This week's PR Roundup covers three stories that all come back to the same core question: What does it take to be heard? From the CDC's struggle to communicate clearly during a public health scare, to LinkedIn's rise as a must-win platform for AI visibility, to a savvy PR firm that turned a viral internet moment into a People magazine hit—the through line is the same. Good communications strategy isn't just about what you say. It's about when and where you say it.
Is the CDC's Hantavirus Response Effective? Hard to Tell.
What happened: The hantavirus story continues to dominate headlines after being discovered last month aboard the MV Hondius, a Dutch cruise ship that departed Argentina on April 1. Since that departure, the ship wound its way across the South Atlantic, stopping at Antarctica, South Georgia Island and several remote islands.
As of May 14, doctors have confirmed or suspected 11 cases with three deaths. According to the Center for Disease Control, the culprit is the Andes virus, the only hantavirus known to spread person-to-person, though typically only through close, prolonged contact.
The World Health Organization has been unequivocal in its assessment saying, hantavirus is not COVID. The CDC currently classifies the risk to the U.S. public as "extremely low." According to ABC News, an American passenger who initially tested positive has since tested negative and been cleared from the biocontainment unit.
So why have the headlines felt like a five-alarm fire? That's the real communications story.
According to NOTUS, the CDC didn't issue a formal health advisory until four days after the WHO put out its own alert—and the silence in between left a vacuum that social media filled with misinformation and pandemic flashbacks. State health officials say the behind-the-scenes coordination was actually solid throughout. It just wasn't visible.
Laurie Forlano, a Virginia state epidemiologist, told NOTUS that her department has been on multiple calls with the CDC on continuous days. This happened after the state first became aware of one passenger who returned home to Virginia from the cruise, and called their local health department after hearing about the outbreak on the news.
Richard Hatzfeld, Senior Partner, Global Health Impact, Finn Partners, says the recent hantavirus outbreak and the continued rise of measles cases in parts of the U.S. should be treated as more than isolated public health concerns.
“They are real-world stress tests for how effectively we communicate, coordinate and respond during these emerging health threats,” he says.
Part of this may just be a capacity issue. Many CDC communications staffers were cut in early 2025 as part of DOGE reductions, and it's unclear how many have returned.
Communication takeaways: For now, the outbreak appears to be contained. But as any PR pro knows, a slow, reactive communications response has its own kind of fallout—and that's a lot harder to quarantine.
The Infectious Diseases Society of America's CEO used the moment to flag bigger concerns—that cuts to the CDC, USAID and global health funding, combined with the U.S. exit from the WHO, are creating preparedness gaps. Infectious disease physician Dr. Céline Gounder put it plainly for NOTUS: the silence "breeds conspiracy theories," and in her opinion, daily updates from the CDC should be the bare minimum.
Mark Chataway, Managing Partner, Global Health Practice at Finn Partners, says most people just want reassurance that it’s probably not a generalized threat, while some who are seriously worried want more in-depth knowledge. Chataway notes that exposing the majority to that kind of communication could scare and confuse the public.
“Today micro-targeting lets us deliver the right level of communication to the right audience,” Chataway says. It's important that it be used well."
Hatzfeld notes that the hantavirus moment is revealing an uncomfortable reality: public confidence in health information has become fragmented at the very time clear communication matters most.
“When confidence erodes, even sound scientific guidance struggles to gain traction,” he says.
However, the challenge also presents an opportunity for agencies like the CDC, who could strengthen the public’s understanding of these outbreaks through practical communication.
“Americans are not simply looking for data,” Hatzfeld says. “They are looking for credible voices that help them understand risk without amplifying fear.”
He provided several best practices for healthcare communicators dealing with a public health risk.
- Regular engagement across traditional and digital media platforms, using language that is accessible, calm and actionable.
- Define what the risk means for families, what preventive steps work and when concern is warranted.
- Deliver messages by noted physicians, scientists and community health voices who connect with people in human terms and can restore confidence in public health guidance.
LinkedIn Is Now the #2 Most-Cited Source in AI Answers
What happened: If you've been wondering whether your LinkedIn strategy actually matters for AI search and GEO, a new report from Meltwater just gave you your answer. The study analyzed 9.5 million AI citations across 16 B2B categories and found that LinkedIn is the second most-cited source by AI models—behind only YouTube.
As AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Microsoft Copilot become the first stop for research and decision-making, the brands that show up in AI-generated answers have a significant edge—and those that don't are effectively out of the conversation.
Key findings include:
- Individual voices drive most visibility. About 75% of LinkedIn citations came from individual member profiles, not company pages—though balancing both still matters.
- Structure wins. The most-cited LinkedIn content consistently features clear formatting, bullet points, numbered lists, strong headings and quantitative data.
- Reach doesn't equal relevance. More than half of citations came from members with fewer than 10,000 followers. AI rewards clarity and expertise, not follower counts.
- Third-party and user-generated content punch above their weight. Platforms like LinkedIn, Reddit and YouTube account for nearly half of all AI citations, compared to just 15% from peer review sites and 18.7% from company websites.
Communication takeaways: In an AI-first world, the job of a brand is no longer just to be discoverable. It's to be the answer. That means investing in credible, structured, expert-driven content on the platforms AI actually trusts.
Alexandra Bjertnæs, Chief Strategy Officer at Meltwater, notes that the content getting cited isn’t polished marketing copy. It’s practical, useful guidance that helps answer real questions people are already asking platforms like ChatGPT.
So how can brands break through? Bjertnæs gives several tips.
- Empower your experts to publish. “AI models favor credible individuals over generic brand messaging, simply because people trust people. And consistency matters here with 2-3 posts per week being the ideal cadence.”
- Create content around real decision-making moments. “Think comparisons, ‘how to choose’ guides, FAQs and actionable advice.”
- Structure matters more than ever. “Clear headlines, bullet points, specific examples and data all make content easier for AI models to understand and cite your brand. The brands that will win in AI search are the ones publishing helpful expertise in formats AI can easily interpret.”
How a Viral Fan Campaign (and a Smart PR Firm) Turned Spirit Airlines' Shutdown Into a Media Moment
What happened: When Spirit Airlines abruptly ceased operations on May 2, many people saw a business failure. Hunter Peterson, a 32-year-old voice actor and aviation content creator, saw an opportunity, pitching that if just 20% of American adults each kicked in around $45, the public could buy the airline and run it like the Green Bay Packers.
Of course, the internet lost its mind.
According to Fox Business, Peterson's video racked up more than 7 million views, and his website has since pulled in over $335 million in nonbinding pledges. His TikTok and Instagram posts earned a combined $1.7M+ in estimated media value, according to Influencer Marketing by Sprout Social.
Pace Public Relations, founded by CEO Annie Scranton, saw a different kind of opening. Pace pitched a legal client—an attorney with aviation expertise—to transportation reporters covering the shutdown. The first round didn't land. When the public buyout angle took off, the agency went back to its contacts with the new hook, and the client ended up quoted extensively in People magazine.
Communication takeaways: Good newsjacking means staying close to a developing story, pivoting when the angle shifts, and not giving up after the first "no." The story changed—and so did the response.
Scranton says to not feel defeated if at first your newsjacking pitch doesn’t work.
“Timeliness is key but there are also many other experts looking to get their voices heard at the same exact time,” she says.
She also notes that when following up with that same reporter, it’s a good idea to provide something new.
“A generic follow up is fine but one that's tailored to a new idea, or something that just broke in the news is better,” Scranton says.
Whether an actual acquisition happens is a long shot—but as a media moment, it's certainly a case study.
[Editor's Note: PRNEWS will be in Las Vegas next week for the Experiential Marketing Summit, organized by our sister publication, Event Marketer. There will be a gathering for PR folks Monday evening, so if you are in town, join us!)
Nicole Schuman is Managing Editor at PRNEWS.