The earned media landscape has always been a moving target. New technologies emerge, consumer habits shift, and distribution models rise and fall. For PR pros, adapting isn’t new; it’s the job.
In our most recent State of the Media analysis, we examined a clear turning point: legacy outlets were losing their role as the default gateway to attention, while emerging platforms and individual voices were gaining ground. Nearly nine months later, that shift has accelerated, sharpened, and in many cases become unavoidable.
As we settle into 2026, however, it’s worth pausing to look at where attention and authority are actually flowing. Influence is increasingly concentrated among people and platforms that feel more direct, more human, and more useful in the rhythms of everyday life.
Recent developments make this shift hard to ignore. High-profile newsroom layoffs, including the most recent rounds at The Washington Post, aren’t just signs of economic pressure on legacy institutions. They signal a structural change in how trust is earned and maintained. As institutions slim down, individual reporters, writers, and subject-matter experts are becoming the primary carriers of credibility. Audiences are following voices, not mastheads, across platforms.
Legacy publications still matter. They confer credibility and reach that can’t be dismissed, but they are no longer the default discovery layer, nor the sole arbiters of belief. Building brand authority now requires focusing less on logo accumulation and more on influence that compounds over time.
The question has shifted from “Which outlets have the most eyeballs?” to “Where do the audiences we care about actually spend time, and whose voice do they trust when forming opinions?”
What follows are the clearest signals shaping earned media and influence right now, and what they mean for PR teams navigating 2026.
Signal #1: Authority is increasingly portable
Over the past few years, waves of reporters have struck out on their own, building personal brands and taking trusted audiences with them. Readers have followed these journalists to platforms like Substack and Beehiiv, reinforcing a simple reality: for many audiences, the name on the byline now matters more than the logo at the top of the page.
A few standout examples from my favorite gang of Alexes:
- Alex Heath, formerly of The Verge, now publishes Sources, reporting on media, platforms, and power dynamics in tech with the same insider clarity that defined his beat reporting.
- Alex Konrad, a longtime Forbes editor, continues his deep coverage of founders and venture trends at Upstarts Media, maintaining the analytical rigor and relationships he’s known for.
- Alex Wilhelm, after years covering startups at TechCrunch, now writes Cautious Optimism, offering thoughtful context on markets, innovation cycles, and company-building.
- Tangential shout-out to Alex Woodie of HPCwire, who doesn’t technically fit this description but does a great weekly round-up video of important tech news on his LinkedIn and is also a Favorite Alex.
These writers may leave mass reach behind when they exit legacy newsrooms, but they retain the readership that matters most. Their audiences are smaller, more focused, and deeply invested. They often include the decision-makers and opinion-shapers PR teams care about most.
Independent platforms should no longer be treated as secondary targets or nice-to-haves. For high-impact communications, they are primary channels.
Signal #2: Habit beats scale
Newsletters have quietly become the new front page.
By landing directly in the inbox, newsletters bypass algorithms, ads, and social noise, creating a habitual, high-trust relationship between writer and reader. Consistency is the superpower here. Readers come to rely on when insight will arrive and who will deliver it.
Fortune’s newsletter ecosystem illustrates this well. Eye on AI delivers timely, informed reporting from a rotating group of journalists embedded in the AI ecosystem. Term Sheet has become such a fixture that “Did you catch it this morning?” is practically a weekly refrain among clients and colleagues.
Newsletter audiences engage more intentionally. They read closely, forward insights internally, and use coverage to shape decision-making. That depth of engagement makes newsletters powerful environments for influence, even without massive scale.
Signal #3: Interpretation now outperforms access
Podcasts have become primary channels thanks to two converging forces: time-constrained, mobile audiences and a growing appetite for nuanced perspectives delivered by compelling voices, not just headlines.
Beyond fitting seamlessly into daily routines like commuting or exercising, podcasts foster a sense of relationship between host and listener. That trust is so strong that even traditional broadcast outlets now publish their TV programming as audio-only podcasts to meet audiences where they are. CNBC, for example, makes most of its daily shows available in audio form.
The podcasts PR teams should prioritize are led by people who can interpret, not just report. Tech investors, industry analysts, and experienced journalists dominate this space. Smart analysis still matters, but so does entertainment value. TBPN is a case in point. John Coogan and Jordi Hays have built a loyal audience through long-form, humorous, and insightful conversations about tech, business, and investing, often riffing on debates already unfolding on X or LinkedIn.
For PR teams, this shift requires a different kind of preparation. Spokespeople must be ready for exploratory conversations in which uncertainty, informed opinion, and perspective are valued.
Signal #4: Machine-mediated credibility is now a PR input
AI-powered search and generative tools are rapidly becoming default destinations for background research, quick answers, and decision support. That makes it essential to consider which coverage shapes AI-generated responses.
According to a December MuckRack report, roughly 25 percent of AI citations come from journalistic sources. Importantly, different models favor different publications. Claude frequently cites CNBC, Yahoo Finance, and U.S. News & World Report. ChatGPT leans toward Financial Times, Reuters, and Axios. Gemini often pulls from CNET and Forbes.
These preferences will evolve as models change, which is why AEO tools are gaining traction to track which coverage most influences AI outputs. In a world where machines increasingly mediate discovery, being cited by the right sources now shapes visibility in entirely new ways.
What This All Means Going Forward
Despite the decline of the physical front page, one truth remains unchanged: credibility compounds.
What has changed is where that credibility is built and how it spreads. Influence now accrues through trusted individuals, consistent formats, and platforms that reward depth over volume. PR teams that evolve with this reality can shape conversations where audiences are already paying attention, before narratives form without them.
Six months ago, we argued that the erosion of the traditional front page would fundamentally change how authority is constructed. Today, that prediction feels conservative. As part of our ongoing State of the Media series, we’ll continue tracking where trust consolidates, which voices gain leverage, and how communications strategies must adapt as the center of gravity continues to shift.
