In this week's PR Roundup we look at the PR world's reaction to Jimmy Kimmel's critical monologue messaging, encouraging numbers surrounding podcasts and a cheeky campaign surrounding ChatGPT.
Jimmy Kimmel Monologue Provides PR Lessons
What happened: This week, talk show host Jimmy Kimmel delivered one of the most anticipated moments in late night television in years. As of publication, the monologue, posted to YouTube, currently sits at over 20.6 million views.
After abruptly being taken off the air on September 17 following some controversial comments surrounding the political background of podcaster Charlie Kirk’s killer, Kimmel returned to television on September 23. He used his comeback monologue to defend free speech, clarify that he never intended to mock Kirk’s death or assign blame and deliver sharp critiques of President Donald Trump while warning against political pressure on the media.
Some viewers believed Kimmel hit the right spot on appealing to all Americans. Alexander Huey, Senior Manager, Social and Emerging Platform Strategy at Weber Shandwick, said he thought Kimmel struck the “perfect balance” and “threaded the needle perfectly.
“At a time when everyone feels so divided, Jimmy Kimmel used his monologue to bring focus back to the importance of dialogue rather than add to the division,” Huey commented on LinkedIn. “I felt he approached his monologue with authenticity. He didn't compromise his values or opinions, showed genuine empathy, and even teared up at one point. At the same time, he infused the perfect level of humor you expect from a late-night comedian without distracting from his message. It made his monologue more impactful and relatable.”
Meanwhile others, like Jared Meade, Founder and Principle at Rayne Strategy Group, found Kimmel’s comments to be “genuine and authentic” and “appreciated what he was trying to say,” but thought an apology could have been added.
“For me, what was missing from last night's monologue was a direct apology to Erika [Kirk] and the Kirk family for any harm his remarks may have caused,” Meade says. “[Kimmel’s] comments were about the First Amendment and political partisanship, but much of the anger stemmed from the fact that the joke was not just at the expense of the president but also of a grieving family. It would have made his comments that much stronger had he addressed the Kirk family.”
Recent polling done by Mercury Analytics showed participants with different political backgrounds (democrat, republican, independent) agreeing on some of the content and delivery of Kimmel’s monologue.
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Some respondents in all groups described the monologue as effective or needing no improvement.
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An appreciation for the importance of free speech and its defense was present in all groups, though with differences in emphasis and interpretation.
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Emotional and genuine delivery were noted as important qualities across groups (with significant variation in the assessment of its authenticity).
Communication takeaways: Communicators on LinkedIn provided some takeaways from the monologue—on what Kimmel did correctly and what in the speech could be improved. The assessments provide great guidelines for any public figure delivering a speech of consequence.
Dan Mazei, Principal at All Tangled Roots, says Kimmel scored points on content.
“He had really solid core messaging, and he used it effectively (emphasis and emotion on those 2-3 messages, and closed hard with them to leave an impression on viewers),” Mazei says.
Cheryl Overton, Chief Experience Officer at Cheryl Overton Communications, applauded his tone and delivery.
“I thought Kimmel struck the right balance of grace and urgency in framing the First Amendment as a shared right, not a partisan one,” Overton says. “He made an excellent display of how tone, framing and emotion can move audiences. The tears in his voice at times gave weight to his personal stake here: professionally (as someone who was silenced and could be again) and personally (as a citizen, father, spouse doing his level-best to leave a purpose-full legacy).”
However, there’s always room for improvement when it comes to public speaking.
“It was probably too much time devoted to name-dropping to make the point about entertainment industry solidarity, which would have been better filled with either humor or meaningful thoughts,” Mazei says.
Overton notes that the speech may have been somewhat watered down to appease leadership.
“I expected a little more “fire” in his affect, which would have been understandable and on equity,” she says. “It felt to me that the neutrality was encouraged by Disney to keep things palatable.”
Why Podcasts Continue to be Worth Pitching
What happened: PEW Research released new data this week surrounding U.S. adult consumption of podcasts. The study includes demographic information on who is listening to podcasts, who is using them for news, who is trusting the news they get from podcasts, types of news podcasts and who is paying for these platforms.
A few findings:
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Just over half of U.S. adults (54%) say they’ve listened to a podcast in the past 12 months, a slight increase since PEW first asked this in 2022 (49%).
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When it comes to news specifically, around a third of U.S. adults (32%) say they get news from podcasts at least sometimes, including 10% who say they do this often.
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About a quarter (23%) of respondents say they trust the news they get from podcasts more than from other news sources.
Communication takeaways: With the advent of AI search, the decline of SEO and a high importance placed on using earned media to climb the AI search rankings, it’s tough out there to land a story in front of the right audience.
Podcasts continue to serve as a popular format to deliver thought leadership and brand knowledge to a targeted audience. However pitching may cause PR professionals to have to break away from common habits.
Zach Cutler, Co-Founder and CEO of Propel, says cuts to newsrooms may make pitching podcasts more attractive.
When it comes to podcasts, “there’s a higher likelihood that whoever you’re pitching actually has the time to respond to you,” Cutler says. “This, compared to journalists in mainstream media who, due to the massive cuts to newsrooms, might not have the time to respond to everyone due to the amount of pitches they’re receiving.”
Cutler offers this advice for pitching podcasts:
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Do your research. Does the podcast have on-air guests? Does the podcast do deep dives into data? Is the content more industry news or evergreen? By understanding what the podcast is about, as well as its format, it’ll be easier to write a compelling pitch that gets your organization recognized.
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Know who should pitch and who to pitch. Some podcasts prefer you pitch the host, while some prefer you pitch the producer. Find out who to address for your pitch, and send it to them. The contact information is usually written on the podcast's website. And if it’s not clear who to send it to, send a short, clear introductory email to someone on the show describing who you are, what you’re proposing, and asking who the best contact is to pitch.
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Make sure that a podcast is indeed the right strategy. Is a podcast the right way to reach the audience for your campaign? Are you over-pitching the podcast? Don’t pitch a podcast for pitching’s sake.
ChatGPT too Positive for You? Introducing: BrutalGPT
What happened: Two creative agencies are tackling one of the most talked-about quirks of ChatGPT: its tendency to sound a little too positive. Talent, an international creative company, and PRHub recently released a short film introducing “BrutalGPT,” ChatGPT’s fictional evil twin.
Instead of sugar-coating responses with optimism and emojis, “BrutalGPT” delivers raw, no-nonsense reality checks. The film, available on YouTube, is an artistic response from the creative community to the ongoing debate over chatbots’ overly supportive tone. Using AI tools to produce the project, the team wanted to show that AI-generated content doesn’t have to be flat or overly agreeable—it can also be sharp, funny and bold.
The release comes as OpenAI just launched GPT-5, which it says better balances tone, factuality and transparency compared to earlier models. GPT-4’s empathetic style was widely criticized as unrealistic and even linked to emotional overreliance, while others missed the warmth once it was dialed back. OpenAI has promised more customization options moving forward.
The BrutalGPT project taps into this conversation, posing a thoughtful question for all of us: what if our AI assistants told us what we needed to hear, instead of what we wanted to hear?
Communication takeaways: A good way to brainstorm creative content for products is by looking inward at how they are used personally, or in the real lives of users.
Eugene Pakhmutov, Creative Director and Writer at Talent, says like every great idea, the one for BrutalGPT came from “life.”
“I text with chatbots a lot, and they kept sugarcoating every single terrible idea I had,” Pakhmutov says. “It drove me nuts. So I thought: enough is enough. I hope Sam Altman sees this (video) and finally updates his product!”
Vlada Lomova, CEO at PRHub and partner on the project, says this collaboration allowed the company to share its personal view of GPT use.
“We love creative initiatives that speak about societal issues that directly concern us,” Lomova says. “PRHub extensively works with tech-companies and start-ups who incorporate AI in their businesses. Moreover, ChatGPT is a tool widely used by PR-professionals.”
Lomova notes that PR agencies are not only defied by client success, but also by the strength of their own brand, in which this creative endeavor promotes.
“We hope to inspire our colleagues in the PR industry to reveal their vision, show what their teams stand for, and embrace creativity in its most authentic form—creativity that isn’t commercialized,” Lomova says.
Nicole Schuman is Managing Editor at PRNEWS.