As the media landscape continues to evolve, communicators are being challenged to rethink how they tell stories and build trust. On the PR’s Top Pros Talk podcast, Doug Simon, CEO of D S Simon Media, sat down with Scott Ward, Principal of Fifth Estate Communications, to explore how the emergence of new communication channels is reshaping the way organizations share their stories.

Scott’s organization was founded before social media became the defining force it is now, but he saw the shift coming early. “We started before the real advent of the social media age, and it was becoming apparent even at that time that the walls of the Fourth Estate were being chipped away at by this new world,” he explains. “It's called the Fifth Estate, where everybody could have their own channel.” In this environment, Scott says, clarity and purpose are essential. “Know your story in and out. Know why you're telling a story? Know how you’re going to tell it and know who it's going to resonate with?” he advises.

What separates a good story from a bad one? According to Scott, it’s not about polish, it’s about purpose. “The front-up difference when you can tell a good story versus a bad story is whether that story is in service to a goal,” he says. “The question is, did you think about what was supposed to happen when somebody interacted with that story? And that's so much more important than the quality of the story.”

He adds that many communicators overlook this connection between message and outcome. “The story is never about the story. The story is about what you want to have happen,” he explains. Starting with a clear goal allows the story to evolve organically as it moves through the communications ecosystem. If communicators begin with a solid set of goals and ideas, what they want to make happen in the world, they can ensure their media relations efforts are effective and meaningful.

Scott works extensively with non-profits and mission-driven organizations. He often challenges clients to reconsider whether the term brand even captures what they do, since a brand traditionally signifies ownership. A non-profit, he explains, is built on a promise rather than a possession. It’s about inclusivity, service, and integrity, and living up to those commitments every day. He also sees lessons in this for for-profit companies. It was once easy to build a brand through visual identity alone, a color palette, a logo, and a tagline, but today’s environment is far more crowded and complex. Scott believes organizations must return to fundamentals: understanding who they are, what they stand for, and what they’re trying to achieve.

For Scott, effective storytelling, whether in non-profit or corporate settings, comes down to clarity, conviction, and adaptability. “In this era of rapid change, we just have to be comfortable reinventing ourselves every day,” he reflects. “That doesn't mean that we're putting on a new face and a new body. That change requires us to hold on even harder to the things that are our core tenets, our core values, our core stories, our core promise… to not run away from, not be afraid of, but to embrace and live into.”

As brands and communicators navigate this ever-shifting landscape, Scott’s reminder is simple but essential: hold fast to your purpose but be ready to evolve how you express it. In the Fifth Estate, every storyteller has a channel, and every story has the power to shape what happens next.

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Suchi Sherpa is a Marketing Communications Specialist at D S Simon Media, a leading firm specializing in satellite media tours.