Want to stay ahead in PR? Start with these 12 Substacks

You pitch to journalists. They write about people like you. It might be worth comparing notes.

On Substack, reporters explain what makes them pursue a story. PR practitioners share what happened when a campaign met the real world. And as AI changes how people find information, both are asking what comes next.

These are conversations worth following. Finding them takes time, though. So we’ve put together a list of our top 12 Substacks for people working in PR and communications, covering everything from media pitching to AI search and brand storytelling.

The aim is to give you a useful mix: practical advice you can apply to your PR or communications role right away, alongside reporting and analysis that might make you reconsider how you approach your work.

You won’t need every publication and newsletter on this list. But a few may be worth subscribing to.

1. Meredith & The Media

Who’s behind it? Meredith Klein, a public relations professional who interviews journalists and media industry leaders.

Why follow it?

Want to know what journalists actually want from PR pitches? Meredith & The Media offers a look at the people behind the bylines.

Through interviews with journalists, editors, and media executives, Klein explores what makes a story interesting, how reporters approach their work, and what communications professionals should understand about today’s newsrooms.

One conversation with Adweek’s Mark Stenberg explores everything from story selection to the role of video in modern journalism.

For anyone regularly pitching to journalists, these firsthand perspectives can help turn a generic media outreach strategy into a more thoughtful one.

2. Daily PR Brief

Who’s behind it? Christophe Abiragi, who curates daily executive media briefs.

Why follow it?

Daily PR Brief is a resource for communications professionals looking to keep industry developments on their radar. Its daily newsletter features some of the most popular posts covering PR and media from the Substack community.

Its appeal is the quick-briefing format, which can complement longer newsletters focused on analysis, interviews or strategic thinking.

For busy PR practitioners balancing media outreach, client work and content planning, a concise industry digest can help make regular reading more manageable.

3. The Spin

Who’s behind it? Jennifer Bett Meyer and Melissa Duren Conner of PR agency, JBC.

Why follow it?

The Spin takes readers behind the scenes of brand storytelling, cultural conversations, and the decisions that shape public perception. Drawing on their experience building Jennifer Bett Communications, Meyer and Conner explore how brands find compelling stories and connect with audiences.

Their approach challenges the negative associations around the word “spin,” focusing instead on finding the angle that makes a meaningful story resonate.

The platform is particularly relevant for agency professionals, brand strategists, and founders interested in the relationship between public relations, business, and culture.

4. PR Futurist

Who’s behind it? Stuart Bruce, PR strategist and co-CEO of Purposeful Relations.

Why follow it?

Few subjects are generating as many questions for communications teams as artificial intelligence. PR Futurist helps readers make sense of what AI means for the profession.

Bruce examines emerging technologies, AI adoption, reputation management, and the evolving responsibilities of communications leaders.

Rather than focusing only on tools that make everyday tasks faster, he explores bigger strategic questions, including how AI influences organizational reputation and stakeholder relationships.

For senior communicators trying to understand where the profession is heading, PR Futurist offers a perspective that connects technology with communications strategy.

5. EIN Presswire Substack

Who’s behind it? Issac Morgan and Michaela Wright of Newsmatics, EIN Presswire’s parent company. Yes, this one’s ours.

Why follow it?

For PR professionals looking to understand what happens to a press release after it’s written, the EIN Presswire Substack offers practical insights into press release distribution, media relations, and news discovery.

How do you build a media business after CNN? What do millions of pitches tell us about what catches a journalist’s eye? We put those questions to people who can answer from experience, from Don Lemon to HARO CEO Brett Farmiloe. You’ll find Q&As, our Heard on the Streets video podcast, and actionable insights on how news travels after you hit send, including how it shows up in AI search. Our monthly EIN Essentials newsletter brings the highlights together.

6. Under Embargo

Who’s behind it? Johnna Muscente, a public relations and brand communications professional.

Why follow it?

Under Embargo turns the messier parts of PR into practical advice, and it’s honest about what goes wrong.

Her piece “The Anatomy of an Apology” is a great example. She breaks down why the standard corporate apology so often makes things worse, and why the problems that follow a botched response (late statements, contradictory messages, comments switched off) can do more damage than the original mistake. Other recent posts cover AI-written pitches, executive social media and employee communications during major announcements.

For small business owners, emerging PR professionals and marketers who handle communications alongside other responsibilities, it’s advice you can use the same week you read it.

7. PR@ctical

Who’s behind it? Sarah Evans, CEO of Zen Media

Why follow it?

PR@ctical is a weekly brief on AI visibility and modern PR, written by someone with more than two decades in communications.

Evans has a framework for it called “The Before Layer”: everything that shapes what people think about a brand before they ever reach its website, read a press release or talk to anyone at the company. As more of that first impression comes from AI search tools, she looks at what communicators can actually do to influence it.

For anyone trying to work out where PR fits in AI discoverability, PR@ctical turns a broad, abstract shift into concrete steps.

8. The Media Copilot

Who’s behind it? Pete Pachal, AI expert and founder of The Media Copilot

Why follow it?

How is AI changing journalism, content creation and the business of media?

That’s the central question behind The Media Copilot.

Pachal examines the relationship between emerging AI technologies and the media industry, looking at how new tools are influencing the way information is produced and consumed. For PR professionals, understanding these changes matters. As newsrooms experiment with AI and new publishing workflows, the expectations placed on communications teams may change as well.

The Media Copilot is a useful read for anyone who wants to understand the technology shaping the media outlets they work with.

9. Management and Public Relations

Who’s behind it? Stephen Waddington, communications adviser, author, and industry commentator.

Why follow it?

Management and Public Relations takes a broader look at communications as a management discipline.

Waddington explores leadership, professional development, organizational challenges and the strategic role of public relations.

His writing draws on research and industry experience to examine how communications professionals can contribute more effectively to business decisions.

It’s particularly relevant for experienced practitioners, agency leaders and communications managers who want to move beyond campaign execution and strengthen their role as strategic advisers.

10. Talking Points

Who’s behind it? Jennifer Stephens Acree and the team at JSA+Partners.

Why follow it?

Talking Points by JSA connects PR to what’s happening across media, technology and business, and it does this in two formats.

Its “TLDR” posts are 60-second reads on a single story. One looked at Kalshi’s public pushback against a Wall Street Journal analysis of its traders, and argued that a “go direct” counter-narrative only works when your data stands up to scrutiny. The longer pieces include interviews with communications leaders, such as LinkedIn CCO Nicole Leverich on writing for AI and working with creators.

For anyone working with technology companies, founders or fast-moving industries, Talking Points makes it easy to stay current without spending a lot of time.

11. Media Trained

Who’s behind it? Lindsay Bennett, communications and storytelling professional.

Why follow it?

Media Trained explores the value of storytelling, communication and the human perspective behind effective messaging.

Bennett writes about how the communications profession is evolving, including the influence of AI on content creation.

One of her 2026 articles examines an interesting paradox: as AI makes content easier to produce, distinctive human storytelling may become even more valuable.

For PR professionals working on executive communications, brand narratives and content strategy, Media Trained offers a reminder that effective communication requires more than producing words.

12. Lenny’s Newsletter

Who’s behind it? Lenny Rachitsky, a writer and former product leader at Airbnb.

Why follow it?

This is the one pick on the list that isn’t about PR. It’s included because good PR depends on something that’s decided long before anyone writes a pitch: what a company actually stands for.

Lenny’s Newsletter covers product, growth and how companies win customers. Positioning comes up often, and this year’s guest guide from April Dunford, “A guide to advanced B2B positioning,” is a good place to start. Dunford, who wrote Obviously Awesome, explains how teams get stuck when deciding how to present a product and how to get past those sticking points.

If a client’s announcement keeps landing flat, the problem often isn’t the pitch. It’s the positioning behind it. Reading what founders and product leaders are thinking about can help you find that problem sooner and push back with more confidence.

Make room for a few new voices in your inbox

The best professional reading lists offer more than industry headlines. They introduce different perspectives, challenge familiar approaches and help turn new ideas into better communications decisions.

Some of these publications focus on the practical side of PR, while others explore journalism, technology, storytelling and the bigger questions shaping the profession.

You don’t need to subscribe to all 12. Start with the topics most relevant to your work, whether that’s improving media pitches, understanding AI or becoming a more strategic communicator.

And if you’re looking for more conversations about how news gets discovered, distributed and understood, subscribe to the EIN Presswire Substack for articles, interviews and insights from across the PR and media industries.

Subscribe now