PDR Strategies

10/07/2026

Worth sharing for the communicators out there.

The AP Stylebook: 2026–2028 is currently 61% off during Prime Big Deal Days.

A useful desk reference and a very good price.

📚 Bookshelf Deal Alert

The Associated Press Stylebook: 2026–2028 is currently 61% off on Amazon.

Regular price: $29.99
Prime Big Deal price: $11.77

For PIOs and communicators writing news releases, media advisories, web content, social posts, and more, this is a pretty useful reference to have nearby.

Prime Big Deal Days ends tonight.

👉 https://amzn.to/4yF2kAG

Price and availability may change.

Affiliate disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, The PIO Calendar may earn from qualifying purchases.

10/05/2026

Communication gaps are trust gaps.

We recently had the opportunity to take that message to Topeka, Kansas, where PDR Strategies founder Paul D. Raymond, Jr. delivered the keynote address at the 2026 Kansas Association of Public Information Officers Annual Conference.

Communication Gaps Are Trust Gaps: What Happens When Messaging Fails Inside the Organization focused on how communication breakdowns inside an organization can quickly become operational problems, credibility problems and, ultimately, public trust problems.

But there was a bigger message, too. Strengthening the public information profession is something we all have a role in. That means sharing what works, learning from what doesn't, investing in professional development, mentoring others and leaving the profession better than we found it.

A huge thank you to KAPIO for the invitation, hospitality and warm welcome. It was an incredible opportunity to meet PIOs and communicators from across Kansas and hear about the important work happening in their communities.

We came home with new ideas, new connections and quite a few new friends.

Every Message Matters.

10/04/2026

Artificial intelligence is moving quickly, but public trust is not keeping pace.

A new Quinnipiac University poll found significant concern about AI and limited trust in the people behind it. For PIOs and communicators, that raises some important questions about authenticity, verification, accountability and public trust.

As AI-generated audio, video and other content become more convincing, communicators may increasingly face a different kind of challenge: not just determining whether information is true, but whether the source itself is authentic.

Our latest PDR Strategies article looks at what these findings mean for public communicators and why human judgment still matters.

Read more: https://pdrstrategies.com/americans-dont-trust-ai-thats-a-communications-problem/

10/03/2026

Crisis communications planning can't stop with what an organization expects to happen.

PDR Strategies founder Paul Raymond, Jr. explores that challenge in this new two-part series from Corrections Communicated, examining the difficult events in Tennessee through the lens of communications preparedness.

The goal isn't to assign blame or point fingers. It's to identify lessons that other organizations and communicators can use when their own carefully developed plans suddenly stop going according to plan.

Are we prepared to communicate when the unexpected happens?

Part I is shared below. Part II is coming soon.

NEW FROM CORRECTIONS COMMUNICATED | PART I

What happens when an event your agency has planned extensively for suddenly becomes something no one expected?

The failed ex*****on of Christa Pike in Tennessee presents difficult questions — not only about what happened operationally, but about how public agencies communicate when the plan breaks.

In Part I of a two-part series, examines the communications environment surrounding the Sept. 30 ex*****on attempt, the challenges facing the Tennessee Department of Correction team and an important reality for every corrections communicator: An information vacuum will not remain empty.

This isn't about assigning blame. It's about studying a difficult incident with some grace and asking what the rest of us can learn from it.

Read Part I: “Prepare for the Good, the Bad and the Ugly”

https://correctionscommunicated.com/prepare-for-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/

Part II will examine what happened next — including the growing crisis of public trust and a resignation.

09/21/2026

PDR Strategies is proud to announce that founder Paul D Raymond Jr. will deliver the keynote address at the 2026 Kansas Association of Public Information Officers Annual Conference in Topeka on Thursday, September 24.

Paul’s keynote, “Communication Gaps Are Trust Gaps: What Happens When Messaging Fails Inside the Organization,” will examine how internal communication shapes leadership, credibility, and the public’s trust in an organization.

We look forward to joining public communicators from across Kansas for this year’s “State of the Message” conference. If you are attending, please be sure to connect with Paul.

See you in Topeka!

09/05/2026

We’re proud of what The PIO Calendar is becoming — and even more excited about where it can go from here.

But resources like this grow because people use them, contribute to them, and tell others about them.

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Explore. Learn. Connect.

08/26/2026

📘 There Are Some Really Good PIOs Out There

Four classes. Two conferences. Public information professionals from across the country.

After several weeks of teaching, presenting, learning and connecting with PIOs, Paul D. Raymond, Jr. came home tired but encouraged.

The latest article from The Briefing Room reflects on the commitment PIOs bring to professional development, the value of learning from peers and why instructors should leave room for the people in the classroom to teach them, too.

It also includes a lesson about “island time,” where a 60-minute lunch can stretch to 75 minutes and a 9 a.m. start can occasionally drift toward 9:20. 🌴

There are talented, thoughtful and dedicated PIOs serving communities across the country. They have a great deal to teach one another.

Read the article and listen to the podcast episode: https://pdrstrategies.com/%f0%9f%93%98-there-are-some-really-good-pios-out-there/

08/21/2026

Congratulations to the public information professionals and emergency management partners who completed the FEMA L0105 Public Information Basics course in Monroe County, Florida!

PDR Strategies was proud to facilitate three days of discussion, collaboration, and practical exercises focused on helping public information professionals communicate clearly, accurately, and effectively—especially when it matters most.

Thank you to Monroe County for the opportunity and to every participant for bringing such valuable experience and energy to the classroom.

07/13/2026

Let’s talk about the strangely perfect elephant in the room.

It has flawless lighting, six fingers, an inspirational slogan and a remarkably diverse group of professionals staring enthusiastically at a holographic dashboard.

Yes, it is an AI-generated graphic.

And yes, we can tell.

AI can be incredibly helpful for communicators, especially those working with limited time, limited budgets and limited design support.

But when every post uses AI-generated visuals, the content can begin to feel less authentic and less connected to the organization it is supposed to represent.

The issue is not whether communicators should use AI.

The issue is whether they are using it strategically.

Our latest PDR Strategies article explores why authentic visuals still matter, what communicators should ask before publishing AI-generated content and why the final responsibility belongs to the communicator not the tool.

And before anyone points it out: The graphic was made by AI on purpose. We’re making a point.

Read the article: https://pdrstrategies.com/we-can-tell-its-ai/

07/09/2026

When the public sees nurses trying to return to work and being turned away, the story becomes bigger than a labor dispute.

It becomes a communication lesson.

Operational decisions, legal strategies, staffing plans, and labor decisions all have communication consequences.

In this new PDR Strategies article, I examine the Brigham and Women's Hospital nurses' strike and what it reveals about optics, public trust, leadership, and the value of strategic communication.

Read more: https://pdrstrategies.com/when-the-optics-become-the-story/