13 PR Blogs You Should Be Reading This Year

One of my first jobs out of college was working as an entry-level PR associate. Like most recent grads without any real industry experience, I'd spend my days blasting out the same artless, impersonal pitch to any journalist who had ever covered a beat even vaguely adjacent to one of our client's products.

Unsurprisingly, I got very few emails back.

If you work in PR, you don't need me to tell you it's a hard field to get started in. Now that I'm on the other side of it -- receiving dozens of pitches per day -- I appreciate a well-executed pitch even more because I understand just how much thought and energy goes into it.

Whether you're a seasoned PR pro or an associate looking to break into the industry, reading expert blogs is a smart way to stay up to date on the latest PR happenings, expand your skills, and get inspired to do your best work. We've put together a list of some of our favorite PR blogs (in no particular order) for you to get started. Let's dive in.

1. PRNEWS

PRNEWS started as a weekly print newsletter over 70 years ago, and today still serves as a comprehensive, go-to resource for the PR community. The PRNEWS Blog features in-depth analysis of current industry news, useful how-tos, career advice, and opinion articles from PR pros across numerous industries. I also recommend (and personally subscribe to) their weekly email subscription, The Skinny, which offers a thoughtfully curated rundown of the latest PR, marketing, and communications news and trends.

Three posts to check out:

• Why Does a Woman CEO Need to Be a News Story?
• From Media Royalty, Career Advice for PR Pros in the Margins
• 7 Business Writing Sins PR Pros Commit Regularly

2. PRWeek

PRWeek bills itself as "the essential title for PR professionals in the US," and it has an expansive, high-quality content library to back this statement up. Covering topics from notable agency happenings to how brands are adopting new strategies, PRWeek is as entertaining as it is informative. Plus, their daily Breakfast Briefing is the perfect early morning subway read. It features a quick rundown of the latest PR news in a format simple enough to digest before you've had your coffee.

Three posts to check out:

• Do Brands Really Need to Be on Twitter?
• Female Agency Leaders Are Breaking Through the Glass Ceiling
• Brand Mascots: A Dying Breed?

3. PR Daily

With sections on social media management, crisis communications, media relations, marketing, and more, PR Daily serves up a diverse range of topics for PR and comms pros. They're quick to publish expert analysis on current events concerning the PR community, and also offer beginner guides on the tools and platforms you need to do your job -- like social media ads, monitoring tools, and more.

Three posts to check out:

• Why Empathy is a Crucial Skill for Marketers and PR Pros
• 3 ‘Boring’ Brands that Have Made a Social Media Splash
• A Lesson in PR Ethics, Courtesy of ‘The Great Hack’

4. Digiday

While not strictly a PR industry publication, Digiday is a valuable read for anyone interested in how technology impacts media, marketing, and communications. Their editorial team leverages expert, insider interviews and original data to show how innovations in the tech landscape are changing the way brands and consumers communicate -- for better or worse. If nothing else, I'd recommend checking out their ongoing column, The Confessions, which features anonymous interviews with professionals working in media. They dig deeply into revealing topics like working conditions in the industry and the (sometimes harsh) realities of advancing your career in a competitive environment.

Three posts to check out:

• ‘People are scared to speak up’: Confessions of a minority marketer
• How publishers navigate ‘bullshit briefs’ from agencies
• Google proposes tighter standards around data collected for digital ads

5. Spin Sucks

If you work in PR or corporate communications, chances are someone's jokingly (or not so jokingly) called you a "spin doctor." Spin Sucks is a blog dedicated to breaking down the negative perceptions of the PR field by calling out destructive practices in the industry and celebrating the authentic ones. The Spin Sucks team dissects recent campaigns and brand news to separate the spin from the reality, and share their own expert take on what could have been done better. They also regularly feature guest contributors, interviews with pros in different industries, and open-ended questions posed to their community of readers.

Three posts to check out:

• The Communications Professional’s Customer Behavior Playbook
• What College Football Teaches Us About Brand Development
• Spin Sucks Question: How Do You Respond to Internet Trolls?

6. Institute for Public Relations

IPR is a nonprofit organization that conducts and publishes in-depth research on the factors impacting the public relations and corporate communications fields. In addition to their extensive library of original research, IPR's blog is a treasure trove of expert opinion pieces, strategy recommendations backed by credible studies, and takes on how new trends and tech will change the landscape of PR. Committed to sharing "the science beneath the art of public relations™," IPR helps PR pros stay ahead of the curve.

Three posts to check out:

• Is Earned Media More Credible Than Advertising?
• How Artificial Intelligence and Big Data Will Affect the Future of PR
• The End of Linear Storytelling: The #Thumbstopping Story of Our Digital Future Or Trading Catharsis for Engagement

7. PRSay

PRSay shares thought leadership, tactical pieces, and professional advice for both seasoned PR pros and folks at the beginning of the careers. Their blog features helpful, how-to sections on training and development, but they also have dedicated sections that discuss diversity, inclusion, and ethics in the PR field.

Three posts to check out:

• The Business Benefits of Strategic Diversity and Inclusion
• Wildest Dreams? Far From: Why Taylor Swift Is a PR Role Model
• What Ohio Butter Sculptures Can Teach Us About Improving Annual Content Packages

8. Public Relations Today

This blog aggregates the best content for PR and comms professionals across the web into one convenient, easy-to-navigate location. Their team of expert curators shares pieces on everything from branding to crisis management. Their homepage is also ordered by what's trending in the industry on social media, so it's easy to discover articles other PR professionals are reading and discussing.

Three (aggregated) posts to check out:

• “Stakeholder Value” Is Good PR — And Good Business
• How Simple Automation Saves Time And Tedium In PR
• Online Reviews and How to Handle Them

9. ImPRessions

Crenshaw, a public relations consulting agency, started ImPRessions as a way to "share expertise, industry insights, and impressions" of the industry with an audience of PR pros. Their blog features thought-provoking investigations into PR best practices, trends, and lessons from real brands. The blog also offers actionable strategies and advice for PR firms big and small.

Three posts to check out:

• What The Best PR Strategies Have In Common
• Smart Speakers Offer A Clear Opportunity For PR
• Has Apple Lost Its Magic?

10. Solo PR Pro

If you're a freelance or independent PR consultant, the challenges you face are certainly different than those experienced by an agency, in-house team, or large consulting group. Solo PR Pro is a blog specifically for PR and communication pros looking to "break free of the cubical" and be their own boss. The site focuses on topics relevant to the unique experiences of freelancers in the PR world, like promoting your services, building a client base, and balancing clients on your own.

Three posts to check out:

• How to Get Paid for Your Work
• The Introverted Solo PR Pro: Not an Oxymoron
• Search Engine Optimization is a PR Pro’s Friend

11. O'Dwyer's PR News

Founded in 1968 as a print publication, O'Dwyer's PR News diligently covers the latest industry happenings and keeps a running ranking of top PR agencies. For folks in the agency world, O'Dwyer's is a good place to stay up to date on breaking agency news, big brand accounts, and controversies. The site also helps connect agencies with clients, with a section dedicated to RFPs and an extensive PR services database.

Three posts to check out:

• Crisis Communications and the Role of the CEO
• Why PR Needs Financial Literacy
• Uber Begins Rebuild of Marketing Capability

12. Edelman Insights

Edelman, a top global communications firm, shares articles concerning industry news, best practices, corporate culture, and more on their Insights blog. With pieces written by influential industry leaders (like Edelman CEO Richard Edelman), Insights gives readers an inside look at the topics PR pros should be paying attention to. In addition to tactical and opinion pieces, the blog tackles meaty topics impacting the soul of the industry, like diversity and inclusion, and the responsibilities of professional communicators in the "fake news" era.

Three posts to check out:

• Crippling the Creative Agency
• 3 Takeaways from Women Leading Change
• Why Diverse Voices are Better for Brands

13. The Future Buzz

Founded by San Francisco-based PR agency EZPR, The Future Buzz covers all things public relations and digital marketing with a refreshingly straightforward, decidedly un-sugarcoated tone. With headlines like "PR People: Don't Do This" and "You Pitch Sucks," you can trust this editorial team to tell it like it is. The Future Buzz is a solid source for hands-on advice, reflections on the industry, and commentary on the latest trends.

Three posts to check out:

• Marketing and Branding is Not a Tagline or Logo
• PR People: Don't Do This
• Your Pitch Sucks – One of the Reasons Why No One Is Reading Your Boring Pitch