How Public Relations Is Changing - A Gen Z’s Guide to PR

Back in the early days of PR, the strategy was simple: pitch to TV producers, newspaper editors, and magazine writers, and hope they’d share your brand story. That worked—back then. Today, with social media, blogs, and streaming platforms dominating how people consume content, PR looks very different. At Word On The Street, we take a modern approach, helping brands connect with audiences where they actually spend their time—online, engaged, and scrolling.

Now let’s talk numbers (because receipts matter) - the shift away from traditional media has been dramatic. According to  Pew Research Center, nearly 6 in 10 Americans now prefer to get their news online, while just 3 in 10 turn to TV. Radio and print barely register at single digits. And when it comes to daily habits, the decline is even sharper: fewer than half of Americans under 30 watch any live TV at all, and only 1 in 20 read a newspaper each day. For younger audiences especially, the traditional channels that once defined PR are no longer where attention lives.

Meanwhile, social media is where people are spending their time. A massive 93% of Americans log on daily, and almost half of people under 30 years old spend three or more hours scrolling. TikTok is growing the fastest, especially with younger users, making short-form video the format brands can’t afford to ignore (Quirks - Media Usage Break Down).The message is clear: audiences aren’t disengaging—they’re just tuning in somewhere new. 

That’s why Word On The Street does things differently. We take the facts and turn them into results. From influencer relations, blogs, events, and brand matchmaking, we know how to get your brand noticed in the places people actually pay attention. And hey, if your target audience still loves to read the morning paper with a cup of coffee or tune into mid-day television, we’ll go there too. Every brand is unique, and so are our pitching strategies. But here’s the truth: PR is evolving, and we’re not just keeping up—we’re setting the pace.