Tampa, Fla. - Though his office is in Tampa, Fla. Glenn Selig and his team are just one phone call or text message away from making contact with powerful decision-makers in New York or Los Angeles.

It's about access and who you know, says Selig, an award-winning former major market TV reporter and anchor who founded The Publicity Agency (www.thepublicityagency.com). It's also about a knowledge of the news business from the inside out and an understanding of how to pitch a story.

His unique breed of PR firm, the only one its kind staffed entirely by former journalists, represents about a dozen business clients in their quest for free media coverage. The firm operates as a business publicist. Anyone with money can buy an ad on TV or in a top business magazine but only the best get on Today or get quoted in the New York Times... or so the perception goes.

Most PR people, Selig points out, have never worked in news. He says they only understand the world of PR from the PR side. We understand it from a journalists' perspective and that makes the difference in pitching a story, says Selig. We get a lot of respect from news organizations because they know we understand their needs.

His agency has landed clients on Today, Good Morning America, Larry King Live, Fox News, CNN, MSNBC and into the pages of Business Week, just to name a few. Selig says he can't guarantee every business such prime placements, but his agency will make sure that stories are considered. In other words, there is no wondering whether the right people are considering the story pitches. We'll get a yes or no, says Selig. With so many news outlets, every business gets its money's worth in news coverage, he says.

News Coverage Versus Advertising Most business people agree that a feature story or even just a mention on a newscast or in a major magazine or newspaper is much more valuable that an ad in those same news outlets.

Selig points out that the public perceives an interview by the media as a defacto approval by the media outlet of that business or person. The thinking goes like this: the media don't give bad people or bad companies that type of publicity. Those companies must be the best. And anybody with money can buy an ad.

Sometimes a business gets exposure simply because of dumb luck. More often than not, it's because of business publicists like Selig. Former journalists at The Publicity Agency spend their days marketing clients to news outlets to land them on some of the biggest shows, top news magazines and trade publications.

The competition is fierce and this is not easy, says Selig, the same tenacity I had as a news reporter I bring to publicity.

Any business that has tried to market itself knows how fierce that competition is.

When companies turn to a business publicist it's often because they tried to get noticed and feel like they've been talking to a wall, says Selig. It can be very frustrating and a hard road. And the reality is if you don't have a business publicist pitching for you it's even harder.

Click here to download a high resolution photo of Glenn Selig.

For more information about The Publicity Agency, please visit http://www.thepublicityagency.com.

Media Contacts: Glenn Selig, (813) 948-7767, glenn@thepublicityagency.com or Justin Herndon, (813) 528-6815, justin@thepublicityagency.com.