The purpose of this study was to examine how community college presidents successfully work with and through the media to advance their institutions. Four successful cases were studied. These success stories came from the list of Paragon Award winners selected annually by the National Council of Marketing and Public Relations (NCMPR) and be cross referenced with the list of college presidents from the membership list of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). While there has been a body of work created exploring the for-profit organization and how the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) works with and through the media to enhance the reputation of the organization, there has been little research conducted in the area of the value a president of a community college brings to the reputation of the institution through her or his own personal visibility through the media. The study assessed and characterized into common themes how each participant, both the presidents and lead public relation executives, successfully worked with and through the media to advance their individual institutions. Common themes emerged both with the presidents and the public relations lead executives. Data revealed that there was a significant connection of each case studied and organizational goals such as financial health and market share growth. The importance of teams was noted with the role of the president being one part of the teamwork. The centerpiece of each case was the story of the institution and that story being the focal point of media coverage. Results of this research suggest that community college presidents can reach organizational goals through a strategic process of telling the institutional story to and through the news media. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]