Tales From the Beat

Lee Gordon, chief communications and government affairs officer at recreational marine leader Brunswick Corp. and host/journalist Ed Garsten discuss Brunswick's new AutoCaptain autonomous docking system, how the company is approaching the media with the story, role of earned media and AI, in a wide-ranging interview.

She's been a top comms exec everywhere from General Motors to companies in the healthcare, home improvement and bedding industries, and now Noreen Pratscher runs her own consultancy, Pratscher Communications. She and host/journalist, Ed Garsten take on the subject of "earned media" and why it's still important in an AI world, effective, and ineffective, media training and early w...

Longtime WWJ, Detroit journalist Jeff Gilbert's career has taken him from covering Dr. Death, Jack Kevorkian to becoming the foremost broadcast automotive beat reporter in the nation, often heard on the former CBS Radio News Network. He and host, journalist Ed Garsten, talk about the end of that network, where broadcast news is going, the auto beat they both cover and some of the interesting c...

Auto journalist Greg Migliore is back to just talk cars with host, journalist Ed Garsten. Greg discusses a couple of new vehicles he's driven lately, the Lincoln Navigator and Land Rover Defender OCTA. The guys also discuss new car trends, the art of reviewing vehicles and why Ed doesn't review vehicles anymore.

Communicator/Podcaster Christopher Barger discusses with host Ed Garsten coverage of the recent shooting at the White House Correspondents Association dinner, getting the word out as the number of journalists diminishes, how to get through partisan noise, and his new podcast.

After a career that spanned more than two decades at CNN and years as an independent producer, David Bernknopf found himself looking for work and found it running an investigative unit at a TV operation in Alaska. He wrote a novel informed by his experiences in the 49th state that's humorous but also takes on serious journalistic issues. He discusses "Two Years on Another Planet...or is i...

Gerry Conover has a unique view of both the auto and newsindustries after spending more than years at Ford Motor Co. and 45 years as ajournalist. He’s journalist Ed Garsten’s guest on episode 135 of Tales From theBeat, the podcast that looks at news and PR from both sides of the scrimmageline. In the episode, Gerry offers his frank views on auto news coverage, PRpractices and discusses his auto ne...

In episode 134 of Tales From the Beat, host Ed Garstenwelcomes longtime journalist Matt DeLorenzo....the former editor of Road &Track and Autoweek magazines, Freelance Writer, Author and Editor-in-Chief of TightwadGarage.com. They discuss Matt’s new book “Mercedes-AMG: Race BredPerformance, the evolving EV and electrified vehicle story, whether it’s been covered fairly, the role of automakers...

Fox 45 Baltimore investigative reporter Chris Papst spent years looking into questionable practices at the Baltimore public school system, discovering shocking practices such as falsifying student grades to boost graduation rates tied to funding. We discuss the investigation, Chris's techniques, extracting data from uncooperative sources and why local TV news is vital, even as stations reduce...

Lots of great guests and some snarky monologues from host Ed Garsten. Here's a recap of 2025 highlights from season 3 of Tales From the Beat, the podcast that looks at news and PR from both sides of the scrimmage line. Featured guests in order:Craig ColeDan RothBrian KramerGreg MiglioreElliot KatzRandall McAdorySam LocricchioJulian BondRobyn MaloneAnna TranKelly LawKim JennettDavid Wilder

David Wilder, CEO of Idaho PR-firm Trustpoint Xposure discusses his agency's money back guarantee of tier 1 media placement and AI dominance with host, journalist, Ed Garsten.

There’s of course, a lot of great journalism out there, butif you look at your newsfeed, there’s a lot of crap too. If you’re old enough,like I am, you remember when, instead of making stuff up, we simply, um,borrowed, from places like the New York Times and Washington Post. At leastthat’s what we did quite often at CNN back in the day. So in episode 130 ofTales From the Beat, I turn the wayback m...

Ed Garsten's guest is longtime PR pro/marketer and current chief marketing officer at Rendezvous Robotics Kim Jennett. They discuss how Kim turned a single release into its own news cycle, how she works with influencers to build coverage, her approach to pitching reporters and of course, how she uses AI.

Host Ed Garsten welcomes Kelly Law, PR Manager at PR and marketing agency The Brand Amp. They discuss how building a trusting relationship with a reporter can result in bonus coverage for a client, Kelly's pitching strategy, how she uses AI and what reporters do to tick her off.

In this episode of Tales From the Beat, host and journalist Ed Garsten does a little "haul" video, unpacking some of the strange pitches he's received recently for stories way outside his beat like trips to a distant island and crafted cakes, along with PR people bugging him to meet with clients during trade shows who really have no news to offer.

Anna Tran lands coverage for her clients in most every media by using something she called Purpose-Driven PR. What's that? Anna explains all that to host Ed Garsten, plus her approach to building trust with clients and reporters, navigating a changing media landscape and whether or not she promises coverage to her clients.

She's a super story teller, running her own agency in Chicago. Robyn Malone is CEO and Chief Partner Officer at RJ Communications. She's the mind behind the successful "You Don't Know Jack About MS" with Jack Osborne. Host Ed Garsten and Malone discuss her unique take on developing stories, working with reporters, using story telling skills to develop pitches that earn covera...

Julian Bond is a true social media/marketing superstar, having run campaigns for giant companies like Little Caesars Pizza and General RV Centers. Host Ed Garsten and Julian talk about campaigns he ran that made impact, especially one for Little Caesars related to the NCAA Men's basketball tournament, the latest tools and working together to help Chrysler boost its social media presence. A liv...

September means auto trade showtime in Detroit with the Automotive News World Congress, Management Briefing Seminars and MOVE America. It's a time of insanity for both reporters and PR people but also an opportunity for a goldmine of stories and coverage. Host Ed Garsten runs down the shows--everything from signing up for credentials, wondering where to park, landing coverage for PR people, ma...

Our guest in this episode is veteran kickass communicator, sometimes singer, all-around media master, Sam Locricchio, director account services, Near Perfect Media. We discuss the Coldplay kiss-cam mess, the Gwyneth Paltrow video response, how the automotive media has handled the electric vehicle story and if the automakers blew it, and what pisses off Sam about reporters. A lively 30 minute conve...

Host Ed Garsten retired from full time work in 2016 but has been working as a freelance senior contributor to Forbes.com for 7 years. He discusses why he loves being a journalist, meeting such celebrities as the actor who played the evil Prof. Harris on Lost in Space, Pete Rose, Mel Blanc, the voice behind your favorite Looney Tunes characters, composer Aaron Copeland, suicide Dr. Jack Kevorkian a...

Host Ed Garsten discusses how both reporters and PR people can use gathering "string" to create complete, compelling stories and story pitches.

Longtime PR pro and agency owner Don F. McLean discusses his new book on how to succeed on Linkedin with Tales From the Beat host Ed Garsten. The book is titled, ""The In Crowd for LinkedIn Mastery: Powering Your Path to Professional Success & Thought Leadership Through a PR Mindset."

In this episode, host Ed Garsten speaks with longtime auto biz pro Randall McAdory about the hot topics in the industry right now and his provocative, insightful TaaSMaster Newsletter. Ed and Randall worked together at the former DaimlerChrysler in the early 2000's.

Elliot Katz makes a return trip to the podcast to discuss his latest venture, the first collaborative AI platform mixus.ai and it's colleague-in-the-loop AI agent creation tool that incorporates humans into the process to ensure accuracy.