Getting Your CEO Into the News Isn’t Always the Best PR Strategy

I was recently at a family wedding in Atlanta and couldn’t help but reflect on how great it felt to be out in the world together again. In some ways, my brain wants to forget the pandemic ever happened, but if there’s a silver lining, it’s the perspective it gave us on not taking moments of shared joy for granted.

More than three generations of family travelled from Europe, the East and West Coasts of the U.S., Dubai and Canada to come together. Between cocktail receptions, dinners and morning coffee meetups in the hotel lobby, there were plenty of opportunities to connect.

That said, I always find it equal parts dreadful and interesting when a conversation inevitably turns to what we do professionally. Working in PR and executive communications, I’ve found people either have no clue what the job involves or assume it’s about getting people into the news.

Earned media can certainly be part of an executive PR and communications strategy, but some of the most important work we do never reaches a public audience. In this month’s Leading in Public, we’re looking at when to pursue earned press, when to hold back and what sustains an executive brand beyond a headline.

Getting Ahead of the Narrative Doesn’t Always Mean Going Public

The executives I work with understand the importance of communicating well, particularly during times of change. It’s when the conversation turns to who needs to hear what, and whether getting ahead of a narrative means taking it public, that opinions on the right strategy can diverge.

About a year ago, I was working with a privately held company undergoing a company-wide restructuring. The changes involved several senior leaders leaving the organization and approximately 2% of employees being laid off.

The company had a high enough profile that the news was likely to reach the press, but proactively offering interviews risked drawing more attention to an already difficult moment.

People were losing their jobs, and publicly emphasizing cash flow and operational efficiency would have been insensitive to that reality. Edelman’s October 2026 Trust at Work findings reinforce how consequential these moments can be. Among surveyed employees, trust in their CEO was 82% for those who’d had a positive transformation experience, compared with 49% for those whose experience was negative.

We decided on a proactive communications strategy with a reactive media approach. Knowing the news would likely reach the press, we prepared a factual, sensitive statement outlining the organization’s position while prioritizing direct communication with the people affected.

That meant having candid, empathetic conversations with departing employees. It also meant reassuring key clients, partners and teams facing changes, and ensuring they understood where to turn with questions or concerns.

The aim wasn’t to avoid scrutiny. It was to address the situation responsibly without unnecessarily expanding its audience. In the end, the news cycle was brief and contained the key messages the company had prepared. Staff and clients inevitably faced uncertainty, but they did so with planned reassurance and measures in place to help them navigate it.

Much of the executive communications consulting work we do involves precisely this kind of judgment. It’s brand building behind the scenes, even when the work never becomes publicly visible.

Sometimes the Best Way to Change the Story Is to Become the Source

I’ve also been brought into situations where an executive has gotten wind of an upcoming “hit piece” that risks damaging both their reputation and that of their company. Strategically involving earned media to counter a narrative can make sense in circumstances like these.

It might mean offering a competing national outlet an exclusive interview with the details and supporting facts needed to set the record straight. Or it could involve giving a journalist access to company information and greater context to examine a damaging rumour.

More often, though, there’s a middle ground where earned press works well for proactively building an executive’s visibility and credibility.

CEOs and leaders have experience and informed opinions on timely topics in areas where they hold expertise. That combination can make them valuable sources for journalists. Someone advising business owners on selling their companies, for example, may have insight into the retirement wave and what it means for the economy.

Proactively sharing that perspective can introduce an executive’s expertise and company to new audiences while contributing something useful to the coverage. It’s an opportunity to build visibility by adding value to a conversation already taking place.

Building a Reason for People to Return Is the Investment

I’ve watched clients and peers get featured in just about every media outlet you can imagine, from major publications to the world’s biggest podcasts and shows hosted by globally recognized names. Regardless of the reach or notoriety of those appearances, they’ve all experienced the same truth. One news hit isn't enough to build or sustain a reputation.

I’m not saying it doesn’t help to speak publicly, land earned media opportunities or post on social media. It does, but that alone isn't the work. Showing up consistently in ways that shape and contribute to conversations meaningful to your network is what compounds over time.

Every leader wants to see a return on their communications investment. Sometimes that’s a crisis avoided or confidence maintained through a difficult transition. But more often than not, I hear from clients who want to “break through the noise.”

Here’s the thing about noise. It’s everywhere and it’s not going away. Since the rise of social media, there’s been virtually no limit to who can publish content, but there are limits to how much any one person can consume. The Reuters Institute’s June 2026 Digital News Report found that 42% of respondents sometimes or often avoid news. We simply have access to more information than we can reasonably absorb.

So even if you land a spot on a major industry podcast, the resulting interest may translate into a spike in followers and perhaps some business development opportunities. But by the time the next episode drops, someone else is in front of that audience and interest in your topic has likely waned.

That’s not to say the appearance didn't hold value, but the attention it generates won't sustain your executive presence on its own. An executive brand needs to be nurtured over time through the sum of consistent decisions, from the content you share publicly to the choices you make and communicate behind closed doors.

Thinking back to Atlanta, the value of those gatherings came from having time to move beyond introductions and niceties and learn more about each other’s lives.

Executive communications requires a similar approach. Sometimes that means reaching a new audience through the press. Other times it’s having a thoughtful conversation with people who already depend on your leadership. Over time, those interactions give people a clearer understanding of who you are, how you think and what matters to you.

At the end of the day, the goal isn’t just for people to know your name. It’s for them to know what they can count on you for.