Edelman CEO: Every company has to become its ‘own media company’

Public relations pioneer Richard Edelman, founder of the Edelman firm, has a message for companies: Become your own media company.

“I think it's really important that companies realize they're also going to tell their own stories. The number of reporters has been constricted,” Edelman said at Yahoo Finance’s All Markets Summit in New York City.

On top of that, the increasing polarization of viewpoints is making it even more important for companies to stay on top of their message.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 10: CEO of Edelman Richard Edelman (L) president and CEO at Principal Financial Group Dan Houston attend the Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit at Union West Events on October 10, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Jim Spellman/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 10: CEO of Edelman Richard Edelman (L) president and CEO at Principal Financial Group Dan Houston attend the Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit at Union West Events on October 10, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Jim Spellman/Getty Images)

“The means by which you communicate is now separated into two parts, the right wing and the left wing, and people only read that which they agree with,” Edelman added. “So increasingly, I think every company is going to have to become its own media company on top of what Yahoo and others do to tell [the] story.”

Edelman was founded in 1952 by Daniel Edelman and maintains some 60 locations globally.

Scott Gamm is a reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter @ScottGamm.

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