Help journalists work faster through clear, concise, and usable content.
S – Substance
Provide genuine value through expertise, data, insight, or access.
P – Personalisation
Demonstrate that you've done your homework.
E – Ecosystem
Think beyond the release and consider how it supports broader communications goals.
C – Clarity
Make the key message immediately obvious.
T – Timing
Reach out at the right time, not simply any time.
What journalists are asking for in a pitch / media release: RESPECT
The future of the media release
The debate over whether media releases are dead misses the point.
The more useful question is how do we make releases work better in today’s media environment?
Journalists still value relevant information, credible sources, strong story angles, and efficient communication. Media releases continue to play an important role in delivering those things.
But success today depends less on the existence of the release itself and more on how strategically it is used.
The media release remains a valuable communications tool.
Just not in the way many of us were taught to use it.
FAQs
Are media releases still useful in 2026?
Yes. Journalists still value media releases, but these days want targeted outreach, relevance to their beat, alignment with their audience, and contextual pitching.
What makes a media release useful to journalists?
Journalists are looking for releases in a format that helps them work efficiently. Which means releases that are concise, factual, with a clear angle, contain usable quotes, and come with downloadable assets and supporting data.
What is the difference between a pitch and a media release?
A pitch earns the journalist’s attention in their cluttered Inbox. A media release supports the story by providing structured, factual, and reusable information relevant to their audience.
With more than 30 years’ experience spanning journalism, corporate communications and media intelligence, Reuben Aitchison is Telum Media’s Head of Insights and Communications.
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