Fear Files: PR edition

Halloween is a mixed bag of sweet and scary, depending on your age. It’s part chocolate, waxy candy and sometimes pennies (keep those, kids, because now they’re collector’s items). As you grow older, it might be tequila shots and edibles — and more candy (never skip the candy).

For people in PR, media and sports, monsters look a little different this year — Labubus aside. Last week I asked readers of this newsletter and in my PR Slack group (Spin Sucks): What scares you? 

You didn’t hold back (thank you for that). Answers weren’t playful, but they were honest. They provided a snapshot of our world. Many of these are U.S.-centric, but …

Welcome to Fear Files: PR edition 😱 by SIDEbar readers and Spin Sucks friends.

🧠 AI’s got us spooked

“Social media being distorted by AI is very scary.”
— Debbie Spander, President, Insight Sports Advisors

“Pretty soon all traditional media will be driven 99% by AI-generated content.” (I hope you’re wrong, Liz.)
— Liz Sweeney, Dogwood Solutions

📺 TV terror

“I’m scared for the state of network TV after learning that NBC/Comcast donated to the new ridiculously oversized, soon-to-cost-the-taxpayers-millions-of-dollars-in maintenance-and-staff, let alone food, for a 900-person ballroom.”
— Joy Zucker Tiemann, Emmy Award-winning television producer

🇺🇸 Country > company

“I’m less scared about the state of our industry and more worried about the state of our country and how that will affect the growth of my business and the livelihood of my team. That’s what keeps me up at 2 a.m.”
— Gini Dietrich, President, Spin Sucks (Kathy Casciani and Tim Miller cosigned)

⚖️ Democracy and dollars

“The crumbling of our democracy. Weird, unprecedented fast rulings of the Supreme Court.

“And finally, how to earn enough money to live comfortably to 100.”
— Julia Labaton

💻 Distorted reality

“I’m scared of the growing disconnect between viral social media / political rhetoric / AI + deepfakes and reality, especially as it relates to protecting my company’s brand. The Texas AG lawsuit against Tylenol should have all PR & comms folks terrified. (To clarify, I don’t work for Tylenol.)”
— Jeff Gordon, goguardian.com 

💊 Healthcare horror show

“Also scared about our crumbling healthcare system...it shall soon be accessible only by the very wealthy.”
— Liz Sweeney

🎃 The personal stuff hits hardest

“Lots of things are scaring me these days. My latest fear is whether it’s safe anymore for kids to go out trick-or-treating.

“I would guess, depending on where you work, that it’s hard to talk about the scary things because so many people run away from ‘politics.’ I don’t really define what’s going on as politics so that’s always tricky for me.”
— Margie Clayman (Dietrich echoed the trick-or-treat worry)

“I worry every day about my daughter going to school and potentially getting shot while there. To take it away from politics, however, I have a deep-seated fear of failure, which keeps me eager to learn new things and finding new rooms of people smarter than me to hang around in.”
— Christopher Barger

Oh, and me … 👧🏻 

I’m scared of the influence media illiterates are having on our communities and how some outlets are fueling them. Instead of media evolving and better serving consumers, so-called “leaders” are tearing apart what informs, connects and keeps governments and institutions accountable.

👻 Final thought

Nobody in these industries scares easily, but things still get under our skin. This Halloween, skip the haunted house. Real life’s got plenty of plot twists.

🧐 Does that mean we should retreat in horror? Hellllllll no.

I’ll be trick-or-treating for a tub of tequila. Or at a winery. As always, I’m open to suggestions. Just make sure they have popcorn. And chocolate. Lots and lots of chocolate.

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Really, thanks to all who emailed and answered my PR query. I appreciate your time, along with the conversations that followed. My mailbox is always open to you — as long as you don’t invite creepy, scary creatures.

© 2025 Gail Sideman. gpublicity.com, SIDEbar

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