The credit markets are in the tank. Consumer spending is flat. And gas prices? Don’t get me started.

No doubt Americans are seeing some disturbing trends, month after month after month. One of the more jolting things I’ve read recently came in last Saturday’s Wall Street Journal detailing how Fremont General Corp., parent of Fremont Investment & Loan in California, may end up going out of business if it doesn’t shore up its finances. If Fremont doesn’t shape up, it would become the first U.S. bank in five years to fail. Scary stuff, indeed.

All this sky-is-falling stuff got me thinking: What is the state of the public relations industry these days? Without looking at long term studies and charts and graphs, my sense is that PR remains strong amid turbulent times. I’m basing that on PAN Communications’ own in-house activities, which are steady month after month. Each of our portfolios—technology, professional services and consumer—are well represented and growing. We continue to receive business leads and inquiries from company leaders wondering how PR can help them.

Now, that’s not to say that prospects don’t challenge us about the value of PR over an ad campaign or some other marketing-related effort. Because they do. And we’re always there to let them know that the value they’re getting from a PR program. I would not go so far to say that PR is a recession-proof industry, but I will say that we’ve ridden the economic upheaval wave pretty well here.

And that’s no April Fool’s Day joke.