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The earned media revival: what B2B leaders need to know now. Earned media is back, and AI is the reason. LLMs cite third-party sources to answer buyer questions, and unpaid voices carry five times more weight than paid. All that's prompted B2B marketing leaders to grow their earned media engines. July 22, 2026 Earned media is back in the marketing spotlight. Over the past decade, its reach has declined as audiences have shifted from consuming traditional news sources in favor of social media and video networks. Now, it's finding new life, sparked by AI tools that overwhelmingly cite third-party coverage when answering buyers' questions. "[Studies] show that earned media is taking up a predominance of the trusted sources that AI models are using to reason and answer," says Natasha Whitling, a former senior vice president at communications agency Burson Global. "It's almost like we've gone backwards to go forwards when it comes to the value of earned media." Why earned media works. Natasha says brands can shout from the rooftops that they're great, but when someone else with trust and authority says the same, the effect is far greater. John McCartney, CEO and founder of JMAC PR, says his agency worked with ad tech company 33Across on an earned media program, which targeted top-tier press coverage, executive thought leadership, speaking engagements, and user stories. The effort generated placements in 60-plus publications, with more than 200 million media impressions and a 25% (year-over-year) increase in media impressions and recognition for company executives, compared to their baseline. If a CEO is quoted in news articles, speaking at industry events, and appearing on podcasts, their company will have far more credibility than a competitor with zero press coverage, John says. Lenox Powell, a senior director of corporate marketing at enterprise AI software company DataRobot, says earned media strengthens how brands tell their story. "If a journalist asks a subject matter expert within an organization a question, the person answering the question has the opportunity to convey their value proposition in the way that they want, allowing them to better control their messaging," she says. Where it works today. After placing CEO-bylined articles for the TVDataNow brand, John heard this from the executive: "I'm starting to get a lot more inbounds. People are like, 'Oh, great article. Tell me more about your service.'" When shipping tech company NYSHEX worked with Crackle PR, the brand saw over 100 pieces of coverage in less than a year, leading to a 101% increase in referral traffic and a 36% lift in organic mentions. Results like that still matter, but the top of the funnel has structurally changed, says Gini Dietrich, founder and CEO of the agency Spin Sucks. She is also the creator of the original PESO (paid, earned, shared, and owned) media mix model. "By the time a buyer meets your sales rep, or AI summarizes your category, the shortlist is already formed," Gini says. "So earned media's biggest funnel job now is getting you onto shortlists you don't know exist." In the most successful programs, Gini believes, every earned win reinforces the brand's owned content. "They pitch a bylined article to a trade publication that answers the same buyer question and links back to the anchor [on the brand's website]," Gini says. "The named expert appears on an industry podcast on the same topic. A newsletter creator picks up the theme and links back as 'further reading.'" With that kind of alignment, a B2B buyer or an LLM engine searching for that topic sees the same expert and idea across multiple credible sources, and it all circles back to the brand's owned content. DataRobot integrates its PR and content strategies, Lenox says. Press coverage, thought leadership, and downstream content reinforce each other, and placements are based on where its buyers are. Today, Lenox's team prioritizes AI-focused podcasts because that's where its buyers are. They approach a podcast appearance like a Thanksgiving turkey turned into multiple leftover meals. "A podcast appearance becomes clips for social, a blog post, a pitch, very similar to what we've talked about for decades about reuse, recycle, repurpose for content marketing," she says. Too often, brands treat earned media as an endpoint, but those who view it as raw material get the most value from it. A media placement also becomes a credibility anchor for future byline pitches. "So, the earned placement isn't the deliverable; the downstream content machine it feeds is the deliverable," Lenox explains. How to build an integrated earned media engine. Brands should start their earned media strategy by identifying the brand's top two to three customer segments. Then, map those targets to the media outlets they trust, John says. For example, for his client that's a health tech brand, its target audiences are likely consuming Modern Healthcare and STAT. Brands should also think beyond trade and traditional media publishers. The modern earned media universe includes Reddit, Wikipedia, newsletters, podcasts, and social media creators. Of those, trade publications and Reddit currently carry the most weight with AI models, Gini says. The type of earned assets may matter, too. Gini prioritizes bylined articles and trade and analyst coverage because that's what AI engines are reading. However, before you can get earned media coverage, you must have something to say. "Without any news, you can't work with the media," John says. You also need buy-in from executives willing to share their insights. For example, Fox's planned acquisition of Roku prompted his agency to promote Chris Kelly's (CEO of its client, Upwave) point of view on the subject. It led to positive media coverage and inclusion in a roundup of industry reactions. What brands shouldn't do to earn media coverage is insert sales messages into their pitches. Before sending a pitch, Natasha recommends answering this question: "How self-serving is what I am presenting?" "Don't try to sell me something," Lenox says. "Enlighten me. Inform me." Brands also should make it easy for busy journalists inundated with pitches. Natasha suggests providing a comprehensive package of assets they need to assemble a story. "You're coming with data, a source, relevance, and you're doing it succinctly," she says. How to measure what actually matters. Measuring the impact of earned media has always been problematic. While no solution exists to directly connect earned media to sales yet, some newer metrics offer a better picture than volume and reach alone. John compares media mentions over time, as well as the client's share of voice among its competition. His firm uses tools such as Muck Rack, Truescope, Critical Mention, and Rephonic for podcasts. AI citations of brands hardly ever leave a traditional tracking trail, which is why Gini recommends tracking LLM visibility, citation frequency, narrative share of voice, and credibility-loop close rate. "LLM visibility helps brands identify which AI-generated queries they are and aren't showing up in. Citation frequency helps brands understand how often their organization is cited as a source in LLM answers, not just mentioned," she says. Narrative share of voice is valuable because it tracks who's framing the AI answers to key questions in a category or industry, Gini explains. The credibility-loop close rate measures how quickly someone moves from visibility to trust to action when they encounter their brand. It's possible to track some of these metrics manually by prompting LLMs like ChatGPT and Claude every week with questions such as which organization is best at solving the problem the brand's product addresses. Gini's favorite measurement tool right now is Brandi AI, a platform that shows metrics like generative engine optimization (GEO) awareness. Lenox uses Athena HQ to see how DataRobot is cited in LLMs. But the bottom line is to be honest about what the numbers do and don't say. "Establish baselines now as best as you can," Lenox says. "Be very clear upfront with your leadership team - and your own team - about what you can prove and resist the pressure to overstate what the data shows." Earned media's comeback didn't happen because its measurement problem was solved. It returned because marketers recognize the renewed value of third-party visibility. AI citations may earn the spotlight, but an integrated earned media strategy lights up the whole stage. All tools mentioned in this article were suggested by a contributor to the article. If you'd like to suggest a tool, share the article on social media with a comment. Tilde Herrera is a freelance journalist based in San Francisco. Her work spans food, business, sustainability, media, and technology, appearing in outlets such as Civil Eats, AdExchanger, ADWEEK, San Francisco Chronicle, and others. Looking for fresh content inspiration? Get more of our news on google

The Women's Center & Shelter's Celebrating Survivors event spread awareness while honoring survivors and supporters. May 31, 2026 Melissa Rayworth The recent Celebrating Survivors event hosted by the Women's Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh put a welcome spotlight on the many people in its community who lift up local women and support them as they cope with and survive domestic abuse. It was a moment "to publicly say to survivors, 'We know that you are brave. We know you are on a journey. We believe you, support you. We want to be here with you. And there's help, and there's people - a whole community of people - who are not just willing to help, but excited to help,'" said Women's Center's president and CEO, Nicole Molinaro. The event also served as a powerful reminder that "there is help and hope available," Molinaro said. "Calling our 24/7 hotline could really get you in to talk to somebody who can help you figure out what your next step is. So regardless of whether you are trying to figure out if you're in an abusive relationship, whether you are literally fleeing for your life, or any step in between, give us a call and we can talk." Amid the atmosphere of celebration at the event, held at Nova Place on May 9, the focus was on the troubling reality that millions of American women face multiple kinds of intimate partner abuse, which may be physical, emotional, financial, sexual or a combination of these. As the dinner and awards ceremony began, the crowd paused for a moment of silence. "We honor all of the survivors here with us tonight, those we have served for the past 52 years, and those who are walking among us, still on their healing journeys," Molinaro said. Speakers, including County Executive Sara Innamorato and Mayor Corey O'Connor and First Lady Katie O'Connor, spoke about the commitment that Allegheny County and the city of Pittsburgh have toward those who are facing abuse. CELEBRATING PROGRESS AND SHARING LIFESAVING TOOLS Innamorato mentioned the Intimate Partner Violence Reform Initiative (IPV), which drives the county's strategic direction and systems-level coordination to better serve survivors. "The Initiative, which started four years ago, is a collaborative of over 30 partners representing those involved in working with IPV victims and perpetrators in Allegheny County," Innamorato said. "Among the most impressive achievements of this group is the establishment of a fatality review protocol and coordination between the courts and Women's Center - and now all victim-serving organizations - to identify high-risk offenders and work in a coordinated fashion to serve their partners or ex-partners," she said. "It's truly life-saving work and a testament to what can be done when people work together with a common goal of safety." The Women's Center's SUCCESS Award was given to the Pittsburgh-based staff of the communications firm Burson, for their work in creating awareness about IPV and about the Bright Sky app. Molinaro spoke about having "witnessed firsthand their commitment and dedication to creating awareness of domestic violence. It's gone beyond a personal passion and mission and is embraced by their entire organization." The Bright Sky app can be a lifeline for people who are trying to determine whether the things they're experiencing in their relationship are a form of abuse, Molinaro says. And while the Women's Center also has a text-and-chat line where women can speak with a live person, the app can be valuable if someone is at a moment when they "don't want to necessarily reach out, until they've learned a little bit more and kind of internally thought about it," Molinaro says. "We really want to be able to make sure that there's help available, without having to put any pressure on talking with anybody," she says. "And it's for family and friends, as well. There's some great tools in there for family and friends to have conversations, to recognize red flags and things like that." A centerpiece of the evening was the Sherley & Ted Craig Humanitarian Award, given to the Best of the Batch Foundation co-founders Charlie and Latasha Wilson Batch for their year-round dedication to the Women's Center's mission. (Learn more here about their 20-year commitment to their annual Batch a Toys initiative, which brightens the holidays for children and families who are served by the Women's Center.) They were both clearly moved by the recognition. Kidsburgh don't think of the Women's Center & Shelter as a "partner," explained Wilson Batch, who serves on the Women's Center board while also serving as a hands-on manager of Best of the Batch alongside her husband. "Let me be very clear," she told the Celebrating Survivors crowd. "We are family." To learn more about the Women's Center & Shelter, click here. And learn about its half-century of impact (and how they may be able to help someone you know) right here.