Stories That Serve a Bigger Good with Kristi Eaton
Kristi Eaton, Founder and CEO of ke comms, a mission-driven public relations and storytelling agency, joins The Bliss Business Podcast to explore responsible storytelling in PR: how 20 years in journalism shaped her ethics, why the person behind the story should lead, and how purposeful organizations earn visibility that lasts.
Responsible storytelling in PR starts with the person whose story is being told, not the headline an organization hopes to earn. In this episode of The Bliss Business Podcast, we welcome Kristi Eaton, Founder and CEO of ke comms, a mission-driven public relations and storytelling agency, who spent 20 years as a journalist, including for The New York Times and The Associated Press, before moving into PR for social good causes.
In this episode we explore:
• How storytelling can support social good without becoming extractive
• Why trauma-informed practices and consent belong in PR, not just journalism
• Why the best stories are discovered by listening, not manufactured
• How asking “why now?” decides whether a story will land
• Why purpose has to be lived inside an organization before it is promoted outside
• Why lasting visibility is built one placement at a time
Kristi’s definition of responsible storytelling is practical: interview people in their native language when that means bringing in an interpreter, explain exactly where a story will run and how visible it will be, and let the person lead what they are comfortable sharing. As she puts it, “it’s not up to us to determine the story.”
That same instinct shapes how she handles clients. Instead of arriving with an angle, she asks what is new and lets the storyline unfold from there. She also sees media moving toward issue-driven stories that feature several organizations at once, which means a purpose-led brand may earn one strong paragraph rather than a full profile, and that can be the more credible result.
Kristi automates administration but keeps the PR work itself hands-on. Her advice to purpose-driven organizations seeking more exposure is to first get clear on what they stand for, and to make sure employees feel seen and heard before any outward social responsibility campaign goes live. For Kristi, love in business means “empathy and understanding.”
Earning attention without spending the trust behind it is the same balance Zero Company works to strike in the marketing it builds for purpose-led brands.
Key Takeaways
• (2:33) On what responsible storytelling means: “it means taking into account the person telling the story, and doing it in a responsible manner through ethical guidelines that have been thought out well before the story is determined.”
• (10:38) On not needing to be the whole story, from a global piece on Indigenous land issues: “we were maybe mentioned for a paragraph, but it was an impactful paragraph, and our name was out there, but it wasn’t the brunt of the story.”
• (12:06) On the question to ask before any pitch: “Why would someone care to read this right now, or watch it on the broadcast news right now, or listen to it on a podcast?”
• (18:15) On keeping ethics strong when the work moves quickly: “when you move too fast, mistakes happen. And you also forget about the person behind the story and forget about the story at heart.”
• (22:50) On what reporting in India, Zambia, and refugee camps taught her about listening: “It’s so important to leave adequate time to listen and to digest the information.”
• (37:59) On the one belief about visibility she would change: “one placement, one story can lead to another placement, can lead to 10 other placements.”
FAQ
What is responsible storytelling in PR?
Kristi Eaton, founder of ke comms, describes responsible storytelling as putting the person telling the story first: following ethical guidelines set before the story is chosen, explaining where and how visibly it will appear, and using trauma-informed practices that let the person lead.
How can a mission-driven organization get media coverage without being self-promotional?
Kristi Eaton recommends leaning into issue-driven stories, where several organizations speak to a topic that matters, and asking why the story matters right now. A single strong paragraph in an important story can carry more credibility than a feature about one brand.
How long does it take for PR to land national media coverage?
Kristi Eaton says it rarely happens in the first days of working with a PR partner. Visibility grows slowly through a strong client relationship and respect for deadlines, and one placement can lead to many more over time.
🎙️ Hosted by Stephen Sakach and Tullio Siragusa
🎧 Produced by Martha Huerta
The stories that serve a bigger good are the ones told thoughtfully, with care for the people behind them. Learn more about Kristi Eaton and ke comms at kecomms.com and on LinkedIn. See her guest profile, watch the video, read the companion post Visibility With Responsibility, or explore more Featured Guest Series conversations.
CEO / ke comms
With 20 years of experience in journalism before transitioning to public relations, ke comms' founder, Kristi Eaton, has a keen eye for what makes a story newsworthy.
In 2017, Kristi received a grant from the International Reporting Project to report and write about menstruation and child marriage in India. A year later, she was selected to be a writer-in-residence for Fistula Foundation, traveling around Zambia documenting women’s stories about their experiences with fistula. She has also received grants to travel to a refugee camp along the Ethiopia-Somalia border to write about intimate partner violence as well as to Iceland to cover women’s rights. Her journalism work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, The Associated Press, Reuters, The Guardian, Ms. Magazine and numerous other print and digital outlets.
As a public relations professional, she focuses on social good causes, raising awareness about under-resourced communities and movements. She uses her deep knowledge of the media industry, her long-standing connections to editors and reporters, and her thorough strategic input to come up with eye-catching campaigns and media pitches to land top-tier placements in targeted outlets. She is a board member with the Association for Women in Communications-Tulsa and the Tulsa Foundation for Architecture.
