Interesting but I don't think that's why most people can't get quoted - the real problem as I see it is that the exec's expertise has to line up perfectly with

Interesting but I don't think that's why most people can't get quoted - the real problem as I see it is that the exec's expertise has to line up perfectly with what the journalist is writing, and the journalist, who is most often a generalist and has no specific industry training, must somehow be aware of the exec as an expert. That's the toughest to make work because those forces don't often align. The other way to get coverage is to pitch a story to a writer which requires some unique insight or data. Once you've done enough of those, then you might get noticed as an expert and therefore called upon to respond to a reporter with a question. The final piece is the randomness of the news cycle and "hotness" of different areas. If you're in a sleepy space, you'll have to work a lot harder to get any coverage just because no one is writing about it.