Stories by Robert Kelner, Brian Smith and Alexandra Langton

Many PR firms, media companies and advertising agencies have noticed the Department of Justice (DOJ) increasingly is targeting these sectors for enforcement under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). A trio of attorneys tells communicators what they need to know about this statute.

Do you know the history of PR? If so, you should be able to handle this quiz with ease. Be prepared to learn something (who the first Black woman to own a PR firm was, who is considered to be the “father of PR,” or which legendary PR pro helped conceive the celebration for the first Earth Day in New York).

There seems to be a new story everyday with TikTok, the popular video-sharing app that’s in a battle against the White House for survival. The most recent story is that new CEO Kevin Mayer is leaving after just four months. Still, TikTok is fighting back, deploying weapons that are familiar to PR pros. Can it win?

Today we celebrate the 100th anniversary of Women’s Equality Day, marking a century since women won the right to vote via the 19th Amendment. It’s prudent to temper the celebration and recognize that the vestiges of inequality persist. The author offers examples of how PR can attack current instances of inequality.

In this difficult moment, veteran communicator Marc Whitt offers a pep talk to fellow PR pros. He compares PR work to a craft and concludes that like a stonemason, the communicator’s reward is personal. It’s knowing that you’ve done your job well and that its benefits may last for years.

Should you defer media training owing to the pandemic’s restrictions on travel and social distancing? While it’s a bit trickier during COVID-19, and in-person coaching is best, technology workarounds exist, our author, a former TV journalist, argues.

The media market was changing before the pandemic hit. Some of those changes have accelerated or slowed as a result of the novel coronavirus. How should PR pros approach the next few months and the years after that? Our author offers three trends to consider.

Engaging content can not exist in a vacuum. It must respond to the times that created it, argues Thomas Gillespie, a PR pro fresh from an internship. In an age where politics, culture, entertainment and mass movements merge, PR pros must be quick, thorough and compassionate. They must lead the conversation, not react to it.

PR measurement need not be expensive or difficult. Moreover, with data proliferating in the digital environment, PR needs to measure its effort and demonstrate value. NRPR chief Nicole Rodrigues offers a review of measurement basics.

Agencies on the list represent a wide range of both industry specializations and core capabilities. They specialize in crisis communication, media relations, reputation management and public affairs to digital communications, social media, content creation and everything in between.