Jess Ruderman

Jess Ruderman is an associate news editor at PRWeek who reports on how agencies and brands use PR and communications to shape their businesses, with a strong focus on agency appointments and brand strategy in sectors that include fashion, retail and consumer brands.

Agency appointments across fashion and consumer brands

Much of Ruderman’s recent reporting centers on agency-of-record moves, especially where consumer and fashion-facing brands hire PR partners to drive growth and reposition their image. She has covered Hugo Boss brands Boss and Hugo appointing M+C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment as their global PR agency of record, detailing how the shop will support the brands’ communications on a worldwide basis. She reports on Carhartt naming Weber Shandwick as agency of record, bringing attention to how a workwear and apparel brand invests in PR to support its evolution. She has written on national hat and fashion retailer Lids hiring Berk Communications as its North America PR AOR, highlighting the agency’s remit in managing consumer-facing storytelling. Her coverage of Complex selecting Extension PR as its first PR AOR shows the same interest in the intersection of commerce, media, entertainment and PR, with an emphasis on full-service consumer and business communications. In each of these pieces, Ruderman uses a straightforward news format to spell out the agency chosen, the scope of work and what the appointment signals about the brand’s communications priorities, rather than treating the announcement as a simple personnel change.

Healthcare and wellness communications

Ruderman’s beat also extends into healthcare and wellness, where she tracks how specialized agencies handle complex brand and product narratives. At PRWeek she reports on healthcare communications and the business of PR as part of her broader remit covering the industry. She has written for Medical Marketing and Media about Therabody naming Praytell as its US PR agency of record, noting that the agency now leads all brand and product communications for the wellness tech company. That work sits alongside her PRWeek healthcare coverage to give her a view of how health and wellness brands balance consumer appeal with more technical messaging. Her stories in this space tend to link agency appointments directly to communication goals, such as clarifying a company’s positioning or supporting launches in crowded markets.

Diversity, identity and Pride in PR

A recurring thread in Ruderman’s coverage is how agencies and brands address identity, diversity and inclusion through their communications. She has reported on an agency that traditionally described itself as a multicultural communications firm but is now broadening its definition of identity to include a range of dimensions beyond ethnicity, showing how PR shops reframe their remit in response to cultural change. She has written about long-term diversity goals at major marketing holding companies and campaigns such as Xfinity’s gamified in-person shopping experience, tying creative work to inclusion initiatives and consumer engagement. On PRWeek’s podcast she discusses the publication’s Pride in PR list and trends she is reporting on as major brands demonstrate commitment to LGBTQ+ communities, underlining her focus on how corporate messaging aligns with social values. This combination of news coverage and audio discussion sets her apart from a purely transactional agency reporter; she is consistently interested in how agency choices and campaigns reflect deeper questions around identity and representation.

Events, AI and reporting background

Beyond daily news, Ruderman participates in PRWeek events and uses those platforms to explore emerging issues such as AI and crisis communications. She has sat down with panelists at PRWeek’s inaugural conference in New York City to discuss the day’s sessions and the role AI is playing at their companies, blending reporting with live event moderation to surface practical perspectives on technology in PR. She appears at PRWeek’s Crisis Comms events, joining panels and post-session conversations about how communicators manage high-stakes situations, which reinforces her focus on the operational side of agency work. On PRWeek’s podcast she adds context around lists like Pride in PR and broader brand trends, extending her coverage into audio storytelling.

Her professional background supports this wide-angle view of the industry. She joined PRWeek in early 2023 as a senior reporter covering the agency and healthcare beats during a period of significant change and has since been promoted to associate news editor. She describes herself as a writer by training who now works across visual and digital storytelling, reflecting an interest in formats beyond traditional print. Earlier in her career she worked as a news assistant tracking the coronavirus pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine at The New York Times, contributing to large-scale coverage that she cites as Pulitzer Prize–related work. Across PRWeek, Medical Marketing and Media and Campaign US, her body of work shows a consistent pattern: she uses concise, fact-driven reporting to explain why a brand chose a particular agency, what that agency is tasked with and how those decisions fit into larger narratives around fashion, consumer culture, healthcare and diversity in communications.