On Top of PR with Jason Mudd

Jason Mudd, Axia Public Relations
  • 4.9 (53)
  • Marketing
  • Biweekly

On Top of PR is a podcast dedicated to helping corporate communications leaders leverage the power of PR to build a strong brand and great reputation. Each episode features guests to discuss PR and marketing topics, tips, and trends. We want to help every active and aspiring communication professional stay on top of PR.   It is one of the top 2.5% most popular podcast shows globally, according to Listen Notes' Listen Score, and among the top 100 marketing podcasts in the world on Apple Podcasts.   We've featured guests from Microsoft, Disney, Wells Fargo, Tyson Foods, Mall of America, Priceline, Southwest Airlines, and more. About Jason MuddJason Mudd is a professional public speaker, accredited public relations practitioner, published author, podcaster, and entrepreneur. The World Communication Forum named him North America’s top PR leader. He’s the CEO and managing partner of Axia Public Relations. Forbes Magazine named Axia as one of America’s Best PR Agencies. He is a trusted adviser and dynamic strategist to some of America’s most admired and fastest-growing companies. His past PR work includes American Airlines, Budweiser, Dave & Buster’s, H&R Block, Hilton, HP, Miller Lite, New York Life, Pizza Hut, Southern Comfort, and Verizon. 

  1. 4d ago

    What PR Pioneers Say About PR Today

    Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Shelley Spector, founder and CEO of the Museum of Public Relations, joins host Jason Mudd to share what PR pioneers can still teach today’s communicators. Tune in to learn more!   Meet our guest: Our guest is Shelley Spector, founder and CEO of the Museum of Public Relations. Located in New York, the museum houses more than 5,100 artifacts that chronicle PR history. Its AI-powered personas let you talk with PR pioneers in their own voices. Five things you’ll learn from this episode: 1. What public relations originally meant and why the definition still matters 2. Why every strong PR program starts with research on your publics 3. How Ivy Lee, Edward Bernays, and Arthur Page shaped the PR profession 4. Why foundational PR principles get lost in the social media and AI era 5. How AI personas of PR pioneers help you brainstorm big ideas, get crisis advice, and pressure-test campaigns   Quotables "The original usage is creating good relationships with all your publics." — Shelley Spector "A very good PR program always starts with doing research." — Shelley Spector "In my experience, clients want earned media. Clients want good, old-fashioned media relations." — Shelley Spector “Instead of jumping to Instagram or TikTok, ask: What does the research say? What’s the strategy? What do we want for the objectives?” —  Shelley Spector “It’s time we put relationships back in public relations.” — Jason Mudd If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to share it with a colleague or friend. You may also support us through Buy Me a Coffee or by leaving us a quick podcast review. More about Shelley Spector Shelley Spector is the founder and CEO of the Museum of Public Relations, the world's only museum dedicated to the global PR and communication profession. Since its 1997 founding in New York, the museum has built a collection of more than 5,100 artifacts that chronicle the history of PR. Visitors can now meet the world's only AI-powered personas of PR pioneers Edward Bernays, Arthur W. Page, Ivy Lee, and Walter Lippmann. The museum built each persona exclusively from the pioneer's own writings and interviews, so you hear each one in their own voice and personality. Guest’s contact info and resources: Shelley Spector on LinkedIn Museum of Public Relations website Ask Eddie: Talk with the AI persona of Edward Bernays Plan your visit to the Museum of Public Relations Book: Always Live Better Than Your Clients Additional resources: Blog Post: What should I know about media relations and earned media coverage before hiring a PR firm? Blog Post: Question-based crisis communication: What leaders miss online Blog Post: How to develop buyer personas and avatars If you like this episode, you're going to love these episodes: Leveraging market insights to shape PR strategy What you should know about earning media coverage One brand, four generations: Why trust doesn't transfer Recorded: Oct. 13, 2026 Support the show On Top of PR is produced by Axia Public Relations, named by Forbes as one of America’s Best PR Agencies. Axia is an expert PR firm for national brands.On Top of PR is sponsored by ReviewMaxer, the platform for monitoring, improving, and promoting online customer reviews.

    What PR Pioneers Say About PR Today

  2. Oct 20

    One brand, four generations: Why trust doesn't transfer

    Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Mari Considine, chief brand and marketing officer at Acenda Integrated Health, joins host Jason Mudd to discuss how to reach Gen Z, millennials, Gen X, and baby boomers with one brand promise.  Tune in to learn more! Meet our guest: Our guest is Mari Considine, chief brand and marketing officer at Acenda Integrated Health. Mari brings more than 25 years of executive leadership experience connecting brand storytelling with business strategy, especially in healthcare. She is a national speaker, an adjunct professor, and a PRSA ICON 2026 speaker on reaching four generations of patients. Five things you’ll learn from this episode: 1. How to adapt your tone without changing your core message 2. Why trust doesn’t transfer across generations and how to choose the right messengers 3. Where patients now look for healthcare information 4. How to match the right message, messenger, and medium 5. How to adapt one brand promise to each generation without fragmenting your brand Quotables  “Trust is the thing that is less transferable than other things.” — Mari Considine “It's not about being everything to everyone, where your target audience is everyone. That's the nightmare scenario.” — Mari Considine “If we're not on social media or we're not driving that audience to talk about us, then we're pretty much invisible.” — Mari Considine “We're promoting the same product and the same service, and we're going to use the same core messaging. We're just going to tweak how we tell the story a little bit and where we're going to appear.” — Mari Considine “People are using AI even when they either don't want to or don't realize they are.” — Jason Mudd If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to share it with a colleague or friend. You may also support us by leaving us a quick podcast review. Guest’s contact info and resources: Mari Considine on LinkedIn Acenda Integrated Health website PRSA ICON 2026 Additional Resources: Earned media: The future of PR in the age of AI search Why does AI skip your website and cite the news instead? How earned media gets AI to remember your brand If you like this episode, you’re going to love these episodes: Behavioral science secrets behind top brands Ageism in the workplace: Hiring bias, careers, and the future of work The best argument for PR? Surprisingly, it's AI Recorded: Oct. 8, 2026 Support the show On Top of PR is produced by Axia Public Relations, named by Forbes as one of America’s Best PR Agencies. Axia is an expert PR firm for national brands.On Top of PR is sponsored by ReviewMaxer, the platform for monitoring, improving, and promoting online customer reviews.

    One brand, four generations: Why trust doesn't transfer

  3. Oct 13

    The AI trust problem: Can you trust your AI?

    Send us Fan Mail In this episode, former Goldman Sachs partner Mike Ryan, CEO and co-founder of Bullet Point Network, joins host Jason Mudd to discuss the trust problem at the heart of AI, why trust is now the biggest barrier to enterprise AI adoption, and how you can keep human judgment in control of AI output. Tune in to learn more! Meet our guest: Our guest is Mike Ryan, the CEO and co-founder of Bullet Point Network, an AI-driven investment platform. Mike is a former Goldman Sachs partner and global co-head of equities. He also served on the Harvard endowment’s investment committee. Five things you’ll learn from this episode: 1. Why trust, not capability, is now the biggest barrier to enterprise AI adoption 2. How AI-enabled advisory support pairs speed with human judgment and quality control 3. Why off-the-shelf AI isn’t built for high-stakes communication 4. How AI can reduce the constant rebuild of senior communication 5. The 20-60-20 strategy for avoiding AI slop   Quotables “If you can’t trust the information you’re getting, you can’t rely on it.” — Mike Ryan “AI is not going to take the job of most smart people, but a person using AI better than you might take your job.” — Mike Ryan “Just because you can produce it fast doesn’t mean you want it or want to distribute it.” — Mike Ryan “You don’t want AI to take you fast in the wrong direction.” — Mike Ryan “If you use AI the same way, you can elevate your thinking and your mindfulness about the organization and think more as a strategist.” — Jason Mudd If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to share it with a colleague or friend. You can also support us by leaving us a quick podcast review. More about Mike Ryan Mike Ryan is CEO and co-founder of Bullet Point Network, an AI-driven investment platform built on an "AI + 1" philosophy that combines AI with human expertise to speed investment decisions. A former Goldman Sachs partner and global co-head of equities, and a former member of the Harvard endowment's investment committee, Mike brings more than 20 years of experience in investing, leadership, and advisory work. He serves as an adviser and board member for companies and nonprofits, with a personal focus on advancing education and economic opportunity. Guest’s contact info and resources: Mike Ryan on LinkedIn @mikeryanbpn on X Bullet Point Network website Additional Resources: Fighting to be trustworthy to AI and humans Reputation management for AI search: monitoring and response framework 7 responsible principles to guide the use of AI in public relations If you like this episode, you're going to love these episodes: The PR playbook for getting recommended by AI with Unusual AI and PR with Microsoft’s CCO Frank Shaw The future of PR in the age of AI with Agility PR Support the show On Top of PR is produced by Axia Public Relations, named by Forbes as one of America’s Best PR Agencies. Axia is an expert PR firm for national brands.On Top of PR is sponsored by ReviewMaxer, the platform for monitoring, improving, and promoting online customer reviews.

    The AI trust problem: Can you trust your AI?

  4. Oct 6

    Is your brand PR ready? 5 steps for the AI era

    Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Slava Balykov joins host Jason Mudd to discuss how you can assess your brand's public relations readiness before a crisis or AI tool exposes your gaps. Slava shares his five-step framework, explains how to respond when AI gets your brand wrong, and reveals what executives really want from PR reporting. Tune in to learn more! Five things you’ll learn from this episode: How to assess your brand's PR readiness in the AI eraFive steps to PR readinessWhy you should understand your information environment before investing in AI optimizationHow to check what AI says about your organization and what to do when it’s wrongWhat executives want from PR reporting and why coverage volume rarely delivers it Quotables "Before optimizing anything, organizations need to understand the information environment that already exists around them." — Slava Balykov"Critical doesn't mean incorrect." — Slava Balykov"Treat readiness as an ongoing diagnostic, not a one-off exercise." — Slava Balykov"Quality is much more important than quantity." — Slava Balykov"Measuring impressions or the number of appearances feels like what people call vanity metrics, as opposed to true business impact." — Jason MuddIf you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to share it with a colleague or friend. You may also support us through Buy Me a Coffee or by leaving us a quick podcast review. Guest’s contact info and resources: Slava Balykov on LinkedInSlava's five steps to PR readiness in the AI era:Establish your baseline.  Understand what information about your organization is currently discoverable and identify important gaps, contradictions, or outdated information.Review owned information.  Make sure your website, corporate pages, leadership profiles, and other controlled touchpoints clearly and accurately explain who you are and what you do.Look beyond owned channels.  Examine credible third-party sources, including media, industry publications, and other independent references, to understand the wider information environment around your organization.Diagnose the gaps.  Compare owned and external information. Investigate where they materially differ and determine whether the issue is outdated information, factual inconsistency, legitimate criticism, or a broader positioning gap.Monitor over time.  Information environments continually change. Regularly review important sources and AI-generated answers to identify new gaps and keep your communications foundation current.Additional Resources: Reputation management for AI search: Monitoring and response frameworkRethinking reputation management in public relations for the AI eraAI search is the new front pageHow do you measure PR? A guide to meaningful metricsListen to more episodes of the On Top of PR with Jason Mudd podcast.Find out more about Axia Public Relations. If you like this episode, you're going to love this: AI and PR with Microsoft's CCO Frank ShawThe PR playbook for getting recommended by AI with UnusualHow to prepare for any communication crisis with Tom CiubaCrisis lessons learned from Southwest Airlines Recorded: September 2026 Support the show On Top of PR is produced by Axia Public Relations, named by Forbes as one of America’s Best PR Agencies. Axia is an expert PR firm for national brands.On Top of PR is sponsored by ReviewMaxer, the platform for monitoring, improving, and promoting online customer reviews.

    Is your brand PR ready? 5 steps for the AI era

  5. Sep 29

    Why brands should lead with public relations

    Send us Fan Mail In this solocast, On Top of PR host Jason Mudd explains why brands should earn attention before they buy it and how generative AI makes leading with PR more important for marketing leaders. Tune in to learn more! Five things you’ll learn from this episode: 1. Why the order of PR and advertising matters when you launch something new 2. How Starbucks, Tesla, and Pepperidge Farm earned attention before they bought it 3. Why launching advertising first can spend your news value 4. How earned media shapes what generative AI platforms say about your brand 5. Which three questions to ask before your next launch   Quotables “They earned attention before they bought it.” — @jasonmudd9 “Lead with PR. Then use advertising to amplify what PR helped build.” — @jasonmudd9 “If you have something new, different, or disruptive, you have something advertising can’t buy. You have news value.” — @jasonmudd9 “PR helped other people do the talking.” — @jasonmudd9 “You don’t always have to buy attention first. Sometimes the better strategy is to earn it.” — @jasonmudd9 If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to share it with a colleague or friend. You may also support us through Buy Me a Coffee or by leaving us a quick podcast review. Guest’s contact info and resources: Jason Mudd on X Jason Mudd on LinkedIn Prioritizing PR over advertising with Laura Ries | On Top of PR podcast Muck Rack: What Is AI Reading? (May 2026) PR Success Stories: From Struggling Startup to More Than $130 Million in Revenues Additional Resources: The power of PR How do you measure PR? 7 ways to build credibility using public relations PR is now the front door to AI discovery Listen to more episodes of the On Top of PR with Jason Mudd podcast Find out more about Axia Public Relations If you like this episode, you're going to love this: The best argument for PR? Surprisingly, it’s AI How public relations changes business outcomes 95% of AI citations come from PR content Recorded: September, 2026 Support the show On Top of PR is produced by Axia Public Relations, named by Forbes as one of America’s Best PR Agencies. Axia is an expert PR firm for national brands.On Top of PR is sponsored by ReviewMaxer, the platform for monitoring, improving, and promoting online customer reviews.

    Why brands should lead with public relations

  6. Sep 1

    Why business acumen is critical for PR professionals today

    Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Ron Culp joins host Jason Mudd to discuss why business acumen now outweighs writing skills in PR hiring, the three stages of a corporate PR career, and five practical ways to build business acumen at any career stage. Tune in to learn more! Meet Our Guest: Our guest is Ron Culp, a professional-in-residence at DePaul University and a former corporate chief communications officer. He brings decades of experience across government, corporate communications, public relations agencies, and higher education, where he helps prepare the next generation of PR professionals. Five things you’ll learn from this episode:  1. Three stages of corporate public relations 2. Why business acumen has taken over writing skills as the top thing employers want 3. Five practical ways students and young professionals can build business acumen 4. Why understanding how your company makes money changes the decisions you make 5. Why business acumen matters   Quotables "When what you're doing isn't having any impact on the business, you really have to question it. If you don't, you're gonna start being questioned." – Ron Culp "You just make better decisions if you have a sense of what the business is all about." – Ron Culp "Good writers are good thinkers, always has been the case, and good writers can be trained." – Ron Culp "If we can't figure out how they make money, then I'm not sure we can be the trusted strategic partner that we need to be." – Jason Mudd If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to share it with a colleague or friend. You may also support us through Buy Me a Coffee or by leaving us a quick podcast review. Guest’s contact info and resources: Ron Culp on LinkedIn Ron Culp's blog: culpwrit.com Ageism in the workplace: Hiring bias, careers, and the future of work How trusted strategic advisors influence leaders Additional Resources: Marketing leaders are reframing reputation management as a revenue strategy Traditional PR doesn’t work anymore How to turn social and reputation management into a revenue operating system Listen to more episodes of the On Top of PR with Jason Mudd podcast Find out more about Axia Public Relations If you like this episode, you're going to love this: How public relations changes business outcomes How communications professionals shape business success Maximizing Agency Partnerships with Mark Riggs Recorded: August, 2026 Support the show On Top of PR is produced by Axia Public Relations, named by Forbes as one of America’s Best PR Agencies. Axia is an expert PR firm for national brands.On Top of PR is sponsored by ReviewMaxer, the platform for monitoring, improving, and promoting online customer reviews.

    Why business acumen is critical for PR professionals today

  7. Aug 24

    AI can synthesize your data. It can't tell you what matters.

    Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Jessica Barber Scott joins host Jason Mudd to discuss how public relations professionals can move beyond impressions and advertising value equivalency to measure outcomes and impact, build measurement frameworks around business objectives, and use AI without losing the human judgment a CFO relationship requires. Tune in to learn more!   Meet our guest: Our guest is Jessica Barber Scott, a senior communication professional with 15 years of experience across regulated financial services, state government, and higher education. She is a PRSA Silver Anvil Award winner for crisis communication and has advised C-suite leaders at organizations including TIAA, Corebridge Financial, and EverBank. Five things you’ll learn from this episode: 1. Why AVE still shows up in reporting and what it costs you 2. How to climb the three tiers of PR measurement (outputs, outcomes, and impact) 3. Why your measurement framework should start with the business objective, not the data 4. Four moves that change the dynamic of any CFO budget meeting 5. What AI can do for measurement and what it can’t replace   Quotables “The numbers are getting smaller as the work gets credible.” — Jessica Scott “Come in with the data. Not with an apology, with data.” — Jessica Scott “AI can pull faster. It can synthesize more broadly. It can find patterns across data at a scale that really no human team can match. But what it can't do is tell you whether you're measuring the right thing in the first place.” — Jessica Scott “Getting media coverage is not a result. It's an output of the work and the effort that you made.” — Jason Mudd If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to share it with a colleague or friend. You may also support us through Buy Me a Coffee or by leaving us a quick podcast review. Guest’s contact info and resources: Jessica Scott on LinkedIn AMEC Additional Resources: How do you measure PR? Yes, PR is measurable. How to measure and report public relations and strategic corporate communications The 3 biggest PR measurement mistakes 5 metrics you should measure in PR Listen to more episodes of the On Top of PR with Jason Mudd podcast. Find out more about Axia Public Relations. If you like this episode, you're going to love this: What you should be measuring in your PR campaigns with Johna Burke Barcelona Principles 4.0: How to measure PR effectively with AMEC CEO Johna Burke The power of PR measurement with Katie Delahaye Paine  Recorded: August, 2026 Support the show On Top of PR is produced by Axia Public Relations, named by Forbes as one of America’s Best PR Agencies. Axia is an expert PR firm for national brands.On Top of PR is sponsored by ReviewMaxer, the platform for monitoring, improving, and promoting online customer reviews.

    AI can synthesize your data. It can't tell you what matters.

  8. Aug 4

    Applying leadership frameworks to AI

    Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Ken Jacobs, principal of Jacobs Consulting & Executive Coaching, joins host Jason Mudd to discuss how communications leaders can apply proven leadership principles to AI adoption. Tune in to learn more! Meet our guest: Our guest is Ken Jacobs, principal of Jacobs Consulting & Executive Coaching. Ken helps public relations, communications, and marketing leaders become more effective and inspiring leaders through executive coaching and consulting. Before launching his consulting practice, he spent 25 years in leadership roles at leading PR agencies. He also hosts Taking the Lead, a leadership video podcast, and writes the quarterly Taking the Lead column for the Public Relations Society of America's Strategies & Tactics publication. Five things you’ll learn from this episode: 1. How courageous leaders embrace AI 2. Why every organization needs AI guardrails 3. How leaders can build AI confidence 4. Why listening leads to stronger teams 5. How AI and human judgment work together   Quotables "If you're not already deep in AI, you're behind, but it's also never too late." — Ken Jacobs “Walk the walk, not just talk the talk.” — Ken Jacobs “True leaders update their knowledge and fluency.” — Ken Jacobs “You as a leader have to be able to ask the right kind of questions.” — Ken Jacobs "Hire smart people and get out of their way." — Jason Mudd If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to share it with a colleague or friend. You may also support us through Buy Me a Coffee or by leaving us a quick podcast review. Guest’s contact info and resources: Ken Jacobs on LinkedIn Jacobs Consulting & Executive Coaching website Taking the Lead Podcast How to stay ahead of AI in communications and marketing Four leadership tips to guide you through uncertain times Additional resources: What sources feed generative AI answers? What Google AI Mode means for your PR and media strategy How are AI tools changing PR jobs? Axia’s AIVisibility service Listen to more episodes of the On Top of PR with Jason Mudd podcast. Find out more about Axia Public Relations. If you like this episode, you're going to love this: The best argument for PR? Surprisingly, it's AI 95% of AI citations come from PR content  Managing communications and PR in the AI era Embedded AI: The future of PR and communication workflows Recorded: July, 2026 Support the show On Top of PR is produced by Axia Public Relations, named by Forbes as one of America’s Best PR Agencies. Axia is an expert PR firm for national brands.On Top of PR is sponsored by ReviewMaxer, the platform for monitoring, improving, and promoting online customer reviews.

    Applying leadership frameworks to AI
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About

On Top of PR is a podcast dedicated to helping corporate communications leaders leverage the power of PR to build a strong brand and great reputation. Each episode features guests to discuss PR and marketing topics, tips, and trends. We want to help every active and aspiring communication professional stay on top of PR.   It is one of the top 2.5% most popular podcast shows globally, according to Listen Notes' Listen Score, and among the top 100 marketing podcasts in the world on Apple Podcasts.   We've featured guests from Microsoft, Disney, Wells Fargo, Tyson Foods, Mall of America, Priceline, Southwest Airlines, and more. About Jason MuddJason Mudd is a professional public speaker, accredited public relations practitioner, published author, podcaster, and entrepreneur. The World Communication Forum named him North America’s top PR leader. He’s the CEO and managing partner of Axia Public Relations. Forbes Magazine named Axia as one of America’s Best PR Agencies. He is a trusted adviser and dynamic strategist to some of America’s most admired and fastest-growing companies. His past PR work includes American Airlines, Budweiser, Dave & Buster’s, H&R Block, Hilton, HP, Miller Lite, New York Life, Pizza Hut, Southern Comfort, and Verizon. 

Information

  • Creator
    Jason Mudd, Axia Public Relations
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    193
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Axia Public Relations
  • Show Website
    On Top of PR with Jason Mudd

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