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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Why One Media Placement Isn’t a PR Strategy

Posted on September 23, 2026 by Mark Macias

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

Is it worth hiring a PR agency for just one media placement? This is a real question we got from a business today: “I’m looking for help getting our founder one credible TV interview. Do you take on fixed-scope, one-off broadcast projects?”

The value of public relations isn’t simply appearing on television. It’s what happens when credible media coverage begins establishing a pattern around your company, founder or expertise.

One interview can certainly be valuable. It can introduce an executive to a new audience and give the company an important piece of third-party credibility. But by itself, it doesn’t build a brand.

Brands are built through repetition and association. You want journalists, customers, investors and eventually search engines and AI platforms to repeatedly encounter your company in credible contexts.

Maybe a CEO first appears in a trade publication discussing an industry shift. A few weeks later, a national reporter interviews the executive about breaking news. Another outlet cites the company’s proprietary data. Eventually, a television producer sees that body of coverage and recognizes the CEO as someone who has already contributed intelligently to the conversation.

Each placement reinforces the others. That is very different from saying, We need one TV interview. Who can get it for us?

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If Nobody Can Find Your Story, Does It Matter?

Posted on August 28, 2026 by Mark Macias

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

Walk into a bookstore with millions of titles and every book has the same fundamental problem: story discovery.

Somewhere on those shelves could be the most insightful business book ever written. It could contain an idea that changes an industry. But if nobody knows where to look for it, its potential influence remains trapped between two covers.

It’s the same challenge with public relations.

Companies frequently come to MACIAS PR convinced they need help “telling their story.” After looking deeper into the business, I often discover a different problem. The company already has stories. What it lacks is a strategy for making the right story discoverable by the right audience at the right moment.

The approach is no different than my time as an Executive Producer with NBC and CBS in New York. That distinction shapes how I’ve approached PR since founding MACIAS PR in 2009.

PR Is Increasingly a Discovery Business

The old model of publicity centered heavily on distribution. Write the announcement, assemble a media list and push the information outward.

Distribution is no longer the scarce resource. Anyone can publish a blog, issue a press release, post on LinkedIn or send thousands of emails. AI has made producing more content even easier. Scarcity has moved somewhere else: discovery.

The strategic question is no longer merely, “How do we distribute this message?” It’s “What will make this particular piece of information discoverable among everything competing with it?”

That requires understanding how journalists categorize information.

During my years as an Executive Producer with NBC and Senior Producer with CBS, I reviewed and approved story ideas from reporters, producers and publicists. The ideas that moved forward weren’t necessarily attached to the biggest organizations. They were the ones that gave us a clear editorial reason to care.

A PR campaign should create that reason before it worries about reach.

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Best PR Agencies Dive Deeper to Find Stories for Earned Media Coverage

Posted on August 23, 2026 by Mark Macias

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

A company can have dozens of untold stories hiding inside its business and still struggle to earn meaningful media coverage. The best PR agencies dive deeper to uncover these stories for the media.

This approach is at the root of MACIAS PR. We launch every campaign with a deep dive on the business. We ask targeted questions around data, leadership, customers, competitors and market environment. And we find the news cycle and reporter to attach to these angles. Our philosophy is simple: the strongest PR stories are frequently below the surface.

What Does It Mean to Dig Deeper in PR?

Going deeper in public relations means examining a company through the eyes of an editor rather than through the eyes of its marketing department. A CEO might be focused on a product feature that took a year to develop. An editor could find something completely different more compelling: customer behavior revealed by the product, a regulatory shift affecting the market, an unexpected data point, or an industry problem the company is uniquely positioned to explain.

Finding that distinction requires investigation.

At MACIAS PR, the initial work involves understanding where the company possesses information, expertise or access that journalists don’t already have. That can involve conversations with executives, reviewing internal data, studying competitors, examining industry developments and identifying changes in the broader news cycle.

The objective isn’t to manufacture a story. It’s to uncover the one that already exists.

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There Is No Template for Great PR: Why Every Strategy is Different

Posted on August 21, 2026 by Mark Macias

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

There is a recurring mistake in public relations that rarely gets discussed: companies often buy a PR process when they should be buying a strategy.

The PR process sounds reasonable. Develop messaging, write a press release, build a media list, pitch reporters, follow up and repeat. Those steps can organize a campaign, but they don’t explain why a journalist would cover one company instead of another.

After working inside newsrooms at NBC and CBS and later founding MACIAS PR, I’ve seen the same principle from both sides of the editorial equation. The path to coverage changes with the company, the story, the audience and the moment in the news cycle.

There is no template for great PR because there is no template for a great story.

Why One PR Strategy Doesn’t Work for Every Company

A healthcare startup, hedge fund, drone manufacturer and consumer brand might all want national media coverage. That doesn’t mean they should pursue it the same way.

Healthcare reporters frequently need evidence, patient relevance, clinical expertise or data that demonstrates why a development matters. Financial journalists are looking for market implications, investment insight, economic trends and credible analysis. A technology company may have an opportunity when its product illustrates a much larger change taking place across an industry.

Consumer PR introduces another set of considerations. Culture, behavior, visual elements and trends can become more important than technical expertise. The mistake is assuming the media outlet is the strategy.

“We want to be in the Wall Street Journal” is a goal. It doesn’t tell you what story the Wall Street Journal has a reason to pursue.

A stronger PR strategy works backward from the editorial opportunity: What is happening in the world right now, where does this company intersect with it, and what can it contribute that a journalist cannot easily get somewhere else?

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Why Scrappy PR Agencies Often Find Better Media Opportunities

Posted on August 19, 2026 by Mark Macias

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

PR and media campaigns rarely unfold exactly as planned.

A reporter who expressed interest can get pulled into breaking news. A product launch that appears important internally may not generate enough news value for a national publication. An editor may like the subject but reject the original angle. Sometimes a company simply doesn’t have an obvious announcement to pitch.

These situations are where PR strategy, creativity and experience become important.

At MACIAS PR, we describe this approach as being scrappy. That doesn’t mean cutting corners or sending more pitches. In public relations, being scrappy means understanding the objective, recognizing when an approach isn’t working and finding another credible route to media coverage.

My experience as an Executive Producer with NBC taught me that journalists aren’t evaluating how much work went into a PR campaign. They are evaluating the story in front of them. Does it reveal something new? Is it timely? Does it affect their audience? Is there credible evidence supporting it?

Successful media relations requires answering those questions—even when the original PR plan doesn’t.

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When Should I Hire a PR Agency? Earlier than you think

Posted on August 13, 2026 by Mark Macias

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

It’s one of the most popular questions I hear from founders and CEOs: When is the best time to hire a PR agency?

Usually, they’re asking because something big is approaching. A product is launching, or the company is preparing to raise capital. Suddenly, leadership realizes competitors are generating media attention while their company remains invisible.

By that point, you’re already behind any strategy.

PR requires more preparation than most executives realize. A PR team must identify the strongest story angles, develop the messaging, research the journalists covering the topic, determine which reporters are appropriate for the pitch, begin outreach, follow up, coordinate interviews and prepare executives for those conversations. That doesn’t happen overnight.

Before founding MACIAS PR, I spent years as an Executive Producer with NBC and CBS in New York. That newsroom experience taught me something that still guides our campaigns today: the best time to develop a story is before you need the coverage.

Recent industry commentary makes the same point. Entrepreneur reported in June 2026 that founders who wait until a launch or fundraising campaign is imminent lose the runway required to build familiarity with journalists and the market. Media relationships and visibility compound over time rather than appearing instantly when a company suddenly needs them.

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When is the Best Time to Pitch Reporters and Producers?

Posted on March 10, 2026 by Mark Macias

When is the best time to pitch reporters or TV producers? There are windows that will increase your chances for media coverage. Media insight based on a career with NBC and CBS in New York.

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

If you think about your work week, you might notice some patterns with how you manage your time.

There are likely some hours when your schedule slows down, and other times when you don’t even pick up your cell. The same thing happens inside newsrooms.

Reporters and producers don’t operate on the same rhythm as the rest of the business world. Their calendars revolve around editorial meetings, production cycles, breaking news, special calendars and looming deadlines that outsiders rarely see.

When a reporter is approaching a deadline, their entire focus shifts to execution. During this window, the only priority is finishing their story, segment or script.

If you pitch a reporter during this time, you’re essentially speaking into a black hole.

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