A generation ago, in 2004, I wrote a book that was novel at the time, “Media Relations Handbook for Agencies, Associations, Nonprofits and Congress.” While some texts offered guidance to PR professionals in the private sector, this was the first to speak directly to the public sector. 

It basically was a collection of concepts, guidance and practices that had evolved in the past hundred years since the idea of “engineering consent” was developed by two pioneers in the industry: Ivy Lee (inventor of the press release and photo opportunity) and Edward Bernays (who, incidentally, was Sigmund Freud’s nephew).

Yet in the last few decades, the field of public communications has been transformed, and the rules that applied in the 20th century are just not functional in the 21st. As an illustration of how things change, the first of my “13 Rules of Media Relations” in the book was “Never lie.” Well, that idea has kind of gone extinct these days.

In talking to communications professionals on Capitol Hill, you can see how digital strategies have not just augmented but in some cases supplanted the old tactics of seeking to influence reporters, to the point that the term “media relations” means something else. Marie Baldassarre, formerly communications director and now chief of staff to Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., has witnessed this transformation firsthand.

“You need to have a strong digital presence,” Baldassarre said. “In the past we had to rely on traditional press to get our message out. But you can’t shape the content as you want it. You have to work with a reporter’s framing and angle. What digital gives you is a chance to present your message on your own terms and reach the people most interested in you and following what you’re doing.”

Emily Kassner-Marks, press secretary for Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said a significant amount of her time is spent interacting not with reporters, but with “creators” of digital content, from podcasters to YouTubers and more. “I think there is a trend to include creators in the conversation,” Kassner-Marks said. “As we’ve seen more creators embracing the political world, there’s been a lot more interest in collaborating with members of Congress.”

How is working with creators different from working with mainstream reporters? “I don’t think creators bring a cynicism to the conversation,” she said. “When we collaborate with them, they are happy to uplift the messages we are providing. But I don’t think they have that same level of cynicism.”

Alyssa Gulick, communications director for Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, also noted a shift in staffing at the Capitol. “When I started on the Hill, the digital director position was nonexistent. And now it’s getting to the point where some offices have bigger comms teams than leg teams,” she said.

Baldassarre pointed to the evolution of the press release, once a ubiquitous staple of comms work. “I think what is antiquated to some degree are press releases and statements,” she said. “Usually if we have a big piece of news we’re going to put it directly on X. It just reduces the steps — reporters can just retweet it.”

Yet some old-school concepts still apply for congressional communications, according to Gulick. “I always think about our district first. How is that going to impact the folks on the ground? What is the tie about what’s going on in the world, and what’s going on back home?” 

Meanwhile, in the campaign world, digital strategy has become a partisan arms race, with Republicans seen as pulling ahead with podcasters and Gen Z influencers in the last election cycle, while Democratic consultants puzzled over how to catch up.

The intraparty struggles are real, too, as pundits dissect how Zohran Mamdani beat out the better-known Andrew Cuomo in the New York mayoral Democratic primary, in part thanks to the younger candidate’s free-flowing TikTok videos. (“Mr. Mamdani is very good at videos, but not reality,” his opponent sniped during a debate.)

Though some wonder if virality and social media fluency can truly be taught, “attention is now to politics what people think money is to politics,” as New York Times columnist Ezra Klein noted in a recent podcast, and political communicators have to navigate that reality.

When I discussed with a friend updating my “Media Relations Handbook” for the 21st century, he mused, “Won’t it be outdated before it’s printed?” The seismic changes in political communications may demand members of Congress and staff adapt more rapidly than in the past, lest their message (and their careers) get lost in the shuffle.

Bradford Fitch is a former Capitol Hill staffer, former CEO of the Congressional Management Foundation, and author of “Citizen’s Handbook for Influencing Elected Officials.”