USA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Eric Wachter, Jeff McAndrews, Kelly Kimberly and Nedra Pickler, FGS Global
Introduction In 2025 in the United States, the only certainty is uncertainty – and the need to manage it. At their core, crises are defined by (i) the total impact they could have on an organisation’s rep- utation, credibility, shareholder value, future abil- ity to operate, and financial performance, and (ii) whether they necessitate a rapid, but effective, response. While not every crisis can be avoided, the good news is nearly all can be anticipated and pre- pared for with a comprehensive and sober look at the business, its footprint, and the landscape, expectations, and risk framework within which the organisation operates. This section outlines some of the leading US trends that will impact crisis management in the current dynamic and unpredictable environment. The focus here is on stakeholder engagement and reputation defence, as opposed to organi- sational management or business continuity, and on how best to prepare for and manage an uncertain future. Leading US Crisis Management Trends and Developments Several key trends are influencing what compa- nies must consider as they operate a business, engage with key audiences, and manage issues and crises in 2025. A shifted and divided information landscape Effective crisis management today is even more complicated due to unprecedented media frag- mentation and a dwindling reliance on what used to be commonly shared sources of information. In October 2024, a Gallup poll revealed that more Americans have “no trust” in the media (36%) than have “great deal” or “fair amount” of
trust (32%). Instead, according to Pew Research Center, over half of American adults get some news from social media, a trend that continues to rise. With traditional media outlets losing not only trust but also readership and viewership, companies and organisations must now be vigi- lant about ensuring (or, where necessary, creat- ing) accurate sources of truth that reach all their key stakeholder audiences – either by actively monitoring for and correcting misinformation or incomplete information on widely viewed plat- forms, or by building and maintaining their own platforms and communications channels. This also may require engaging with outlets not previ- ously considered of importance to the organisa- tion. Further, following the latest US presidential elec- tion, organisations with litigation, investigative or regulatory matters before the federal govern- ment need new approaches to reach and influ- ence the new administration. Simply placing stories in the mainstream news media will no longer suffice. Many in the President’s evolving and often unorthodox circle of advisors, along with a growing share of any given organisations’ stakeholders, do not get their news from The Wall Street Journal, Good Morning America or even Fox News. As demonstrated in the most recent election, they consume from an entirely different set of information funnels, including podcasts run by former professional wrestlers and right- wing social media platforms. In this fast-evolving environment, a company that wants to persuade the new administration to terminate a govern- ment enforcement action or argue for or against a mission-critical policy change must seed its themes in the new “newsfluencer” ecosystem. An unpredictable new administration Prior experience with a Trump Administration unfortunately offers limited assurance of what to
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