It is with deep sadness that we share the passing of Willard D. “Bill” Nielsen, a towering leader in public relations whose lifelong commitment to integrity, mentorship, and ethical leadership shaped generations of communications professionals.

As global leaders head to Davos this week, one veteran observer shares why the world’s most powerful stage has become a real-time stress test for leadership, credibility and stakeholder trust.

AI may be everywhere right now, but its growing impact on how businesses operate and communicate makes it something leaders will need to plan for well beyond 2026.

For twenty years, internal communication leaders have struggled to prove strategic value. We’ve fought for budget, justified headcount, and defended against the perception that we’re “just” making announcements and organizing town halls. The Big Shift changes everything.

As M&A activity accelerates and shareholder activism continues to reshape corporate decision-making, transaction communications is no longer a support function. It has become a core driver of deal certainty, value preservation, and leadership credibility.

Now that 2026 is underway, we explore how AI is forcing marketing and media to move beyond hype into a more demanding phase where quality, credibility, and real results matter more than speed or scale.

Capitol Communicators is a profile series spotlighting the people shaping the present
and future of advertising, digital, marketing and public relations in the Mid-Atlantic.
This profile features Beth Johnson, Founder & CEO, RP3 Agency, Bethesda, MD 

This op-ed examines a real-time political case study to highlight how early decisions, messaging choices and timing missteps can quickly turn a new administration’s first day into a lesson in what not to do in public relations.

As students return to campus, this piece explores why storytelling remains one of the most essential, and often misunderstood, skills in modern business and communications.

In this episode, Michael sits down with Jeffrey Rosen to discuss his new book, The Pursuit of Liberty, which revisits the enduring clash between Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton and the competing visions of power and freedom that shaped the American experiment. Rosen traces how this foundational debate over centralized authority versus individual liberty ignited tensions that continue to influence American politics, law and civic life today, making the book as relevant now as it is historical.

The idea of “the media” is a hangover from an increasingly distant past. A time when professional values of journalism were shared across channels, broadcasters and broadsheets. It was relevant at a time when we could rely on news to be based on the truth, reporting and facts, even if it leant left or right of a center that truly was a middle ground.

As AI platforms rapidly reshape how information is trained, interpreted and delivered, this new Futurum Intelligence report offers communicators a clear, data-driven look at the performance dynamics that will influence visibility, credibility and competitive advantage heading into 2026.

We explore how AI-driven interfaces, illustrated by the Walmart and OpenAI partnership, are quietly becoming the first decision-making layer for consumers and reshaping how brands show up across commerce, search and content platforms.

As brands head into 2026, New Year’s resolution marketing is shifting away from big promises toward credibility, restraint and long-term trust.

Held each January in Las Vegas, CES has become a global stage where technology, media, investment and policy converge, and Truescope data shows that the scale of CES 2026 coverage ensures the ideas introduced there will shape tech and business conversations worldwide almost instantly.

Often lost in the news of who is or isn’t implicated in the Epstein files is the grievous nature of the acts against fellow human beings. Sex trafficking is an age-old issue, which makes it worth considering why it's wrong and why it still occurs but even more important, learning what some courageously caring organizations are doing to stop it.

We explore how the Venezuela raid offers a powerful lesson for communicators on why crisis communication must be guided by clear strategy, not just well-executed tactics.

As the IPO market heats up heading into 2026, Truescope data shows that the biggest upcoming listings will test not just investor appetite, but how well companies can manage scrutiny, trust and narrative at scale.

As we close out a year of growth, reflection and resilience, we reflect on what 2025 revealed about the power of community in communications and why there’s real optimism about what CommPRO and the industry can build together in 2026.

This op-ed takes a critical look at why cable TV political programming continues to prioritize speed and opinion over depth and expertise, often leaving viewers less informed rather than better informed.