Roxy Jacenko’s hot takes on the ‘lazy’ PR industry are very lazy
Roxy Jacenko, director of Sydney-based public relations firm, Sweaty Betty PR, took aim at the entire public relations industry during a recent appearance on The Lazy CEO podcast, claiming that “every PR agency has become so f***ng lazy” with their reliance on influencer marketing, and that “everyone has forgotten about traditional [media].”
Such sweeping statements were sure to attract the ire of the PR industry, and were seemingly said in order to do just that. Well, it worked. Here, Sally Branson explains how calling an entire industry ‘lazy’ is the laziest thing she’s heard all year.
Mumbrella has taken Roxy Jacenko's rage-bait
Let’s get something straight. PR people are not lazy.
We don’t know who needs to hear this (okay, we do: anyone taking Roxy Jacenko’s hot takes on PR as gospel on Jane Lu’s Lazy CEO podcast) but calling an entire industry “lazy”, well that’s the laziest thing we’ve heard all year.
This is a rage bait claim that we know will get lots of views and comments, but a claim that not only misrepresents the current state of our industry but also demonstrates a fundamental disconnect from the realities facing agencies and practitioners in 2025.
We’re not angry. Well, maybe a little. Mostly we’re just tired. Tired of people misunderstanding what PR actually is in 2025 and ready to speak up for an industry full of smart, creative professionals who work their guts out every day making everyone else look good.
Because while it might have looked like long lunches and Bondi PR pop-ups a decade ago, today it’s strategy, speed, storytelling, spreadsheets, and staying awake at 11pm rewriting a pitch because the news cycle just flipped for the 56th time.
@thelazyceopod The PR industry has shifted dramatically. With everyone chasing influencer status, traditional outlets like magazines and news platforms are being overlooked, but they still hold power. Roxy Jacenko breaks down why relying solely on influencer hype is lazy PR, and why real credibility requires more than likes and followers. #EntrepreneurLife #SharkTank #BusinessLessons #thelazyceo #thelazyceo
The reality of modern PR practice
To suggest that today’s PR professionals are lazy is to ignore the substantial shifts that have reshaped our industry over the past decade. The practitioners we know, and we suspect many are reading this, are working harder and more strategically than ever before.
Modern PR requires a fundamentally different skill set than it did even five years ago. Today’s practitioners must be:
Agile and adaptive. The media landscape changes daily. Mastheads merge, publications close, and digital platforms rise and fall with alarming regularity. What worked last quarter may be obsolete today. PR professionals must constantly evolve their strategies, their pitching approaches, and their understanding of where audiences actually consume content.
Multi-disciplinary strategists. The lines between PR, content marketing, influencer relations, and digital strategy have blurred beyond recognition. Clients rightly expect integrated approaches that span earned, owned, and paid media. This requires expertise across disciplines that simply didn’t exist in traditional PR practice.
Story-obsessed and audience-first. With journalists facing impossible workloads and shrinking editorial teams, the bar for what constitutes newsworthy content has never been higher. Every pitch must be laser-focused, angle-perfect, and genuinely valuable to the outlet’s audience. There is no room for lazy, spray-and-pray approaches.
Data literate and results-driven. Modern clients expect measurable outcomes, sophisticated reporting, and clear ROI. Today’s PR professionals must be as comfortable with analytics platforms and measurement frameworks as they are with media relationships.
This is not the work of lazy people. This is the work of professionals navigating one of the most challenging periods in the history of public relations.
The media landscape has fundamentally changed
The media industry itself is in crisis, and pretending otherwise does a disservice to everyone involved.
Newsrooms have been gutted. Rounds have been consolidated. The number of journalists covering any given beat has shrunk dramatically. Those who remain are overworked, under-resourced, and fielding more pitches than ever before.
Meanwhile, new models have emerged that complicate the traditional PR playbook. Pay-to-play arrangements, affiliate marketing tie-ups, and sponsored content opportunities have proliferated. For better or worse, these are now part of the media ecosystem, and PR professionals must navigate them while maintaining editorial integrity and delivering value for clients.
These aren’t excuses. They’re the operational realities of contemporary practice. And they require more skill, more hustle, and more strategic thinking than ever before.
On influencer marketing and industry evolution
It’s worth noting the irony of criticism coming from someone who has built a significant portion of their public profile and income through influencer marketing, a practice that sits adjacent to, and often intersects with, traditional PR.
We don’t begrudge anyone their success. However, there’s a certain cognitive dissonance in criticising an industry as “lazy” while simultaneously benefiting from that industry’s evolution and the very platforms and practices that have emerged from it.
The influencer economy, including the substantial fees commanded by high-profile personalities and their family members for sponsored content, is itself a product of the changing media landscape.
PR professionals helped build this ecosystem and continue to navigate it on behalf of clients.
Transparency matters. Consumers deserve to understand the commercial realities behind the content they consume, including rate cards, sponsorship arrangements, and the financial incentives that drive influencer partnerships. We believe in pulling back the curtain on these practices across the board.
Sally Branson
This industry gave you your platform
The PR industry that is being characterised as “lazy” is the same industry that provided the foundation, the coverage, the media relationships, and the strategic positioning that allowed certain personalities to build extraordinary public profiles and lucrative personal brands.
The game and goodwill of journalists, the strategic work of PR teams, and the ecosystem of media relationships that our industry has cultivated over decades—these are what create the conditions for influencer success stories.
To turn around and disparage the industry that facilitated that success feels, at best, shortsighted. At worst, it feels like rage-bait designed to generate engagement and controversy.
We understand the podcast game. Provocative statements drive downloads. Controversy creates buzz. But when those statements damage the reputation of an entire industry and demoralise the hardworking professionals within it, we have an obligation to respond.
We stand by our people
The PR professionals we work with and alongside are anything but lazy. They are:
- Pitching journalists before dawn and following up after dinner
- Crafting bespoke angles for every outlet, every time
- Building genuine relationships with media contacts based on trust and value
- Staying across breaking news to identify reactive opportunities
- Managing client expectations while delivering exceptional results
- Juggling multiple campaigns across multiple channels simultaneously
- Upskilling constantly to stay relevant in a rapidly changing industry
- Assisting their clients to break and share stories that change cultural landscapes, end poor and illegal behaviour and influence policy decisions
These are people who care deeply about their craft, their clients, and the integrity of public discourse. They deserve better than broad-brush accusations of laziness.
Strategic framework for modern PR excellence
Rather than defending past practices, let’s establish what exceptional PR looks like in 2025:
Prevention-first planning: Modern PR professionals should be building crisis-aware strategies before issues emerge, not just responding when problems arise.
Stakeholder ecosystem mapping: Understanding and nurturing relationships across traditional media, digital platforms, and emerging channels before you need them.
Context-aware timing: Every campaign and announcement must consider the broader conversation affecting your industry and audience.
Measurable value creation: Moving beyond vanity metrics to demonstrate genuine business impact through strategic communications.
Authentic authority building: Positioning clients as genuine thought leaders rather than just seeking coverage for coverage’s sake.
The path forward
We’re not interested in fanning the fire of rage bait.
We’re asking for recognition of what modern PR actually requires and delivers.
The industry has evolved because it had to. The professionals within it have adapted because their clients and the media landscape demanded it. This evolution represents progress, not laziness.
For those seeking authentic, strategic PR support: we exist, we’re working harder than ever, and we’re delivering results that matter.
The conversation about PR’s future should focus on raising standards, not tearing down an industry that’s fighting to remain relevant and valuable.
We’re not lazy.
We’re strategic, adaptive, and committed to excellence in an industry that continues to evolve at unprecedented speed.
And we’re proud of the work we do.
Cosigned by:
Sally Branson, The Sally Branson Consulting Group
Amy Springhill, The Visibility Project
Meg Hutchinson, MHPR
Lucinda Bayly Hickling, BaylyPR
Celia Harding LEOPRD
Romina Favero, Romina Favero PR
