We’re in this together! How marketing and PR pros can help the media keep up with today’s challenges
From AI to upholding editorial integrity and changing audience behaviors, these are the fine print pressures on today’s journalists. How can marketing and PR teams play their part to alleviate these issues for target media?
Luckily, the Cision 2025 State of the Media report explores the top five challenges facing journalists right now:
1. From print to scrolls – it’s all about meeting readers where they are
Changing media consumption behaviors was identified as a top concern for 42% of journalists surveyed in the last 12 months. The ever-moving search engine parameters and a lack of trust around Google’s AI overviews are severely hurting content, and are seeing some media sites even shut down due to low traffic.
While Cision’s research shows journalists struggle to keep up with shifts in the way audiences find news stories, social media is becoming a fresh way for people to consume content. The speed at which social media can disseminate information easily outpaces traditional media outlets, too. So, what can marketing and PR pros learn from this?
Just like journalists, comms teams are in the content business. We know how to create and distribute engaging content, but these strategies rely on understanding who and where the target audience is. The better marketing and PR pros are at pinpointing this, the better they will be at helping journalists share stories that are relevant to their audience.
2. The fragmentation of social media
In 2009, just 56% of journalists believed social media was an important part of the content lifecycle of journalism, fast forward to 2025 and 96% now use social media for a variety of tasks, including promoting stories and interacting with their audience.
For professional purposes, LinkedIn remains the frontrunner platform with 59% of journalists using the platform to promote social content. Instagram (53%) and Facebook (51%) follow just behind, with Bluesky on the rise since 2023, with 18% of journalists now using the site over TikTok.
Journalists now use social media as a means for finding credible news sources – and this is where marketing and PR pros can use their secret weapon of social listening to understand how journalists work and what matters to them and their audience. The real PR superpower!
3. Fake news cycles strike again
According to the Cision report, 40% of journalists believe that maintaining credibility as a trusted news source/combating accusations of fake news has been a significant challenge this year.
Marketing leads, PR pros, and journalists share a common goal here – avoiding misinformation and seeking credible sources. To help fight back against the fake news battle, PR pros can help journalists by backing up claims in pitches and press releases with verified data and research.
4. The financial squeeze on freelancers
Media layoffs peaked last year, with more than 15,000 media jobs lost. Although the summer lull hasn’t claimed us yet, journalists are feeling the heat rise as 20% now claim to be freelance or independent among financial uncertainty in the industry.
So, what can PR professionals learn from these changing media roles? Take the time to create mutually beneficial relationships with freelancers. While they can’t directly commission a story, they do often work across multiple outlets, so they can open up doors and widen the coverage net.
5. AI and the existential crisis
AI faces judgement day daily. Although 30% of journalists list AI as one of their major challenges, more than half (53%) use it to assist their work (topic research and to transcribe interviews and audio).
It’s interesting to note that journalists’ opinions on AI vary by region. North American journalists, for instance, are the most resistant to AI, with almost half of journalists saying they don’t use it or don’t plan to, compared to only 30% in EMEA and 22% in APAC.
When it comes to PR pros using AI, journalists are more receptive to the idea, with only 27% strongly opposed. The biggest concern for journalists is the upcycling of content that is inaccurate or false. So, what is the takeaway?
Authenticity and creativity are at the heart of journalism, and the reality is that the years of subject matter knowledge built on by media professionals cannot be replaced by AI. PR personnel need to be wary when providing journalists with AI-generated content and provide transparency, as well as a human-checked review of the content before sharing.
Help journalists and they will help you
So what have we learnt from this year’s Cision State of the Media report? Marketing leads and PR pros can prove their worth by working with journalists to produce trusted, credible content that audiences with find value in, and there’s certainly no room for AI content creation any time soon!
Daniel Bellamy is a Graduate PR Executive at IBA International.
