The PR industry is always changing.

When I started my career in a NYC newsroom, we had dot-matrix printers spitting out AP wire copy, fax machines spewing news releases from city hall and reel to reel tape.

Today, AI researches and writes pitch letters, social media algorithms decide what goes viral, and media outlets are contracting the way I wish my waistline would.

But for all the change, there are three fundamentals of public relations that will never go out of style.

You planned the event. You sent out the invites. You confirmed the guest list. Maybe you even had a media advisory go out to every local news outlet.

And then… crickets. No reporters. No cameras. No coverage.

It happens—and it’s not the end of the world.

The truth is, you can still make your event matter. You just need to shift from “hoping for coverage” to creating your own. Here’s how to do it.

When it comes to planning press conferences or public events, one of the most common mistakes I see is this:

Thinking an elected official at your podium will automatically get you media attention.

If you’re struggling to get media coverage—or frustrated that your pitches are going unanswered—there’s a good chance you’re missing one critical piece of the puzzle:

You haven’t figured out where your story belongs.

It’s one of the most overlooked fundamentals in public relations, but it’s everything.