PODCAST · news
Tales From the Beat
by Ed Garsten
I've led a dual life--as a journalist and PR guy: CNN, Associated Press, Detroit News, Forbes.com on the news side and all the different names of Chrysler and Franco PR on the PR side. Even in my semi-retirement I'm playing on both sides of the scrimmage line. In this podcast I'll speak with significant figures in PR and news on today's media issues along with best ways for PR people to make reporters happy and land coverage and from the journalist side, how best to work with PR people to make sure you're getting what you need to create great stories.
Episodes
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Tales From the Beat Episode 148: Strategic Global Media's Scott Merritt, Dwain Schenck
In episode 148 of Tales From the Beat, Strategic Global Media founder and CEO Scott Merritt and partner Dwain Schenck tackle divisive issues with host/journalist Ed Garsten that include who is a journalist and what is the toughest and most misunderstood job in PR. They also bat around the effects...
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Tales From the Beat Episode 147: TheRighting.com's Howard Polskin
His long career included stints at TV Guide and CNN and now Howard Polskin has what his friends say is the worst job in journalism, reading content on conservative news websites and writing commentary for subscribers of his website TheRighting.com. It's not what you think. Howard and...
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Tales From the Beat Episode 146-Steve Turner, Solomon Turner PR
Host/journalist Ed Garsten welcomes Steve Turner to the podcast. He's the co-owner/principal of St. Louis-based Solomon Turner PR and author of the book "PR That Works." They discuss what PR tactics work, don't work, the role of AI and how you accurately measure whether or not those tactics had…
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Tales From the Beat Episode 145: Dave Cantin Group VP Robin Parton Pate
Robin Parton Pate has decades of experience in marketing and media with stints at CNN and HGTV and now vp of marketing at Dave Cantin Group which advises auto dealers and dealership groups on mergers and acquisitions. In a fast-paced episode, Robin discusses with host/journalist Ed Garsten the...
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Tales From the Beat Episode 144: Jane Owen--Entertainment/Celebrity PR
Jane Owen, CEO of boutique entertainment/celebrity PR firm, Jane Owen PR, gives her unfiltered views of how PR works in that segment, challenges, dealing with egos, AI deep fakes, changing media landscape. Plus, she weighs in on how the Taylor Swift/Travis Kelce wedding was handled. Journalist Ed...
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Tales From the Beat Episode 143: McLean Media's Don McLean
Author, marketing and PR powerhouse Don McLean is back on Tales From the Beat to discuss with host Ed Garsten, his new platform for democratizing PR for those who can't afford to pay for a PR agency, how AI has changed story pitching and release creation and its limitations.
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Tales From the Beat Episode 142-informed.now CEO Kira Shishkin
A spirited conversation with Kira Shishkin, creator and CEO of news text service https://informed.now that looks at how it works, how stories and links are chosen and why he thinks its daily feeds better serve those tired of news that contains ads, clickbait and clutter.
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Tales From the Beat-Episode 141-Lee Gordon
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...
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Tales From the Beat Episode 140: Noreen Pratscher
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...
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Tales From the Beat Episode 139-Broadcast Journalist Jeff Gilbert
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...
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Episode 138: Auto Journalist Greg Migliore
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...
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Tales From the Beat Episode 137-Communicator/Podcaster Christopher Barger
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.
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Tales From the Beat Episode 136
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...
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Episode 135: Auto Journalist Gerry Conover
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...
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Episode 134: Auto Journalist/Author Matt DeLorenzo
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...
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Episode 133: Busting Baltimore Schools-Investigative Reporter Chris Papst
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,...
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Episode 132: Tales From the Beat 2025 Recap
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...
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Episode 131: Trustpoint Xposure CEO David 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.
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Episode 130: Competitive Paranoia
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…
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Tales From the Beat Episode 129 Rendezvous Robotics CMO Kim Jennett
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...
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Tales From the Beat Ep. 128-The Brand Amp's Kelly Law
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.
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Episode 127 Unpacking
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...
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Episode 126-Level Up With Anna Co-Founder Anna Tran
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…
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Episode 125-RJ Communications CEO Robyn Malone
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…
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Episode 124-Online Marketer Julian Bond
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...
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Tales From the Beat: Episode 123 "Showtime"
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...
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Tales From the Beat Episode 122-Sam Locricchio
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...
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Episode 121: Celebration Without Cessation
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...
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String Theory
Host Ed Garsten discusses how both reporters and PR people can use gathering "string" to create complete, compelling stories and story pitches.
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Episode 118 Linkedin Book Author Don F. McLean
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."
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Episode 117: TaaSMaster Newsletter Author Randall McAdory
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.
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Episode 116: Mixus.ai Co-Founder Elliot Katz
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.
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Episode 115 What Would You Do?
Quotes are like gold. You have to handle them as the valuable thing they are. But what happens when a PR person asks you to change a quote? Or an editor changes a quote and makes it wrong? All quotable subjects host Ed Garsten tackles in this episode.
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Canadian Clubbed
To honor this week's national elections in Canada, host Ed Garsten recalls an almost disastrous episode while covering the 1997 elections in the Great White North for CNN, thanks to a snarky CBC staffer.
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Content Strategist Joel Feder
Joel Feder has been an automotive journalist for almost two decades, across all media, especially online at websites that include TheCarConnection, MotorAuthority and GreenCarReports. When those three well-respected sites were suddenly shut down recently, Feder found himself searching for a new...
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Taxed by Tariffs
The import tariff story is sucking up more than all the air in the room..it's monopolizing all the time of reporters and PR people. This episode recounts how the story totally upended one automotive intelligence company's well laid-out plan, how that effected this reporter and how some PR people...
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VerticalScope Editorial Director Greg Migliore
In this episode of Tales From the Beat, host Ed Garsten interviews VerticalScope editorial director Greg Migliore, who oversees several automotive websites including The Truth About Cars, Autoguide and Motorcycle.com. The lively discussion takes on tariffs, dealing with auto industry PR people,...
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This Week in PR Takes Editor Brian Kramer
In episode 110 of Tales From the Beat, host Ed Garsten speaks with PR pro Brian Kramer about his new online newsletter aggregating commentaries on hot PR issues. It's called This Week in PR Takes, or TWiPRT. https://thisweekinprtakes.beehiiv.com
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Absence Makes the Heart Go Bonkers
What happened when I decided to take February off as a "sabbatical" from writing for Forbes and not responding to story pitches? It ain't pretty. Here's what happened.
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Dan Roth
Dan Roth is a journalist, PR pro, and host of the Hooniverse podcast. He fits the profile perfectly, working on both sides of the news and PR scrimmage line. We have a spirited conversation about how he's used all three to succeed at each, the culture shock of going from a newsroom to corporate…
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Topspeed.com Editor Craig Cole
In this episode of Tales From the Beat host Ed Garsten speaks with automotive journalist Craig Cole, the editor of Topspeed.com and co-founder of YouTube channel Auto Esoterica. The discussion goes everywhere from auto shows, to automotive PR, to classic cars to EVs and more.
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The Irony of Auto Show Shows
There was a time some automakers spent millions on shows at auto shows to reveal a new car or truck. Those days are gone as budgets and technology take precedence. But in this episode I look at some of the history of those shows and consider whether or not they were really worth it in the end.…
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Drive and Reverse-A New Year's Transmission
Happy New Year! As 2025 hits, I look back and ahead at stories, dealing with PR people, "empathetic" management, EV fanboys and girls, along with some resolutions. See if they match your experiences in '24 and promises for '25.
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CESmasmukuh
As surely as Christmas poinsettias and Hanukah menorahs, the season of C-E-S has set it and reporters are under attack...from stressed out PR people under pressure to land coverage of their clients at the big tech show in Vegas. But my sore knees are dug in, and I've got Duran Duran to help me…
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Mixus.ai Co-Founder Elliot Katz
Never trust info from artificial intelligence searches as 100% accurate. What if you could bring actual intelligence, from real humans into the mix. That's what new platform mixus.ai is doing. In this episode Ed Garsten speaks with mixus.ai co-founder Elliot Katz to explain the concept and how…
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Great Media Sites-Courtney Protz-Sanders
For our 100th episode, our guest is manager of the best auto company media website, Courtney Protz-Sanders, who has built the Stellantis website into a reporter's best friend over the course of four ownerships and 21 years. We discuss what makes a superior media website, what reporters expect of...
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Just a Concept
A PR person took the "concept" of embargo to a strange, new dimension and it still has me reeling from that trip to a hitherto unknown zone.
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Two-Way Vet Eric Mayne
My guest this week is a formidable two-way vet. He's Eric Mayne. For many years one of the foremost automotive journalists and until his recent retirement, a powerhouse member of the Fiat Chrysler/Stellantis communications team. He's also an old, wonderful friend.
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Not Effin' At Reuters Show
Ex-Michigan Governor and current Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm set the tone, kicking off a day at something called Reuters Automotive USA. She said the government's not "effin' around" and neither are we about an industry event that's unlike any other--and that's good.
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The Allure of Lithium
Can you imagine an entire convention center filled with the stuff of batteries? Big talk about lithium and all the other stuff that goes in them and tons of other subjects and technologies related to those containers that energize electric vehicles and more. I spent a whole day at just such a…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
I've led a dual life--as a journalist and PR guy: CNN, Associated Press, Detroit News, Forbes.com on the news side and all the different names of Chrysler and Franco PR on the PR side. Even in my semi-retirement I'm playing on both sides of the scrimmage line. In this podcast I'll speak with significant figures in PR and news on today's media issues along with best ways for PR people to make reporters happy and land coverage and from the journalist side, how best to work with PR people to make sure you're getting what you need to create great stories.
HOSTED BY
Ed Garsten
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Tales From the Beat have?
Tales From the Beat currently has 142 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Tales From the Beat about?
I've led a dual life--as a journalist and PR guy: CNN, Associated Press, Detroit News, Forbes.com on the news side and all the different names of Chrysler and Franco PR on the PR side. Even in my semi-retirement I'm playing on both sides of the scrimmage line. In this podcast I'll speak with...
How often does Tales From the Beat release new episodes?
Tales From the Beat publishes regularly with 142 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Tales From the Beat?
You can listen to Tales From the Beat on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Tales From the Beat?
Tales From the Beat is created and hosted by Ed Garsten.
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