{"id":352,"date":"2026-06-11T06:01:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T06:01:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fortworthmovingnews.com\/?p=352"},"modified":"2026-06-11T06:01:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T06:01:18","slug":"new-2026-state-of-communications-report-reveals-strategic-growth-and-growing-strain-among-dfw-professionals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fortworthmovingnews.com\/?p=352","title":{"rendered":"New 2026 State of Communications Report Reveals Strategic Growth and Growing Strain Among DFW Professionals"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p><strong>Fort Worth, Texas\u00a0\u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Communications professionals across Dallas\u2013Fort Worth are taking a more strategic role inside their organizations, but new data shows many are being stretched to keep up. The newly released\u00a0<em>2026<\/em>\u00a0<em>State\u00a0of Communications in DFW Report\u00a0<\/em>provides a comprehensive look at how the profession is evolving across North Texas.\u00a0The report is based on a survey of 64 DFW-based public relations and communications professionals conducted by\u00a0Fort Worth-based firm\u00a0Story and Strategy.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/fortworthmovingnews.com\/?p=351\">City Council adopts Master Transportation Plan<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Among the key findings:\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Workload strain is widespread<\/strong>, with 82% of respondents saying their workload is not fully sustainable, including 19% who describe it as unsustainable.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li><strong>Perceived value\u00a0remains\u00a0a challenge<\/strong>, as only 25% of respondents say the communications function is \u201cvery valued\u201d by leadership.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li><strong>AI adoption is accelerating rapidly<\/strong>, with 84% of professionals using AI tools for their work, though only 31% report having clear organizational guidelines in place.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li><strong>Compensation concerns are rising<\/strong>, with 31% of respondents saying they feel significantly underpaid, up from 18% in 2025.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li><strong>Role expansion continues<\/strong>, with\u00a0nearly half\u00a0(48%) citing the challenge of managing multiple roles at once.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li><strong>The local media landscape is under pressure<\/strong>, with 52% describing the DFW media ecosystem as \u201cstable but shrinking.\u201d\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Together, the findings point to a profession\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0becoming more critical to business performance, but not yet fully resourced to meet growing demands.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCommunications\u00a0has\u00a0become a critical strategic function for businesses, but the structure around it hasn\u2019t fully caught up,\u201d said Kim Brown, APR, co-founder of Story and Strategy. \u201cCommunicators are increasingly acting as strategic advisors, while\u00a0creating content, managing employee engagement, planning events\u00a0and working with the media.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The report also underscores how the communications function is evolving. Professionals are balancing a wider range of disciplines,\u00a0while also adapting to new expectations around measurement,\u00a0trust\u00a0and business impact.\u00a0                                                      \u201cWhat we\u2019re seeing in DFW reflects a larger shift in the profession,\u201d said Abigail Hoover, co-founder of Story and Strategy.\u00a0\u201cCommunicators play a critical role in influencing strategy, managing\u00a0risk\u00a0and\u00a0helping organizations navigate complex environments. Companies have an opportunity to better support the role so it can deliver meaningful business impact.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/fortworthmovingnews.com\/?p=349\">Artisan Circle\u00a0Kicks Off Summer with\u00a0Evening\u00a0Markets and Global Flavors\u00a0Ahead of\u00a0Soccer Festivities<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Despite these pressures, career commitment\u00a0remains\u00a0strong. Most respondents report\u00a0high levels\u00a0of career satisfaction, suggesting that while the work is demanding, it continues\u00a0to play a meaningful role in\u00a0organizational\u00a0success.\u00a0                                                    The\u00a0second annual\u00a0State of Communications in DFW Report\u00a0was\u00a0produced by Story and Strategy to provide insights into the trends, challenges and opportunities shaping the communications profession across North Texas.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Download the full report:\u00a0storyandstrategypr.com\/state-of-comms-survey\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>About Story and Strategy<\/strong>\u00a0                                                                                                                                                            Founded in 2022, Story and Strategy is an award-winning strategic and crisis communications firm based in Fort Worth, Texas. The firm partners with organizations across healthcare, nonprofit, higher education and the local business sector to strengthen reputation, manage risk and support business\u00a0objectives\u00a0through strategic communication.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Grounded in a commitment to honesty, integrity and community impact, Story and Strategy has been recognized with multiple awards from the Greater Fort Worth Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America and has been quoted in\u00a0<em>Forbes<\/em>. The firm is also among a small percentage of U.S. public relations professionals who hold the Accredited in Public Relations (APR) credential, the industry\u2019s highest certification.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/fortworthmovingnews.com\/?p=348\">Fort Worth Chamber Opens Applications for 2026 Small Business of the Year Awards<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Learn more at\u00a0<strong>storyandstrategypr.com<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fort Worth, Texas\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Communications professionals across Dallas\u2013Fort Worth are taking a more strategic role inside their organizations, but new data shows many are being stretched to keep up. The newly released\u00a02026\u00a0State\u00a0of Communications in DFW Report\u00a0provides a comprehensive look at how the profession is evolving across North Texas.\u00a0The report is based on a survey of 64 DFW-based [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>New 2026 State of Communications Report Reveals Strategic Growth and Growing Strain Among DFW Professionals - Fort Worth Moving News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fortworthmovingnews.com\/?p=352\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New 2026 State of Communications Report Reveals Strategic Growth and Growing Strain Among DFW Professionals - Fort Worth Moving News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Fort Worth, Texas\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Communications professionals across Dallas\u2013Fort Worth are taking a more strategic role inside their organizations, but new data shows many are being stretched to keep up. 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