Get Known. PR & Media Podcast

San Francisco Agency

Here at the Get Known podcast, we interview journalists about their work and what they cover so that companies know better how to engage with the press and get their company covered in the media. Our big goal is to make sure that companies out there who are reaching out to the press, build the right relationships, pitch the right ideas and understand better what wastes journalists and their time https://sanfrancisco.fi/category/get-known/

  1. Get Known. S7 E2 - Nobel Laurete John Martinis w/Quantum Computing Report’s George Schwartz

    Apr 7

    Get Known. S7 E2 - Nobel Laurete John Martinis w/Quantum Computing Report’s George Schwartz

    Recently, 14000 physicists showed up in Denver, Colorado, for the APS, American Physical Society’s combined March and April meeting for 2026. Among them was the 2025 Nobel Prize winner in physics, John Martinis, who is also now CTO and co-founder of a quantum computing company called Qolab.  While many of us are still getting used to the computers on our desks, John Martinis has spent his career building a completely different kind of machine that uses the laws of quantum mechanics to process information. He, John Clarke, and Michel Devoret were awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize for proving that these "quantum computers" could finally solve problems that would take a traditional supercomputer thousands of years to finish. Their work marks the moment science fiction officially became scientific reality because these breakthroughs in "quantum supremacy" are set to transform everything from how we discover new medicines to how we secure our digital lives. This podcast mixes the technical details of quantum computing and the possibilities, along with the stories from John about how his life has changed with so much press attention and selfies. John is so good at interviewing and switching between the technical descriptions and stories about his journey. If you are a technical or scientific person who needs to talk to the press, this podcast is an amazing chance to see how this is done in practice. You'll hear about topics that are incredibly complex, well beyond a non-physicist's understanding, and also get a glimpse into the personal, human experiences of a Nobel laureate. I want to give a special thanks, as this podcast is done in cooperation with George Schwartz from Quantum Computing Report, who was covering APS this year. Whether you are technical or not, or into quantum or not, please listen through and learn from the tips and tricks John and George bring to the table in this interview.

    1h 19m
  2. Get Known. S6 E3 - Doug Finke from Quantum Computing Report

    12/01/2025

    Get Known. S6 E3 - Doug Finke from Quantum Computing Report

    In September, we traveled to Washington, DC, and got to spend 2 days at the Quantum World Congress, a gathering of all the best minds and companies in the quantum computing industry.  This was the place to see up close the advancements in this growing industry, which is poised to shake up the world in the next 5 to 10 years.  Not being a physicist, there was admittedly a lot of science that was presented and flew way above my head, but the business side of quantum definitely was clear.  Like many scientific or niche industries, they have their own media, and in this episode, I had the pleasure of talking with Doug Finke, managing editor of the Quantum Computing Report, which he founded more than 10 years ago.  Many people we spoke to at Quantum World Congress call Doug the “Godfather of the quantum computing community”. His creation of this media is a testament to finding an area that was emerging and under-reported, then, over time, turning it into a go-to source for everyone in this industry. It was so interesting to hear about and understand from his point of view the growth of quantum computing from a science project to a now-emerging mainstream industry. He has been there the whole way.  As a result, not only did we talk about media but also, but Doug also provided a bit of history and understanding of quantum computing itself. So consider this a bit of a primer for those of you not familiar with the technology and what it will impact in the future. There is so much to learn from niche media like this that can be applied to other emerging technologies. Doug took the time to compare the history of quantum to the rise of the silicon chip and classic computing.   Companies have a tendency to make the same kinds of mistakes in approaching journalists with their stories, and not doing their homework. Doug gives some great advice for companies that want to get into quantum specific media, but also that can be applied to all media.

    47 min
  3. Get Known. S6 E1 - Yuko Endo from TNL Mediagene, Japan

    01/20/2025

    Get Known. S6 E1 - Yuko Endo from TNL Mediagene, Japan

    In this episode, we had the pleasure of talking with Yuko Endo from TNL Mediagene in Tokyo, Japan.  Over the years we have rarely had the chance to speak with Japanese media so it was quite a treat to talk with Yuko who is the Vice President of the group that publishes the Japanese versions of some very popular U.S. magazines including Business Insider Japan, Gizmodo Japan, and Digiday Japan. This was Yuko’s first time at Slush so we started off by chatting about her first impressions of the conference and what she was looking to get out of it. We talked about how she got into journalism and her journey into editing and publishing. She also mentioned that the Slush model is a great example for Japan to follow in entrepreneurial business culture.   We then spoke a bit about the differences between Japan’s media and other media around the world. Yuko and her boss represent just a few female leaders in journalism there.  We continued by talking about how to approach media in Japan and how the process of publishing stories works. In short, knowing the right people is important along with providing information in Japanese.   I think one of the biggest surprises for me was the similarities between Japanese and Finnish media culture. For example, embracing failure and taking risks is often still difficult. But facts and honesty are very important when reporting the news and keeping people’s trust..  We did also talk about how Western media gets things wrong in Japan. One way is providing pure translations of news and press which does not fly. Things need to be localized for Japanese markets and it's not easy. There is simply so much to get wrong when you don’t know the culture, mindset, or habits. I guess that is true no matter where you go.

    49 min
  4. Get Known. S5 E5 - Veera Honkanen from Kauppalehti

    10/23/2024

    Get Known. S5 E5 - Veera Honkanen from Kauppalehti

    Veera Honkanen is the lone California-based correspondent for Finland’s largest business publication Kauppalehti. She is situated right in the heart of Silicon Valley where so many European companies try to break their way into the U.S. market. But Veera actually covers much more than just tech and in our conversation, we get into her wide range of topics from business to politics.  We started by talking about how she got the California assignment and how working outside the country is different than being a reporter inside Finland.  She shares about her daily work, some of the tools she uses in her reporting, and the editorial process for a foreign correspondent.  We talk a bit about AI, AI tools, and their impact on journalism. She also gives some advice on what it takes to be a story worth writing and this led to a discussion about differences in attitudes towards “failure” in the U.S. vs. Finland. Living in America is still a work in progress for Veera. There is a lot of trial and error to understand the culture but she has learned to adopt some American ways of working including the need for “just going for it”. She still gets approval for big stuff she wants to cover but she has learned to move fast and she says that has been an interesting personal adaptation.  Veera gave lots of real-life examples from her reporting which made this interview full of insightful nuggets. We ended up talking about how doing business and getting covered in such a big place as the U.S. requires more than just a good product but an excellent story to compete with all the many excellent stories that are out there coming from the market.  The successful companies are well prepared beyond just having a product that does a job better than others. As Veera says, you need to be able to tell what emotionally drives a company forward and very often an interesting person who is willing to tell a bigger story. All this led to the general question of whether we are too comfortable with our lives in Finland and that maybe we need to find ways of getting more companies outside their comfort zone to reach more success.

    47 min

About

Here at the Get Known podcast, we interview journalists about their work and what they cover so that companies know better how to engage with the press and get their company covered in the media. Our big goal is to make sure that companies out there who are reaching out to the press, build the right relationships, pitch the right ideas and understand better what wastes journalists and their time https://sanfrancisco.fi/category/get-known/