By Mark Macias
Founder of MACIAS PR | Former NBC Executive Producer
“Our sources are everywhere.” Yes, it’s playful, but there is a serious approach when it comes to newsrooms.
Successful PR requires access—to journalists, information, trends, industries and the conversations shaping the news. But access alone doesn’t get a company media coverage. You also need to know what to do with it.
I founded MACIAS PR in 2009 after spending years inside newsrooms, including as an Executive Producer with NBC and CBS in New York. That experience shaped a different approach to PR and media relations. We don’t begin campaigns by asking, “What does the client want to announce?” We start by asking the question I heard every day inside the newsroom:
That distinction influences everything we do.
MACIAS PR Approaches Publicity From the Newsroom Perspective
Most companies understandably approach PR from their own perspective. They want to promote a product, announce a funding round, introduce a new executive or tell reporters about a partnership.
Journalists don’t approach stories that way. A reporter wants to know why the development matters to readers or viewers. An editor wants to know why the story deserves space. A television producer needs to understand why audiences won’t change the channel. I sat on that side of the editorial table.
As an Executive Producer, I reviewed and approved story ideas while reporters and producers competed for limited airtime. That experience taught me how quickly journalists evaluate stories—and how quickly they reject ideas that sound like marketing.
Today, MACIAS PR applies that newsroom perspective before we ever contact a reporter.
We Find the Story Before We Pitch the Reporter
One of the biggest differences between strategic PR and media distribution is what happens before outreach.
Our team digs into the business to identify what could actually interest journalists. Sometimes the strongest angle has little to do with what the company originally wanted to promote. We might uncover proprietary data that reveals a larger trend. A conversation with the CEO could expose a counterintuitive change in the industry. Customer behavior might show that the market is moving in an unexpected direction.
Breaking news can also create an opportunity that didn’t exist yesterday. Those discoveries are where media strategy begins.
A PR firm shouldn’t simply communicate what a company tells it to communicate. It should recognize the stories the company doesn’t realize it has.
Media Contacts Help. The Story Still Wins.
Companies frequently ask PR agencies about their media contacts. Relationships matter. They can help get an email opened or a phone call returned.
But I’ve always viewed contacts as an assist, not the strategy. A relationship with a journalist doesn’t make a weak story newsworthy. In fact, repeatedly sending bad pitches to reporters is one of the fastest ways to damage a relationship.
The MACIAS PR approach is different. We identify the journalist who is actually relevant to the subject. We study what that person covers. Then we develop a story that fits the reporter rather than blasting the same generic announcement to hundreds of names on a media database.
That requires more work. It also respects how journalism actually operates.
We Integrate Your Company Into the News Cycle
The news cycle creates new PR opportunities every day.
AI changes an industry. Interest rates move. New government regulations take effect. A geopolitical event disrupts supply chains. Consumer behavior changes. New healthcare research alters a debate.
Journalists suddenly need experts who can explain what those developments mean. Companies with relevant expertise can become part of those stories even when they aren’t the subject of the breaking news.
MACIAS PR looks for those intersections. Rather than waiting months for a company announcement, we identify opportunities to position executives as credible sources on conversations journalists are already covering.
This approach can turn a CEO from someone asking reporters for attention into someone reporters call for insight.
That’s a much stronger position.
We Build Campaigns Around Business Goals, Not Vanity Metrics
A company trying to raise capital may need exposure in publications investors read. A healthcare organization could need credibility with physicians and patients. A B2B technology company might benefit more from a respected trade publication than from a consumer outlet with a larger audience.
That’s why the first question shouldn’t be, “How many placements can you get?”
A better question is: “Will the right people see them?”
At MACIAS PR, media strategy begins with the audience the client needs to influence. From there, we determine which stories and publications can help reach that audience.
Ten irrelevant articles don’t necessarily outperform one strategically placed story.
We Understand What Happens Behind the Reporter
There is another advantage to having worked inside newsrooms that companies don’t always consider. The reporter isn’t necessarily the final decision-maker. A journalist may love your pitch and still need to sell it to an editor or Executive Producer. A TV correspondent might want the interview, but an executive producer still has to approve the segment.
Your PR strategy has to survive that second conversation. This approach is at the root of MACIAS PR.
This is why we try to make pitches easy to understand and easy for reporters to sell internally.
Quick PR Quote?
If you’re preparing for a product launch, funding round or growth phase, contact MACIAS PR to learn how strategic public relations can help accelerate your business goals. You can get a customized PR quote for your business or product launch from MACIAS PR by clicking here.
ABOUT MACIAS PR
MACIAS PR was founded in 2009 by Mark Macias – Executive Producer with NBC and Senior Producer with CBS in New York. City & State Magazine named Macias one of the top 50 PR Power Players in New York while Finance Monthly named MACIAS PR the 2017-2020 Strategic PR Firm of the Year, and PR Firm of the Year.