Using the right tense for reported speech

A few years ago, a Forum member asked these tough grammar questions: “Are there specific prescriptions when to use present-tense reporting verbs over past-tense reporting verbs? Also, can’t we just use past-tense reporting verbs at all times so that whatever is being reported can just be construed as an event in the past?”

I replied that I wasn’t aware of any prescription when to use present-tense reporting verbs over past-tense reporting verbs. My thinking had always been that it entirely depends on the expository or narrative style used, the medium or mode of communication, and personal choice.