Talk to any editor/writer at any place that you'd like to get written up in -- blogger, digital media, or print -- and they'll all tell you they'd rather have a relationship with a founder or C_O than a PR person.

Meaning: *they* will be more receptive to *you* even more so than the PR agency that you spend $5k-$25k/mo on.

Paying a PR agency sometimes gets inches, but rarely makes a difference you can measure on your financial statement. Ask them to track their results and the impact to your business and see what they say. They will take 15 minutes explaining how that's not possible. Correct, that's the point.

So, do something that IS useful -- create genuine relationships with people you want writing about you.

P.S. I do like the idea of an internal social media or even "media relations" person, because it's still internal. Just make sure the CEO/founder does the interviewing.