The 17th annual 2024 Media Predicts gala, an exclusive event, will take place Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, at the Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos, Calif., conveniently located between San Jose and San Francisco on 101.

Have you ever been there? If not, the venue is a one-of-a-kind Smithsonian Affiliate museum, steeped in history and featuring more than 50 aircraft from more than a century of aviation history.

Secure your seat now! Early sponsors will be seated in first-class cabins, and enjoy premiere seating. Don't miss out on this exclusive opportunity. Email hello@prsa-sv.org for sponsorship packages.

Follow us on LinkedIn for continued updates, including who will join our flight crew (a.k.a. media panel) with our first confirmed journalist, Cade Metz of the New York Times!

Still need convincing?

Grab a tissue: Here’s a look back at the iconic moments that made up last year’s Media Predicts.

Important announcements began with PRSA Silicon Valley President Meghan Fintland and President-elect Jeannie Entin, who welcomed the audience. They celebrated the theme of the event: purpose and unity.

Then the acclaimed Gerard Corbett, APR, bestowed the PRSA College of Fellows medallion upon the celebrated David Vossbrink, APR.

Meghan Fintland presented PRSA Silicon Valley members with 2023 Presidential Awards: Jeremiah Lineberger from Aircover Communications received Young Professional of the Year, and Alannah McDermott of ICR as well as Camille Clark of Hotwire were named the Board Members of the Year.

Public relations superstar Yvette Noel-Schure was the renowned winner of the Unity and Purpose Presidential Award for 2013. Noel-Schure is a Founder of Schure Media Group and has represented legendary artists including Beyoncé, John Legend, Prince, and Chloe x Halle.

When asked what tools will be crucial for PR in 2024, Yvette Noel-Schure declared, “The truth. I tell my clients, tell the truth, be authentic, tell your stories. All you need is the truth.”

She added, “And in terms of real tools, the press release will never go out of play for me. Write it all down, put the facts all in one place, and put them in places where people can see them. Utilize news services. Think globally. Make sure your press releases get translated into the five key languages so everybody can have a chance to get the news at the same time. No other tools are necessary. The truth written on paper. Send it out to the world.”

PRSA Silicon Valley also celebrated Diversity and Multicultural Scholarship recipients and thanked supporters. When interviewed about the importance of these scholarships on the industry, Yvette Noel-Schure said, “Anything that talks about diversity is important. … There are people in this world, still in 2023 and soon to be 2024 that do not get the opportunities that they should get… [A scholarship] is about giving them a chance. Too many people do not get that chance.”

During the Media Predicts panel, Rochelle Nadhiri served as moderator. When asked about her predictions for media relations in 2024 prior to the panel, she replied, “As a profession, I think media relations is continually grappling with questions about our place in the world. You have new technologies that are coming to the fore, you have stories that happen a mile a minute, you have the short news cycle which isn’t a new trend, so we’re going to have to be more creative about the stories that we tell and pull through; we’re going to have to show and pull through that emotion that I don’t think a computer can generate right now. So I think the future is bright and we’re going to be better for it; it’s just going to make us need to sharpen our skills.”

*Joining moderator Rochelle Nadhiri were four media *panelists: Shawn Chitnis of CBS Bay Area, Connie Guglielmo of CNET, Kali Hays of Business Insider, and Eric Savitz of Barron’s. All gave eloquent insights during the discussion which ranged from AI to return-to-office to social media.

As the AI discussion drew to a close, Shawn Chitnis proclaimed, “I have a favorite story for AI. It’s the perfect way to end this thread. There’s a Stanford student who created this product called Rizz GPT. If you didn’t know, from Oxford, ‘Rizz’ is the word of the year. And I think [Rizz GPT is] a great example of what’s to come and how far we are.” He described the abilities and limitations of the product, making the audience laugh with his description of its use on a date.

To the question, “how is the return to work impacting the way you’re telling stories and receiving stories,” Eric Savitz jumped in: “It’s sort of a work in progress and I think the answer is different depending on where you are. I happened to be in a situation where I’d been working from home anyway so it didn’t really change my life that much. But I would note that most of my colleagues, most of whom are in New York, had to be dragged kicking and screaming to come back into the office on a full time basis,” he elucidated.

When asked about social media as a source of news, information, and trends, Kali Hays said, “I think it’s becoming increasingly obvious that social media is not the place to get news or information.” She later added, “I don’t even cite Twitter as a source anymore in stories; there’s no way I feel comfortable at this point using what someone said on Twitter in any reporting at all.”

It was a lovely and insightful night, showcasing the themes of unity and purpose as well as diversity and multiculturalism. The attendees – including a record number of students including me – left the event feeling refreshed and connected, and eager to look onward to 2024!

The sought-after Diversity and Multicultural Scholarship application window opened in early 2024 and the recipients were chosen by committee mid-summer: Here’s the news release on that. For more information about the PRSA Foundation which awards the scholarships visit this link PRSA Diversity Multicultural Scholarship - PRSA Foundation. Note that the amount of each Silicon Valley scholarship increased to $2,500 per student this year. 

*In closing, the only thing constant is change! Here are profiles of people mentioned in this story who had a career change since the panel: Shaun Chitnis, Kali Hays, Rochelle (Williams) Nadhiri, and Eric Savitz

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Peri Plantenberg is an upperclassman at UC Berkeley. She has been a valuable contributor to the PRSA Silicon Valley team.

Thank you Global Newswire for sponsoring the DEI scholarships news release.