Rudolph W. Giuliani relished such sessions and the opportunity for engagement they offered. Michael R. Bloomberg seemed to tolerate them. Until the end of August, when his poll numbers fell, Mr. de Blasio had more or less followed the pattern of past mayors, taking queries from the press corps two or three times a week.

Asked on Friday about the dwindling number of news conferences, the mayor said that in the past, he had been focused on enacting major new policy initiatives; he was now eager to bring his message “to the people.”

“There’s going to be a lot of information flowing,” Mr. de Blasio said, pledging to communicate through a variety of channels, including the brief radio appearances he has done more often of late. (His advisers are aware that those interviews tend to be shorter and breezier than the interrogations Mr. de Blasio can face from the regular City Hall reporters.)

The mayor also pledged on Friday to hold more town hall-style events, although, so far, only one has been convened, and many of the attendees were invited by his allies. “We’re going to change this paradigm,” Mr. de Blasio said, “because we think there are better ways to communicate and better ways to be connected to the people.”

Tensions with the media are nothing new for Mr. de Blasio, and allies say he remains deeply frustrated with the press coverage he has gotten, convinced that some news outlets are set on sinking his mayoralty. He has accused the New York City press corps of treating his predecessor, Mr. Bloomberg, with “kid gloves.”

In recent days, Mr. de Blasio has also raised concerns with his aides about leaks, frustrated that details of his private conversations have turned up in news reports, according to several people told of the discussions who requested anonymity to describe private conversations.

The mayor’s team is sensitive to accusations that he is less than transparent, particularly after a week that included an on-air altercation between a CBS reporter and Mr. de Blasio’s press secretary, and a report in DNAinfo about the administration’s sluggishness in responding to Freedom of Information requests.