What Do The Business Insider Layoffs Mean for PR?
Business Insider just laid off 21% of its newsroom staff. My early take on what this signals for the PR industry: The keys to success will be strong relationships, even stronger (and highly personalized) stories, and flexibility in our approach.
Before generative AI search, news organizations like BI pivoted to a business model that prioritized website traffic and digital advertising revenue. That approach may be backfiring as zero-click AI searches now threaten revenue.
📍 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗚𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴?
If (or when) these layoffs accelerate and news media decentralize, journalists may become even more scattered across creator platforms like Substack and Patreon, and other independent news organizations. This could mean chaos for PR pros who are still measuring and strategizing by outlet tier (think NY Times, WSJ, etc) instead of real influence—inclusion in a newsletter from a highly respected journalist in your niche could have far greater business value than a mention in a legacy outlet.
📰 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 & 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲?
We may see a further niche-down for journalists on different beats that comes with greater editorial freedom in independent media. Similarly, as respected journalists scatter, we may see news consumers further curate and refine their sources to include newsletters and original reporting from journalists they trust instead of legacy media outlets that have historically dominated the news market.
🔳 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗲
The likely reality is a mix of both—as BI reportedly pivots to original reporting and live events, PR strategy will need to adapt to fit how these different types of news organizations operate. Your approach to an independent media outlet or a Substack journalist will need to be different from legacy news media with competing business priorities.
Do you think the rules of engagement are changing in PR? What have you seen working in your media strategy as the news media once again faces a major overhaul?
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