When Trust Shows Up with its Hand Out

I’ve been on the road quite a bit more than usual in this very young New Year of 2026. Right out of the gate, I hit the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, NV and then right after that, The NAMM Show in Anaheim, CA. And all for clients seeking that amazing magic that happens when the media/press discover your product, love it, cover it and you get that AMAZING trust transfer that only PR can deliver!

But a funny thing happened on the way to the trust bank this year and I wanted to share it with you. I realized that the vast majority of formerly journalistic media outlets and a cavalcade of “influencers” (in MEDIA badges at both shows btw) showed up with a smile….and a rate card.Uh-oh?

So when did I become an ADVERTISING manager in this little play? Hey, I write checks with the best of them. Have for years and I’m not AGAINST advertising, I just prefer PR mainly because I want that sweet, sweet trust from the media. Now a part of me (and probably you out there as well) is screaming “Dude, if you pay you’re the client and you can dictate terms and have CONTROL — something that PR NEVER has. And as a diagnosed Type A control freak, yeah, I can really appreciate that.

But what about the TRUST?

Do I still get that if the audiences of these media outlets realize news and product coverage is now for sale? One editor couldn’t make her booth appointment at CES, but promised to come see me at NAMM. She did. And she said, “Wow I LOVE this product — I’d like to review it!” Now by this point, I was ready to receive the rate card and start having the “paid content” “advertising” conversation with her. And then she said this – “Of course, we do not accept any money for reviews and we have strict guidelines about how we do it so I’ll need you to agree to those”

I hugged her. And I’m not kidding. I think I teared up a little bit too. I was SO happy to hear that there is at least ONE publication that isn’t completely for sale in this world. I really NEEDED to hear that. I told her that she was THE first media person I dealt with during both of these shows who actually had journalism in mind. She said, “Yeah I hear that a lot from companies….”

We do PR for trust, but is the same when you’re buying trust? How is that any different than advertising?  Why don’t media outlets disclose the fact that their editorial is completely for sale?  Is this what happened to journalism?

I have to think about mainstream Tier A “news” outlets. Are THEY for sale too? Well, they are owned by SIX major media companies who own most of what Americans see, read and hear daily. As of 2026, roughly 90% of U.S. media—spanning television, film, and news—is controlled by six conglomerates, commonly identified as Comcast, The Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount Global (formerly Viacom/CBS), News Corp, and Amazon. These companies dictate the majority of content consumed by the public. And these PUBLIC companies are for sale to the highest bidder—on a nightly basis.

So it’s a bigger problem than just my little job or my clients media coverage and marketing goals. We are talking about the abandonment of the entire fourth estate whose PRIMARY job is what again? —To WATCH government. And you HAVE to be asking — ok, so is anyone watching the government — federal, state and LOCAL?  Nope.  Which is why Nick Shirley’s exceptional journalistic video about the Somali fraud in Minneapolis hit so hard.

Where the heck was the Star Tribune while all of this was happening? Answer: They probably weren’t allowed to cover that story because someone rich found the rate card and paid the rate.  It’s bad, it’s wrong and it’s WILDLY dangerous. But there are opportunities — right now, anyone can be a journalist if they have the vigor, the stomach and a few basic tools like a camera on their smartphone.

Shirley should get a Pulitzer for his journalistic work and every other Pulitzer story should be investigated to see if any rate card conversations corrupted that “news.”

As for me, I will have to begrudgingly accept the fact that my fantastic world of PR placements has become infected and nearly indistinguishable from advertising. And I’ll have to use it on my clients’ behalf just like everyone else.

But in my heart, I’m dying to work with more media outlets who show up for journalistic reasons and don’t show up with a rate card extended in one hand.

(Always written 100 percent by me, never AI — because I am a real writer and do not require AI’s “help”