2020 JOTW Communications Survey

The 2020 JOTW Communications Survey
3rd annual survey of 300 professionals examines issues,
trends and best practices in communications, public relations and public affairs.
Conducted in Partnership between Ned’s Job of the Week (JOTW)
and Sword and the Script Media, LLC

The Job of the Week newsletter started as an experiment when I was out of work, and wanted to see if I could create a network that
would exchange job opportunities, and that I, at the center of that network, would be able to take advantage of those opportunities if I
wanted to. It worked. It actually got me a job. And the network grew. Today there are more than 5,800 communication professionals
who receive the newsletter every Monday. Send an email to me at lundquist989@cs.com and ask to join the network. It’s free.
Teaming up with Frank Strong has allowed us to reach out to this community of professional communicators and learn from them—
their experience, expertise and powers of observation. By conducting this survey in successive years we have been able to gain more
than an industry snapshot, but trends as they unfold. Some of the results are quite timely, such as the responses about political
partisanship. Others are timeless, and deal with universal communication challenges.
While we communicators are pretty much social by nature, we have had to improvise our connectivity in this time of pandemic. So
Frank and I thank those who participated, and hope that we continue to connect virtually and share what we can with each other.
Ned Lundquist, ABC, IABC Fellow
Captain, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
Editor and Publisher
The Job of the Week Network LLC
Ned and I teamed up a few years ago to create this survey and asked questions no one was asking. The concept seems to
have resonated because the survey has grown significantly. The number of respondents has nearly doubled, and last
year’s report was viewed more than 18,000 times.
This year, the survey was hit by the same unexpected event that has turned our world upside down. While there were no
questions aimed at the Coronavirus, it’s important to for readers to know the pandemic was taking off just as this survey
was wrapping up. Indeed, the day the survey closed; the WHO declared the virus a pandemic.
There is no doubt the virus has had a profound influence on communicators. It’s added to the list of challenges we face; it’s
put a greater emphasis on internal communications and, unfortunately, has put many of our peers out of work. To that end,
we think that makes this year’s survey even more important: it’s both a tool for examining our profession, but it’s made
possible by a newsletter and a community dedicated to helping communicators find a new role and acquire talent.
Frank Strong, MA, MBA
Founder & President,
Sword and the Script Media, LLC
frank@swordandthescript.com

Table of Contents
• Executive summary: slide 4
• Effects of partisan politics: slide 5
• Top challenges in comms: slide 9
• State of media relations: slide 15
• Media bias and PR ethics: slide 21
• Top PR and comms tactics: slide 26
• Social media: slide 35
• PR measurement: slide 40
• PR technology: 46
• Organizational reporting: 50
• Demographics: 53
• Methodology: 60

Executive Summary
Ned’s Job of the Week (JOTW) newsletter and Sword and the Script Media conducted the third annual JOTW Communications Survey to understand trends in the field
of communications. A total of 300 professionals took the survey: 95% of respondents are based in the U.S.; 92% report having 11 or more years of experience; 52% of
respondents are in-house communicators; and respondents come from more than a dozen different industries. Detailed demographics are included at the end.
Partisan politics has communicators walking on eggshells. Nearly three-quarters (72%) of communications professionals say partisan politics makes their job
harder. “Everything is seen through a political filter,” wrote one respondent. More communicators (38%) think brands should NOT take a stand than those that think
brands should (29%). Despite their answers one way or another, many remained open to taking a stand if an issue directly affects a company or it’s customers.
The top PR challenges have shifted. Budget was replaced as the top challenge facing communicators with proving value and ROI. The second top challenge seems
related – an “executive team that doesn’t understand comms.” The in-housing trend appears to have slowed; just 30% of respondents say they’ve observed more work
going in-house compared with 47% in 2019.
Media relations only gets harder. 75% of PR pros say media relations is getting harder. That’s up from 68% in 2019 and 51% in 2018. In terms of approach, 64% say
exclusives are useful; and 61% still find value in press releases; 52% say embargoes can help. Sentiment around these questions suggests judicious use is well-
advised.
Media bias and PR ethics. The survey shows, most respondents say the media is objective “often” (41%) and “sometimes” (37%); few chose absolute answers (i.e.
“always or “never”). Interestingly, a question as to whether communicators convey truthful information earned similar scores: 51% said “often” and 44% said
“sometimes.”
Top tactics in PR and comms. The top five communications tactics based on a weighted average are: 1) data & analytics; 2) storytelling; 3) content marketing /
blogging / brand journalism; 4) business social responsibility; and 5) thought leadership. One respondent defined storytelling as “Developing a narrative arc with strong,
relatable characters who live their values and make a difference.”
Social media platforms. LinkedIn, YouTube and Instagram all ranked in the top three social networks by weighted average. Twitter ranked fourth even though other
surveys show it remains a popular platform among journalists and reporters.
PR measurement. Almost half (48%) of respondents measure “often” or “always”; the other half measure their efforts just “sometimes,” (38%) “rarely,” (11%) or “never”
(2%). The contrast of this finding with the findings that “proving value” to an executive team that doesn’t understand comms are the top two challenges is striking.
PR technology. Vendors that at least 10% of respondents would recommend include (by precedent): PR Newswire, Cision, Business Wire, Meltwater, PRWeb, Nexis
Newsdesk, Critical Mention, Factiva, TVEyes, Burrelles, and Muck Rack.
Communications organization. Respondents said their communications organization reports to: marketing (41%), CEO (33%) COO (7%), HR (5%) strategy (5%) and
legal (3%).

The Effects of Partisanship and Politics on Brands

N = 300; Source: 2020 JOTW Communications Survey
72% of communications
professionals say partisan
politics makes their job
harder. Respondents come
from a wide and fairly evenly
distributed range of
industries, which suggests
the impact is broad.
“EVERYTHING is
now seen through a
political filter. Issues
that should not be
political now are.”
“The divisiveness
bleeds through and
is reflected in areas
beyond politics.”
“Some people have
leave to say anything
now. We've unmoored
media from accuracy.”

More communicators (38%) think
brands should NOT take a stand
than those that say brands
should (29%); however the
division is nearly a 3-way tie.
“Brands should take a
public stand on issues
when there is a clear
connection with the
brand's values.”
“Totally depends on the
client the issue and
how the issue is in
play. That is, yes. But,
no.”
“Because you
automatically alienate
50% of the general
public.”

Walking on eggshells
Most professional communicators (72%) believe the political environment has complicated the communications process. As with
many questions in this survey, we included a second optional open-ended question – “Why?” to obtain some context on why
respondents answer the way they did.
Forty-one respondents wrote in and a few of those comments are included with the chart. Overall the sentiment seems to suggest
the state of politics today means the things brands and businesses communicate today are viewed through a political lens – even if
there is no intent to be political.
Although some organizations find themselves unenthusiastically thrust into a political spectrum, there is little agreement on whether
or not brands should take a stand. While 38% said no – and represents the single largest grouping of answers – it’s not a majority.
In addition, the sentiment expressed in the 107 open-ended comments suggests even those that answered “yes” or “no” are open to
changing their mind depending on the issue and organization.
The results mirror a survey of consumers conducted in 2018: Should brands take a public stand on political issues?

The Top Challenges in Communications Have Shifted

Measuring the impact; proving value; demonstrating
ROI
Executive team doesn’t understand comms
Cutting through the clutter and noise
Resources other than budget or staff
Other
Our comms or PR team lacks the skill or knowledge to be
successful
Target audience is apathetic
Alignment with the marketing or sales team
We are overly cautious in communications
Target audience is distracted
Project scope creep
Not enough staffing or headcount
Gaining executive buy-in
Balancing priorities among diverse stakeholders
Complicated or prolonged review and approval process
Ever expanding duties (i.e. social media, content, etc.)
Budget
The top challenge has
changed. Budget has been
the top challenge for in the
2018 and 2019 editions of
this survey.

Rank 2020 Top Challenges 2019 Top Challenges 2018 Top Challenges
1
Measuring the impact; proving value;
demonstrating ROI (50%) Budget (59%) Budget (63%)
2
Executive team doesn’t understand
comms (45%) Limited staffing or headcount (55%) Ever expanding duties (57%)
3
Cutting through the clutter and noise
(40%)
Ever expanding duties (52%) Proving ROI (54%)
4 Budget (40%) Balancing priorities (49%) Limited staffing or headcount (52%)
5
Ever expanding duties [i.e. social
media, content, etc.] (35%) Measuring impact of comms (49%) Measuring impact of comms (51%)
6
Complicated or prolonged review and
approval process (31%) Proving ROI (48%) Balancing priorities (44%)
7
Balancing priorities among diverse
stakeholders (30%) Gaining executive buy-in (45%) Gaining executive buy-in (40%)

Not the biggest problem this
year, but among the top 5.
Hasn’t changed much in the last
few years, so but how you
allocate it has. Likely under
pressure to trim post-covid.
Most communicators said their
budgets would remain flat,
although about one-fifth of
respondents expected their
budgets to grow. These numbers
are consistent with the same survey
last year. It’s reasonable to believe
the Coronavirus pandemic has
changed budget expectations.

This number is down from
the 47% of respondents
that saw more work going
in-house in 2019.
“Identifying in-house
members who know best the
company ethos and culture
can help manage corporate
channels, often better than
outside PR teams.”
“We are an in-house agency, and we have used
outsourced services more in the last few years
to round out our deliverables and expertise. For
example, we now use two video companies vs.
trying to do high-quality video in-house with a
videographer who has many responsibilities.”

The continuous process of proving value
The combination of the top five challenges shows just how demanding the job of PR and communications is:
• Continuously defending the value of your work (50%);
• Educating executives that are often looking for near term results (45%);
• Cutting through the clutter, perhaps even political noise (40%);
• Flats budgets (40%); and with
• Expanded responsibilities year-after-year (35%)
The top two challenges – proving value and the leadership’s understanding of communications – almost certainly go hand-in-hand.
A 2019 survey of 300 executives in UK-based businesses with 1,000+ employees conducted by Releasd, found that executives that
understand communications tend to value it more.
With regard to the in-housing trend, the slowing or tapering off in-housing seems to be in line with anecdotal evidence observed in
the broader marketing sector. After years of bringing more work in-house in pursuit of greater efficiency – across several functions
including media buying, creative and PR – businesses are balking at additional headcount. In addition, some of the efficiency gains
promised, haven’t materialized. This is because in the course of in-housing, business leaders haven’t included roles that are often
transparent to executives such as project management.
As one respondent wrote in, “My own employer has done this. First, we cut full-time employees by 10 percent across the company,
and then we brought much of the work our agencies (plural) did for us in house for the now over-burdened ad staff to handle. We
also opened up our communication services to the entire company but decreased the number of writers and proofreaders we have.
I've never worked with so many people needing to take medical leave because of work stress. And we are a health insurance
company!”
The Coronavirus has probably curtailed hiring, although it’s worth pointing out, that other surveys, like one by the Association of
National Advertisers, show marketing teams have been more reliant on the in-house professionals they already have during the
isolation caused by the pandemic.

75% of PR pros say
media relations is
getting harder. That’s
up from 68% in 2019
and 51% in 2018.
“Social makes it easier to
reach customers directly,
serving the same function
as traditional media
relations, without the
gatekeepers.”
“More platforms make it
easier to pitch, but a
distracted audience makes
it harder.”
“Fewer journalists, more
PR people.. Journalists
don't have the time for long
lead story development.
Measured on clicks, quick
hits.”

More than half (52%) of
communications professionals
say embargoes are still a useful
tool.
It’s worth noting, 20% disagree
on some level.
“When used judiciously,
they are important.”
“Old outdated tactic. They may work if
you have a relationship with a particular
journalist. But to slap the word embargo
on a pitch or press release and send it
out without first getting the reporter to
agree is not an effective tactic.”
“Unless is absolutely
earth-shattering news
we are taking about, no
one cares.”

There’s greater enthusiasm
(64%) for exclusives.
“I see it as a relationship-
building tool.”
“Rarely, it just makes
other outlets less likely to
cover you.”
“Use it sparingly but can be
very effective. And understand
the consequences in the
attitudes of some other
reporters - ones who do not
receive exclusive.”

Most (61%) say the venerable
press release still has a role
media relations.
However, like embargoes,
one-fifth of respondents say
the role of the press release
has waned.
“Most news releases are not
about news; just requests
from execs about things they
think are important but really
are not.”
“Summarized in factual
data and quotes is a great
way to start a campaign.”

Media relations continues to get harder
Three-quarters (75%) of PR professionals say media relations continues to get harder. The number of communicators that say so
has grown steadily over the last few years – up from 68% in 2019 and 51% in 2018. Many of the comments point to underlying
causes that have also been cited in previous years: the rise of social media and self-publishing, pressure on the business model of
news, cuts to editorial staff, growth among the ranks of PR and deluge of pitches reporters receive.
Two other recent surveys quantify the volume of pitches:
1) According to the State of Journalism 2020 report, based on a survey of 1,000+ journalists by Muck Rack, 48% of journalists
responding to this survey said they get between 1-5 pitches a day; 18% get between 5-10; 12% get upwards of 10-20; and
13% get 20 plus pitches a day.
2) According to the 2020 Global State of the Media report, based on a survey of more than 3,200+ journalists by Cision, a little
more than half (51%) of journalists that responded to this survey – said between 1 – 50 PR pitches per week; 25% report
receive between 51 – 100 per week; 10% get 101 – 151 per week; and 14% have their inboxes flooded with 151 per week.
At the same time, there are mixed views on traditional tactics like exclusives, embargoes and press releases. As you’ll see later in
this report, press releases rank near the bottom of a long list of tactics and they have for the last three years.
With embargoes and exclusives, it’s important to keep in mind that the reporter, journalist or influencer has a vote too. For example,
sending an announcement under embargo without securing the contact’s agreement doesn’t obligate that person to abide by your
embargo. At the same time, sending modest announcements under the guise of an embargo to invoke a sense of scarcity, are easy
to see through and probably wind up doing more harm than good.
“If you mean including the embargoed material without asking in advance, absolutely not,” wrote one reporter in an online
discussion about embargoes. “Someone is trying to create false urgency. I have no obligation to honor that any more than someone
responding to a question and inserting that it's off the record without checking ahead.”

Media objectivity and PR ethics

The survey shows, for the vast
majority of respondents, the
answer to this question isn’t
absolute (i.e. “always” or “never”).

Context and comments on media bias
Ninety-five respondents, including a number who identified as former reporters, wrote in open-ended comments that offer context
for each category of answers:
• Always. “Having done that job for close to 20 years, and performing media relations for the last 20, I've worked with hundreds of
journalists. They weren't in it for the lousy pay, the long hours or the difficult working conditions -- they were in it to gather facts
and present them to an audience. Do they make mistakes? Of course -- but not because of bias. And the professional ones take
ownership of them and correct them.”
• Often. “Like the rest of us, reporters are subjected to information that affects their understanding of the truth. It’s hard to
distinguish sometimes.”
• Sometimes. “I don't think you can lump ‘reporters’ together as a single unit. Some reporters look into topics that interest them - a
bias of a kind - while others just do stories that are assigned to them. I think that after a reporter gathers ‘facts’ for a story, they
form an opinion, and then it's hard to remain unbiased. However, they can train themselves to find alternate points of view to
include in a story whether they agree with the alternatives or not.”
• Rarely. “Their reporting is colored with adjectives and word pictures that reveal their personal viewpoints without their actually
voicing their stand on an issue.”
• Never. “The media doesn't even try to hide it anymore - many outlets endorse a candidate; how can an objective organization do
that?”
The previously cited 2020 Global State of the Media report by Cision also asked journalists about media bias. Some of their
comments, included in the report, reflect a similar sentiment:
“Is there bias in the media? Sure, but much of the problem stems from people not knowing that there are differences between
reporters, columnists and editorial page writers,” wrote one journalist. Another noted, “All media is biased because it's run by
humans.

Is it ethical to be less than 100%
truthful all of the time?

Comments on veracity in PR
Some theories of psychology argue that lying (think ‘white lies’) is a coping mechanism that traces back to the earliest humans.
Early humans depended on belonging to a group for survival, so lying emerged as a method to avoid conflict that might get an
individual tossed from the group.
But what are the ethics of saying anything but the truth in public communications? It may not always be explicit. For example, an
omission is an attribute of the classic schema for identifying propaganda developed by Hugh Rank.
Much like the commentary on media bias, the answers weren’t absolute. Seventy-one respondents wrote in answers. Interestingly,
even those that cited codes of conduct and ethical standards left the window cracked for being less than 100% truthful all the time.
• Always. “If they are professionals then that is what they do. The bigger question would be how many people in our business are
professionals.”
• Often. “Depends on their training. As an APR and Fellow PRSA, I subscribe to the highest ethical standards.”
• Often. “I am bound by a Code of Ethics but not everyone in my profession is.”
• Sometimes. “As a former journalist, sometimes we would receive information that was untrue; there is a difference between
being untruthful and presenting spin. Spin can be truthful and still slanted.”
• Sometimes. “Pleasing clients/retaining clients has become far more crucial hence Communicators have become less truthful.”
• Sometimes. “Rarely is the full truth included in a professional's message. Instead, typically, some version of the truth is threaded
into the message that is carefully crafted to present the point of view most favorable to the communications objective for that
message.”
• Rarely. “There is a bias towards painting a brand in a positive light.”

Top Tactics in Communications and PR

Business social
responsibility
Content marketing / blogging /
brand journalism
76%
74%
74%
76%
71%
55%
56%
56%
63%
68%
Chart 1 of 4
on tactics
The top five for 2020 -
each with 70% or more
of the votes. “Data &
analytics” and
“storytelling” were the
top two in last year’s
survey as well.

1st party events like webinar and
customer conferences
35%
52%
48%
47%
52%
42%
28%58%
56%
51%
51%
The the point where
most respondents
begin to say a given
tactic will have about
the same level of
importance.
43%
48%
Chart 2 of 4
on tactics

47%
53%
43%
45%
49%
43%46%
36%
34%
33%
Chart 3 of 4
on tactics

Chart 4 of 4
on tactics
Here’s the detail for the question on tactics. Please note: These are sorted by weighted average.
While all 300 respondents answered this question, we have removed “not applicable” answers for
the ranking. The N value for each tactic is available under the “total” column.

Rank 2020 Top Tactics 2019 Top Tactics 2018 Top Tactics
1 Data & analytics Storytelling Storytelling
2 Storytelling Data & analytics Content marketing
3 Content marketing Thought leadership Thought leadership
4 Business social responsibility Measurement Alignment with marketing
5 Thought leadership Content marketing Influencer relations

The top tactics in PR and communications
At the top of the list of communications tactics that respondents say will be more important or much more important are:
1. Data & analytics (76%) – speaks to the challenge of proving value;
2. Storytelling (74%)
3. Content marketing / blogging / brand journalism (74%)
4. Business social responsibility (76%) (lower on the list due to overall weight)
5. Thought leadership (71%) – dropped from 3rd to 5th place
At the bottom of the list, with at least one-third of respondents saying it will be less or much less important are: white papers,
awards, press releases and ebooks.
If there’s an area that has become more important as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, it’s probably internal communications
and we may see this in next year’s survey.
Some of the “other” tactics respondents wrote in included:
• “guerrilla marketing”
• “partnerships, co-marketing agreements”
• “employee relations, customer relations for enhancing credibility”
• “video”
• “training and exploration with internal stakeholders (i.e.: sales teams)”

What does “storytelling” mean to you?
Storytelling has been in the top first or second slot on this question for three years in a row. So, this year, we asked the question
above as an open-ended question. Some 238 respondents wrote in answers like these:
• “Creating a narrative with an arc, actors, conflict, and resolution that audiences can compare to traditional tales.”
• “Developing a narrative arc with strong, relatable characters who live their values and make a difference.”
• “Using an anecdote to make someone understand (or understand more deeply) a need or topic they did not before.”
• “Creating a story about a product or person that is relatable to many.”
• “Explaining your messaging in a way that resonates emotionally with the individual you're reaching.”
• “Telling the company's story - getting the message out - in a memorable way. It relies more on narrative and emotion to get
people to feel and believe.”
• “Making things relatable, pulling heart-strings, making a connection, making people laugh or engage somehow, being
interesting.”
Not everyone is a fan of storytelling, however:
• “Bull****. No one other than idiots cares about ‘stories.’ Do you provide a useful product/service for an affordable price? Yes or
no. End of story.”
• “Personally, I hate the term. Implies a degree of fantasy ... telling a ‘story.’”

What does “storytelling” mean to you? (CONT)
The word cloud below aggregates all 238 answers – the larger the work, the more commonly it was used. We’ve underlined some
of the words that stood out of us in red.

The communicator’s view of social media

Chart 1 of 3 on
social media
channels
58%
51%
54%
40%
40%
25%
18%58%
51%
A majority of respondents
say that LinkedIn, YouTube
and Instagram will be more
or much more important over
the next year.
41%
41%
Views on TikTok are about
evenly split.

Chart 2 of 3 on
social media
channels
49%
38%
52%
54%
48%
53%
40% 47%
38%
35%
37%
31%
45%
43%
A majority of respondents
say that Messenger,
Snapchat, Quora and Signal
will be less important over
the next year.

Here’s the detail for the question on social media sites. Please note: These are sorted by weighted
average. While all 300 respondents answered this question, we have removed “not applicable”
answers for the ranking. The N value for each tactic is available under the “total” column.
Chart 3 of 3 on
social media
channels

LinkedIn the top social site for communicators
LinkedIn, YouTube and Instagram all ranked in the top three social networks by weighted average. Interestingly, each of those
platforms is owned by a larger business: LinkedIn is owned by Microsoft, YouTube is owned by Google and Instagram is owned by
Facebook.
Some argue that YouTube isn’t a true social media, but it does make it very easy to share and videos. In addition, YouTube doubles
as a powerful search engine.
Twitter came in fourth on the list, but public relations professionals with media relations responsibilities should bear in mind that
journalists gravitate toward the medium. For example, according to the previously cited State of Journalism 2020 survey by Muck
Rack survey, “85% find Twitter the most valuable social network.”
Communicators start to get lukewarm by the fifth-place Facebook. Facebook has been a constant topic in crisis communications as
the company has been rocked by scandal after scandal over the last few years. It’s utility as a communication vehicle for brands,
outside of advertising on the platform, is limited since organic reach is so low.
Other studies have pointed to similar conclusions. The 2020 Social Media Marketing Industry Report, which is based on a survey of
5,200 marketers by the Social Media Examiner, found “Marketers are diversifying away from Facebook. For the last 2 years,
Facebook lost share as the most important platform for marketers.”
TikTok has been a media darling over the couple years and it has seen explosive growth. Still, the Chinese-owned company faces
serious security concerns. The U.S. Department of Defense has banned the app from government-owned phones, according to
NBC News and TechCrunch cited Reddit CEO Steve Huffman as saying:
"...I look at that app [TikTok] as so fundamentally parasitic, that it’s always listening, the fingerprinting technology they use is
truly terrifying, and I could not bring myself to install an app like that on my phone.”
In the open-ended comments, respondents also cited the publishing platform, Medium, GovLoop (B2G) Flickr, Tumblr, closed
groups and internal social media platforms like Yammer.

PR and communications measurement

Keep in mind the top challenge
for communicators this year is
“proving value.”

Chart 1 of 2 on
measurement
techniques
The 10 most popular measures of
communication effectiveness.

Chart 2 of 2 on
measurement
techniques

Measurement: half full or half empty?
There are a couple of different ways to look at the answers on measurement. On one hand, 86% of respondents measure at least
“sometimes” and almost half (48%) measure “often” or “always.” On the other hand, 51% measure their efforts just “sometimes,”
(38%) “rarely,” (11%) or “never” (2%). It’s hard to reconcile that level of effort into measurement with the idea that “proving value” to
an executive team that doesn’t understand comms are the top two challenges.
Some of the other metrics respondents wrote include message pull through, share of voice, sentiment, comparative analytics,
coverage in target media important to stakeholders, net promoter scores (NPS), public opinion surveys and invitations to speak or
contribute to reports, articles and other PR type activities.
PR and earned media attribution
Attribution in PR is the ability to attribute a PR activity to an outcome. Some of the vendors that offer media monitoring tools have
begun providing a means to tie earned media to an action.
For example, if your organization is mentioned in an article, and a week later, a reader of that article visits your website and
downloads a white paper, subscribes to a newsletter, or makes a purchase, these tools can attribute the activity to that article.
Broadly speaking, advertising technology tools inform advertisers of clicks on digital ads within or around an article (or video).
Earned media attribution is fundamentally the same idea, only it’s attributed to the article itself rather than an ad served up with the
article.

These 11 PR technology
providers are recommended
by at 10% or more of
respondents. This question
was optional.
Chart 1 of 2 on
PR technology

Notes on the PR tech vendors
The authors of this report keep a close watch on news from the PR technology community. Here are some notes from the last year
or so:
• Muck Rack has a news trends tool that’s free to use without registration.
• Social Chorus is an internal communications tool that is really doing some interesting things. The company has introduced
integrations and analytics to “examine if initiatives are effective at improving morale, retention, attendance, sentiment and even
the bottom line.”
• TVEyes powers the broadcast monitoring for several other vendors including Cision, Meltwater, Burrelles and Muck Rack.
• Onclusive and Meltwater have both worked to improve sentiment analysis through natural language processing (NLP). For
example, Meltwater is applying a sentiment to every sentence in an article individually and using that to calculate overall
sentiment.
• The three vendors on this list that offer attribution capabilities are Meltwater, Onclusive and Cision.
• Cision owns four brands on this list including PR Newswire, PRWeb, and TrendKite. The company was again taken private
again after being acquired by another private equity firm.
For more news on the PR technology vendors see:
• PR Tech Sum: this a monthly summary of news related to the vendor community.
• PR Tech Briefing: this is write-up based on a web demonstration of a product, Q&A and independent research.
• Product Reviews: this is an in-depth review based on hands-on in a production environment.

Most respondents with communications
or PR responsibilities report to the head
of marketing. However, about one-third
indicate they report to the CEO.

Employed full-time and
NOT looking
Employed full-time, but open to
opportunities
Employed part-time and NOT
looking
Employed part-time, but open to
opportunities
In between gigs and looking for
work
In between gigs, but not looking for
work
Other
Those that said “other” tend
to be independent
consultants, which suggests
a level of self-employment.
These numbers have surely
changed in the wake of the
Coronavirus pandemic.
Whether you are looking for work, or
looking to fill a vacancy, be sure to
subscribe to Ned’s Job of the Week
(JOTW) email newsletter or email
Ned at lundquist989@cs.com.
It’s a free resource for both job
seekers and employers.

A handful of respondents
identified as dual citizens, i.e. US
& Canada or US & Mexico.

92% of respondents have 11
or more years of experience.

More than half of respondents
come from in-house roles.
Those that said “other” identified
as contract workers or “part-
time” help.

Respondents that said
“other” most commonly
identified as having
combination of the
responsibilities and
duties listed. In other
words, both internal and
external
communications.

Those that answered
“other” tend to work for
a government agency.

Respondents hail from a wide
variety of industries. Other
vertical markets respondents
wrote in included real estate,
accounting and engineering.

Survey methodology
This survey was a joint effort between Ned’s Job of the Week (JOTW) and Sword and the Script
Media, LLC. Subscribers to both organizations were solicited to take the survey through mentions in
the weekly newsletter, dedicated email requests and online media.
In total 300 respondents took the survey online from Friday, January 31, 2020, until Tuesday, March
10, 2020. It’s important to note the World Health Organization categorized the Coronavirus as a
pandemic on March 11, 2020.
Survey takers were incentivized to take the survey with an offer to be entered for a chance to win one
of three gift cards ($100, $50 and $25). The 2020 edition of the JOTW Communications Survey marks
the third consecutive year this survey has been conducted.

Have a position to fill? Looking for a new gig?
Send a note with the listing or to subscribe to
Ned’s Job of the Week or by contacting Ned
directly at lundquist989@cs.com.
http://www.nedsjotw.com/

Need a topic for a webinar, session or
virtual event?
Ned Lundquist and Frank Strong are
available to present the data in this
survey. Contact us to learn more:
Ned Lundquist:
lundquist989@cs.com
Frank Strong:
frank@swordandthescript.com
Photo by Marcos Luiz Photograph on Unsplash

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