Why Media Relationships Matter in PR: Lessons From My CBS News Career

Posted on October 15, 2026 by Mark Macias

A closer look at why media relationships matter in PR, how MACIAS PR built its national network, and why contacts alone don’t guarantee coverage.

By Mark Macias
Founder of MACIAS PR | Former NBC Executive Producer

Before I had media contacts, I had media colleagues. This photograph was taken in 2004, during my years with CBS in New York. Reporter Kirstin Cole – a familiar face in television news more than two decades later – sits beside me.

Back then, I wasn’t thinking about launching a PR agency or developing a national network of media contacts. I was working inside the news business, producing stories and building relationships with journalists over Thanksgiving dinners inside the newsroom. Twenty-two years later, those relationships have taken on a different meaning.

Some of my former colleagues are still reporting, while others have become executive producers, editors and newsroom leaders. That history is something no media database can replicate.

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You Can’t Buy Earned Media Coverage even if PR Agency Promises It

Posted on October 14, 2026 by Mark Macias

A new investigation into alleged fake Forbes websites exposes the risks of guaranteed media placements — and why startups should think twice before paying for publicity shortcuts.

By Mark Macias
Founder of MACIAS PR | Former NBC Executive Producer

Every startup founder wants to see their company in Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, and other reputable news outlets. You knew it was only a matter of time before a shady publicist tried to profit from this. Now, a new expose exposes how a PR agency is allegedly selling fake news coverage under their guaranteed media coverage claim.

I’ve written a warning on this before. (You can read that story here). Even more dangerous is the potential hit to your brand’s reputation if the placement is later exposed as misleading or fraudulent. Every company on that website will be associated with the negative publicity.

A PR agency is now under scrutiny for allegedly creating fake Forbes websites and selling guaranteed media placements on this fake Forbes site. The Press Gazette investigative story details how many brands fell for it.

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What AI founders frequently get wrong about PR

Posted on October 11, 2026 by Mark Macias

By Mark Macias
Founder of MACIAS PR | Former NBC Executive Producer

I work with many AI companies and founders, and I’ve noticed an interesting contradiction. Founders who understand artificial intelligence the best frequently take the same approach with PR. They assume PR operates in a similar fashion. PR doesn’t operate with the same speed and predictability as the technology they’re building. AI and public relations also solve fundamentally different kinds of problems.

AI is extremely effective when the task is clearly defined and the output is evaluated against reasonably clear criteria. PR operates in a world where the correct answer frequently changes depending on the company, reporter, media outlet, market, timing and news cycle. PR is more nuanced – and that alters how you approach it, and what you get in return.

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PR vs. Advertising: Which Delivers More for Your Budget?

Posted on October 7, 2026 by Mark Macias

A Modern Cost and ROI Analysis of Earned Media vs. Advertising

By Mark Macias
Founder of MACIAS PR | Former NBC Executive Producer

Business owners frequently ask me a deceptively simple question: Is PR or advertising a better investment? I don’t think cost alone answers that question anymore.

Advertising and public relations can both put a company in front of potential customers, investors and decision-makers, but they purchase very different things. Advertising buys guaranteed access to an audience. Earned media requires a journalist, editor or producer to independently decide that your company, executive or idea deserves coverage.

That distinction becomes even more important in today’s media environment because the value of a story doesn’t necessarily end when someone first reads or watches it. An earned media placement can become part of the search history of a company or executive. It can influence what customers find when researching a brand, what reporters see before agreeing to an interview and what information surfaces as search increasingly incorporates AI-generated answers.

So a modern comparison between PR and advertising shouldn’t ask only: What would this media exposure have cost if we purchased it?

The better question is: What did we receive from the investment, and how long can that value continue?

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Can Founders Do Their Own PR? Real Cost of DIY Public Relations

Posted on October 5, 2026 by Mark Macias

By Mark Macias
Founder of MACIAS PR | Former NBC Executive Producer

I hear a variation of the same sentence from founders all the time: “I can do the PR myself.” My response frequently surprises them. “You should try it.”

I’m not being sarcastic. If you’re a founder who believes you can handle your own media relations, I’ll be the first person to encourage you to give it a shot before hiring a PR agency. Keep doing it while you’re running the company and you’ll quickly see it is another full-time job.

The best PR clients are the companies and founders who worked with other PR agencies before approaching MACIAS PR. Their expectations are more aligned and they seem to appreciate my pushback on ideas more. That’s because they get another perspective on how PR works. A successful PR campaign is more than: researching reporters; developing story angles; writing pitches; following up with reporters; coordinating interviews around the reporter’s schedule; writing an editorial. You get the picture.

Here’s a closer look at the pros and cons of doing PR yourself.

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5 PR Lessons Heard Inside MACIAS PR

Posted on October 2, 2026 by Mark Macias

By Mark Macias
Founder of MACIAS PR | Former NBC Executive Producer

The best journalists are always listening and learning. So are the best publicists. The framed photo above was a gift from an intern, highlighting some of the PR lessons she learned inside MACIAS PR. Some of those quotes require context. But five of them capture how our agency thinks about public relations – an approach that separates our PR firm from others.

“You Can’t Put a Today Story in Tomorrow’s Paper.”

Timing in PR matters more than many executives understand. A great story idea can become worthless if the timing is off. Newsrooms operate on deadlines that most businesses don’t experience. When I worked in TV news, we didn’t have the luxury of saying, “That’s a great story. Let’s get around to it next week.” If the story was happening today, we needed the interviews, characters, video and information today.

Print and online reporters operate on their own deadlines, but the principle is the same. News has a shelf life.

This is one reason PR can become frustrating for companies with too many approval layers. By the time legal reviews the quote, the CEO approves the language, marketing changes three words and everyone schedules another call, the reporter may already have filed the story.

You can’t control the news cycle but you can control how prepared you are to move when it creates an opening.

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How Much Does a PR Startup Campaign Cost?

Posted on September 30, 2026 by Mark Macias

By Mark Macias
Founder of MACIAS PR | Former NBC Executive Producer

I hear a version of this question frequently from founders: Can a startup run an effective PR campaign on a startup budget? Of course it can.

MACIAS PR has launched media and branding campaigns for all kinds of startups. You can see those case studies here. But there is a fundamental relationship that frequently gets lost when founders start discussing budgets: the size of the PR campaign has to match the scope of work.

You can’t hire an agency for a limited startup campaign and then expect the resources of a national, full-scale media campaign. If you want more markets, more storylines, more reporters and more agency hours, that’s a different scope of work—and it requires a different budget. This isn’t unique to PR. It’s how professional services work.

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Live TV vs. Print Interview- Require Different PR Preparation

Posted on September 28, 2026 by Mark Macias

By Mark Macias
Founder of MACIAS PR | Former NBC Executive Producer

A CEO preparing for a live CNBC interview does not prepare the same way they would for a Wall Street Journal interview.

Both journalists may even be covering the same subject, but they’re producing fundamentally different forms of journalism. With a live segment, your job is largely to deliver insight. With a print article, your job is to help the reporter uncover the story.

I learned this distinction from working on both sides of the media. Before founding MACIAS PR, I was an Executive Producer with NBC and CBS in New York. Today, I prepare executives for television appearances and interviews with print and online journalists.

One of the biggest mistakes I see executives make is treating every media interview as if the preparation is interchangeable. It isn’t.

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Can You Reverse Engineer Earned Media Coverage?

Posted on September 26, 2026 by Mark Macias

By Mark Macias
Founder of MACIAS PR | Former NBC Executive Producer

I think there must be a new piece of startup advice circulating among venture capitalists. Three different founders approached me this week with essentially the same request: they didn’t want a PR campaign. They wanted one legitimate media placement. And they all used the same terminology – they wanted to “reverse engineer” it.

Three unrelated founders making nearly the same request in one week makes me wonder whether someone in the VC ecosystem is telling startups that this is how they should approach public relations.

I understand the logic. Startups have limited budgets. Founders are constantly being told to preserve runway. One article in Forbes, Fortune or another recognizable publication seems like a discrete investment with a tangible result. Secure the logo, put it on the website, share the article with investors and customers, and move on.

There’s just one problem. Earned media doesn’t work that way.

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What Pinterest’s First Investor Taught Me About Entrepreneurship Over Dinner

Posted on September 25, 2026 by Mark Macias

By Mark Macias
Founder of MACIAS PR | Former NBC Executive Producer

Brian Cohen was Pinterest’s first investor. I was fortunate to attend a private dinner with him when he shared some advice with entrepreneurs in the room. It was impromptu so I had to take notes on what I had in front of me.

I’ve heard a lot of speeches about entrepreneurship over the years. Most follow a familiar script: work hard, believe in yourself, build a great team and never give up. Brian’s advice was different.

It was blunt and at times almost contradictory. Tell people when their ideas suck. Listen carefully to words. Don’t confuse execution with timing. Shoot for outcomes that seem statistically improbable.

Here are the 8 takeaways I took from that dinner.

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