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Lisa Joy Rosner, CMO of Neustar, doesn’t mince words when describing the state of PR at the company when she took charge in May 2014.

A quartet of communicators chime on how social media is altering crisis management.

In a digital age, spontaneity rules. Social messages that are unscripted and on the fly help to humanize the brand. But messages that seem overly packaged are about as popular as the measles. It’s a different situation when giving a speech (or commenting) on behalf of the brand.

It’s one of the rich ironies of the digital age: Print media are shrinking, thinned out by the ongoing shift to online media channels. At the same time, PR and marketing agencies are starting to adopt many of the tenets that have fueled print media products for decades

Today’s communicators follow trends that lend themselves to stories about their brand or organization. Getting the media to bite is another matter, however. To increase your chance of landing a story with a reporter or editor is to think like one.

The 205 Edelman Trust Barometer shows that many people feel the pace of change in business is moving too fast. Conversely, nearly one-third of respondents believe the pace of change to be too slow. It’s a fine line that corporate communications navigate.

You’ve likely heard of the debut earlier this month of Facebook At Work (FB@Work), a new player in the expanding field of enterprise social networks (ESNs). Essentially Facebook for brands, companies and organizations, the tool’s most important impact for PR pros could be that it will spark new ideas about enhancing internal communications and employee relations.

You would think that the proliferation of social platforms and mobile devices would spell doom for email marketing/campaigns. Not so. Get reacquainted with an enduring PR tool—email.

Think about the characteristics people often attribute to great leaders: being visionary, intelligent, empathetic and passionate. But it is none of those. Rather, it’s intentional. The intentional leader uses purposeful decisions, language and actions to advance the organization and his/her individual aims.

PR pros can no longer assume their company or organization is immune to trauma. As a crisis communicator, when something horrible happen are you prepared for an immediate response? Do you have a recovery plan for your brand? A crisis plan that you test, and update annually?