Mario Orellana, M.O. Media Co. LLC

By Sam Boykin

For nearly three decades, Mario Orellana helped shape how San Antonio saw itself.

From the producer’s booth to the newsroom’s top leadership role, Orellana forged a 29-year career at the top-rated ABC television affiliate KSAT. But after stepping down recently, he is channeling that experience into a new venture — his own firm, M.O. Media Co., LLC — while deepening his involvement with the American Marketing Association (AMA) San Antonio and mentoring the next generation of storytellers.

His path into news began long before he stepped into a newsroom.

“It started with comics in the newspaper, and then I started reading the articles and just became fascinated with the world around me,” he said.

Growing up in San Antonio, he became familiar with the names in the paper and felt connected to the civic life unfolding in print. He was further inspired by ESPN’s SportsCenter.

“Sports broadcasting began to feel faster, cooler and more dynamic — and I wanted in.”

He joined KSAT in 1995 as a sports intern. A year later, he was a sports producer, working 50- to 60-hour weeks for part-time pay. It didn’t matter. He was hooked.

“You just wanted to be around it,” he said, recalling the thrill of covering the Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys and watching Spurs legend David Robinson in his prime.

Over the years, Orellana moved through nearly every role in the newsroom: editor, producer, executive producer and assistant news director. In 2023, he was named news director. In this role, he oversaw reporters, producers and editors while navigating an industry undergoing seismic change. Audience habits evolved rapidly. The dominance of traditional ratings eroded. Digital platforms demanded new strategies. Through it all, Orellana emphasized adaptability.

In May 2025, Orellana stepped down from KSAT.

“Serving as the KSAT12 News Director has been the greatest honor of my life,” he said when announcing his departure. “After nearly 30 incredible years on this journey, it is time to move on to the next chapter in my career.”

He first transitioned into a recruiting role with Graham Media Group, KSAT’s parent company. By August, that position was eliminated — a moment that forced him to confront an unfamiliar question: What’s next?

“It was all kinds of scary,” he admitted. After nearly 30 years of a 24/7 newsroom schedule, the sudden absence of structure was jarring.

Mario Orellana, M.O. Media Co. LLC

AMA San Antonio

“The toughest part is the people,” he said. He remembers watching major stories unfold he once would have shepherded through completion, including the catastrophic flooding last year that engulfed Texas's Hill Country,

“I missed that teamwork and camaraderie,” he said.

But the transition also opened space for reinvention.

In August 2025, he officially launched M.O. Media Co., LLC, which he describes as a public relations firm “with a journalistic twist.” Drawing on three decades of newsroom experience, Orellana advises clients — and even other PR firms — on what makes a story resonate.

“What’s your hook?” he asks. “A press release can only go so far.”

For campaigns and events, he pushes clients to define success beyond attendance or impressions. What happens after the story airs? How does it stick? How do different audiences — 18 to 34 versus 35 to 65 — receive and interpret the message?

“For 30 years I’ve listened to research about audience behavior, which I now use to help put together marketing strategies.”

As he builds his business, Orellana has found both support and inspiration through AMA San Antonio. Though he wasn’t previously a member, the organization reached out during his transition. Encouraged by colleagues and energized by conversations at Startup Week, he joined on the spot.

“I’m hearing what they’re talking about from the other end now,” he said, reflecting on how marketing professionals pitch stories to newsrooms. “Newsrooms have long memories if you have the right kind of pitch.”

At AMA events, he found more than networking opportunities. He found affirmation.

“The imposter syndrome that we all go through — being around like-minded people eliminates that,” he said. “It’s been 100% helpful during this transition.”

An aptitude assessment he completed during career relocation services labeled him an “advocator,” someone driven to help others succeed. The description resonated. Orellana frequently connects colleagues to opportunities, mentors young journalists at San Antonio College and remains a vocal supporter of local news across stations.

“The stronger we are as a group, the stronger we are as a city,” he said. “The stronger we are as a community.”

Though he admits there are moments when returning to a newsroom is tempting, Orellana is confident he made the right choice.

“I’m well rested,” he said with a laugh. “And I’m there to support.”

For the first time in decades, he’s building something entirely his own — guided by the same curiosity that once led a comic-reading kid to fall in love with the newspaper. Now, instead of shaping the nightly broadcast, Mario Orellana is helping others tell their stories.