PR is the management of reputation. That used to exclusively mean using media relations to build trust between an organisation and its audiences.

But traditional media is in turmoil: ad revenue is at an all time low thanks to the recession and the internet has reduced the cost of publication and distribution to almost zero.

The rise of social networks has led consumers to fundamentally change their media consumption habits. Consumers are becoming contributors.

The impact on the PR profession has been dramatic. Command and control media relations no longer works and increasing brands are building direct relationships with their audiences using compelling content and story telling.

These changes formed the core of a guest lecture I gave on digital communication to the International PR MA course at the University of Cardiff yesterday.

The slidedeck cites five trends in the media and the rise of social media – and five areas where I believe PR professionals need to skill-up as a result.