The world of the media is changing faster than ever
In our media training courses, we enjoy talking to public relations professionals and in-house communications teams about changes that they’re seeing while we can share with them how the work of journalists is evolving. This is because all of our media trainers are working journalists, operating under strict non-disclosure agreements.
We know that making any kind of prediction is a risk, especially and a rapidly changing world. But we’re getting out our crystal ball anyway and so here are five things we feel confident enough to predict will happen in the world of the media in 2026.
1. There will be more noise
The number of blog posts, podcasts and other online content will increase rapidly. But more doesn’t necessarily mean better of course. Increasingly we are seeing so-called news organisations report with really strong biases, so much so that much of what they say could be described as fake news. Much has been made over the last few years of the work of the citizen journalist. While it’s great that individuals are willing to report on events happening in their area it’s also important to note that they don’t necessarily have the journalistic skills and experience nor the requirement for fact checking of the main news organisations.
The good news here is that, increasingly people, will be looking for not just news outlets but organisations that they feel that they can trust to provide them with accurate, trustworthy information. In an increasingly uncertain world, they’ll also be looking for spokespeople who can provide them with advice and recommendations. In our media training courses, we talk about the “What’s in it for me?” factor. In other words what can you or your clients as interviewees tell the audience that they will find practical and useful? In the role play media interviews that we carry out we look for examples of this and advise the participants in our media training workshops on how to get across this useful information.
2. SEO will increasingly influence conventional media output
One byproduct of this massive expansion of online content is that public relations professionals and in-house communications teams will have to work increasingly closely with their marketing departments and, if they have them, social media consultants. In our press release writing courses and our blog writing workshops we look at the importance of search engine optimization, that means including words and phrases that will be picked up by Google and other search engines.
This also enables organisations to use media interviews to support their online marketing. A few months ago, for example, we provided a series of media training courses for law firms and looked at how the lawyers could include in their answers during our role play interviews words and phrases that could help potential clients to find them online.
Obviously, you have to be careful here. You don’t want to appear to be using an interview as a marketing opportunity We journalists really don’t like that at all! However, increasingly, in 2026, organisations can think about not just what they want to say but how they want to say it in a way that will help with their search engine optimisation and online marketing activities.
2. Go negative – look for the bad news
This is often a challenge to the participants on our press release writing courses. Very often public relations professionals steer clear of risk or threat because it associates their client with something negative. However, as the trainers on our press release writing workshops point out, with their journalistic experience, they know that bad news grabs attention more than good news.
This means that identifying a risk, threat or a danger is more likely to appeal to a journalist or an editor than good news. This is particularly true of surveys – identify a risk or threat to your target audience from the survey findings. You can then offer a solution to this problem, and this is a good way of positioning your client in a positive light.
3. A riskier world – crisis management will be more valuable than ever
Throughout 2025 we’ve seen growing interest in our crisis communications training courses. We provide crisis communications for financial services firms, law firms, charities and other organisations and these are increasingly in demand the cause of the risks that so many organisations now face.
In our crisis communications workshops we’ll develop a relevant, believable scenario for the participants to respond to. The UK’s NCSC reported a 50% jump in nationally significant cyberattacks this year, with attackers leveraging AI. Therefore, as you can imagine, a cyber security incident involving the release of client data or a ransomware attack can provide a horribly appropriate incident in all crisis communications courses.
But it could also be allegations of bullying, sexism racism and other unacceptable behaviour by senior managers. Customers are more demanding and more vociferous than ever and therefore a mistake by a company or even a change in a product or a criticism of customer service can blow up into a major incident. That’s why more people are coming to us for our issue management consultancy and training.
4. Greater scepticism about influencers and brand ambassadors
Influencers and brand ambassadors are an increasingly important part of the marketing mix. Finding the right face to promote your brand or your cause is of growing importance ever these days. However, on the other hand, consumers are more sceptical than ever about brand ambassadors and celebrity endorsement.
As they become will savvy about the world of marketing, consumers are more likely now to question the authenticity of a brand ambassador. A belief by the target audience for a product or brand that an actor or sportsperson is simply endorsing it for money isn’t going to do either party any good. Similarly, celebrity endorsers and brand ambassadors are more likely these days to be caught out doing or saying something that embarrasses not just themselves but the brand they are promoting.
That’s why media training for brand ambassadors is a growing part of our work. Public relations companies, talent agents and marketers want to ensure that celebrities that they’re working with are prepared to answer journalists’ questions. They also want to be ready to deal with any embarrassment that could be caused by a sneaky paparazzi shot or a post on social media.
5. Journalists will be doing more with less
Since all of our media trainers are working journalists, we really didn’t want to have to write this one again but, unfortunately, it’s more true than ever. Newsrooms continue to be cut, especially in local media. Journalists are under greater pressure to file more stories and produce more reports every day. The days of the specialist reporter with years of knowledge and experience are, sadly, over in most cases. This means that the journalist who is interviewing you will, very likely, have less knowledge than they would have in previous years.
We always explain in our media training courses that mistakes often arise when the interviewee assumes the journalist has greater depth of knowledge than is actually the case. The danger is that the interviewee uses jargon and phrases that the journalist doesn’t understand All that they start at stage three of an explanation rather than beginning at stage four. This shows how focusing on the audience, knowing exactly who you’re talking to, is more important than ever. In our media interview coaching we recommend that even when a public relations professional or in-house communications team has arranged the interview, you, as the interviewee, can always just check in with the journalist how much they already know about the story.
However, as we’ve argued before, this trend does provide an opportunity. With less time to research possible interviewees, journalists will, in 2026, increasingly return to their old favourites also known as “Good talkers”. As we explain in our media training courses, this means that there are more opportunities for experts who know what journalists are looking for. These are the ones who will be able to deliver punchy, relevant and accessible information and quotes will, therefore, be in more demand than ever.
Media training courses
As the world of the media changes faster than ever so it’s more important that public relations professionals and in-house communications teams ensure that their spokespeople are ready to speak to journalists when they secure these opportunities. And that is where our media training courses come in. Let’s talk! You can follow us on LinkedIn here.
