The Mediaverse and the Year Ahead

Peter Himler
Adventures in Consumer Technology
5 min readJan 15, 2025

And It’s Not All About AI

“Not Gonna Lie” Podcaster Kylie (Mrs. Jason) Kelce

In a recent post on resources for discovering podcasts, I noted that 2025 will be a year when those in the PR profession must reconcile the desire by clients for coverage in legacy media versus the potentially greater impact of a whole new cadre of earned media platforms. In the piece, I wrote:

“There is nothing like a prominent Wall Street Journal or New York Times feature, let alone a six-minute segment on NBC “Today” or PBS “NewsHour.” But do these traditional media outlets move the needle as much as a widely followed social media star, top-rated podcast, or heavily subscribed newsletter? Could Joe Rogan have more influence than NPR?”

It’s an important question for our times and the PR industry.

The growing hegemony of podcasts, newsletters, and Insty, TikTok, and YouTube stars may prove more valuable than the productivity gains from AI and machine learning. A well-timed appearance on a top-rated podcast can have a greater impact than an ephemeral story in a paywalled legacy news outlet, with the last election being a primary example.

In her Nieman Lab piece, “Podcasting Becomes the Primary Media Strategy, not an Afterthought,” The Podglomerate’s Joni Deutsch observed:

“At a time where traditional media trust continues to hit historic lows, podcasts can help long-standing organizations establish stronger relationships with audiences and, in the process, drive real change in how people think and engage with the news.”

For years, The New York Times set the national news agenda. A prominent investigative report or fawning profile could easily lead to a Congressional hearing or the A-list, respectively. And while The Times still sets tongues-a-waggin’, its paywalled content does not travel as far and wide as a top influencer’s social media post or podcast episode. Diminished trust in mainstream media is another barrier, but that’s a topic for a different day.

These once-pedestrian content formats are truly ascendant with their ability to ratchet up digital eyeballs and a measurable increase in awareness, product sales, or even stock price. They have legs. It’s no wonder TikTok is doubling down on e-commerce.

As for real-time platforms, Twitter once had the unique capacity to create national story memes, in part due to the myriad journalists and (actual) verified users who loitered and amplified on the platform. No longer. An Elon-remade Twitter has X’d into a cesspool of misinformation, conspiracy, and anger, e.g.,

Thus, many in the fourth estate have abandoned his propaganda machine and migrated to Meta-owned Threads, only to learn that its algorithm suppresses breaking news in favor of titillating content. Strangely, Threads also hinders engagement with others and now, along with its sister platforms Instagram and Facebook, will follow X into the fact-free zone under the guise of free speech.

Most recently, BlueSky is enjoying its moment in the sun. Founded, but abandoned by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, this more civil platform has usurped both X and Threads as a safe , real-time resource for journalists. In December, it surpassed 25 million registered users. Don’t ignore it.

Here’s a BlueSky post from Julie Brown, the Miami Herald investigative reporter who doggedly broke the Jeffrey Epstein story:

Then there are the countless newsletters that regularly arrive in your inbox. They reside on self-publishing platforms like Substack, Beehiiv, or Ghost and often feature the work of prominent journalists, many refugees of big-branded legacy media who’ve forsaken their once high and mighty perches to go it alone. Lester Wunderman, eat your heart out.

Some of my favorite newsletters include Casey Newton’s “Platformer,” Jedd Legum’s “Popular Information,” Oliver Darcy’s “Status,” Dan Perry’s “Ask Questions Later,” Taylor Lorenz’s “User Mag,” and any of those emanating from Axios, Puck, Semafor, or The Information.

As for AI, make no mistake: we’re witnessing a whirlwind of promising use cases for PR practitioners. They range from analyzing a journalist’s past coverage before an interview to condensing a laboriously long media pitch to its “Smart Brevity”-style essence. Here’s a piece on one AI platform that I’ve found especially beneficial to the clients of my firm.

What will not change for PR pros who compete in the earned media relations game is the requirement that they stay informed, inquisitive, and immersed in as much client-relevant content as possible, no matter how it arrives.

Finally, as we head into 2025, I’d like to give a shout-out to some of the newer media outlets that have embraced quality journalism. Paramount among them is ProPublica for its essential, First Amendment-protected investigative reporting that holds wrong-doers to account.

Happy New Year.

Peter Himler is the founding principal of Flatiron Communications, a NYC-based PR and digital media consultancy. Follow him on BlueSky or Threads.

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Peter Himler
Peter Himler

Written by Peter Himler

Founder, Flatiron Communications; Editor, Medium; Chair, Tufts MAC; Blessed w/ 3 exceptional sons & a most fabulous wife; Music & tech; Maker of the sauce. #NYC

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