How to Get a Story on the News (for the Right Reasons) (2024)

Press coverage isn’t just for big brands. Small businesses like yours can also learn how to get a story on the news and reap the same rewards associated with positive local publicity. The best way to get your story on the news is to craft a great press release that will capture the interest of journalists and the public. After pitching your story, prepare for your interview and continue building relationships with journalists.

Step 1: Write Your Press Release

The first step in learning how to get on the news is learning how to write a press release. Press releases can be great tools for small businesses as they help build awareness without breaking the budget. To make a press release as effective as possible, there are a few key components to keep in mind.

• A newsworthy angle: One of the most critical pieces of any press release is the angle, aka the hook that will catch the media’s attention. It determines the press release’s overall direction, tone, and even the audience it will reach. A good place to start is by thinking about how the story you want to convey is relevant to your audience’s needs and interests. Browse press release examples for real-world inspiration and ideas for your angle.
• Your main points: Identifying the most impactful parts of your press release will help develop the lead and supporting paragraphs. Begin by answering the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How, then fill in the gaps.
• Proper formatting: A press release is different from other types of news and promotional content. Getting the right press release format with your business logo, contact information, headline, main body, and other details can increase the effectiveness of your press release.

For example, say you were sending a grand opening press release for your organic cafe. You might angle your story on the health benefits of organic coffee or the increased demand for it by your local community. Then, structure your whole story around that, from its headline to its body to its supplemental quotes.

In the lead paragraph, add essential details about the grand opening, such as the café’s opening date, location, and schedule. Then, build the body around the benefits of organic coffee and include quotes from key people such as local health experts to add credibility to your unique selling proposition.

Finally, conclude with a CTA prompting readers to visit a website or register for the event and a press release boilerplate, which is a one-paragraph description of your company.

Intimidated by the idea of writing your own press release? Consider hiring a pro to write the press release on your behalf. The small price you pay for an expertly written release can make a huge difference. Our list of the best press release writing services can help you access expert writing, land press coverage, and learn how to get on the local news.

After writing your press release, the next step to get your story on the news is to identify which local media outlets and journalists are likeliest to cover your story. Reaching out to individual reporters is often the most effective way to contact local news about a story, as media outlets may not be monitoring general tip lines regularly.

If you don’t already have a list of specific journalists in mind, start by compiling a list of local media outlets (e.g., newspapers, TV stations, radio stations, and websites) that you can use to kick-start your search. Next, look for journalists at each outlet who cover similar stories to yours. Read their most recent reporting to understand what angle(s) appeal to each and who might be interested in your pitch.

Once you’ve narrowed down your list to your top-choice journalists, it’s time to contact them directly. If you don’t already have a journalist’s contact info, there are multiple ways to find it.

• Browse their social media: Most journalists have public-facing accounts that you can use to contact them directly, including social media sites like X (formerly Twitter) and content-sharing platforms like Substack.
• Check their bios: Most publications have author or journalist bios on their website, which typically include email and social media contact info.
• Find contact info with SignalHire: SignalHire is a Google Chrome plugin that finds email addresses and phone numbers for contacts on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.
• Discover email addresses: Email management tools like Hunter.io let you input the company website where your target journalist works, and it finds the journalist’s email address for you.
• Connect via LinkedIn: LinkedIn is the leading social networking platform for professionals, and it is a great way to connect with a reporter or journalist.
• Look for their websites: Many journalists, especially freelancers who write for multiple outlets at once, have personal websites with contact forms that you can use to reach out.
• Publish through Prowly: Prowly is a paid platform where you can generate press releases and get access to a database of over one million media professionals to help you build your contact list.
• Call the local media outlet: When online research doesn’t work, try calling each local press outlet and asking for the information directly.

If you don’t have the time to research and weed through local media outlets or want local and national coverage, consider using a press release distribution service like Newswire. In addition to distributing your release to major news wires and outlets, these services can send your news directly to the email inboxes of local news editors and journalists.

Step 3: Craft Your Email Query (aka Your Pitch)

Now it’s time to send out your press release, which entails creating a compelling press coverage pitch. Like any other type of business intro email, your email query (or pitch) should concisely tell the recipient who you are, what your business is, why they should be interested in your press release, and how to get more information. Every email pitch should include a greeting, a subject line, some relevant body copy, and a copy of your press release.

• Personalized greeting: Each pitch should be tailor-fitted to the recipient, which includes personalizing the message for each specific journalist you reach out to. Use their name in the greeting instead of a generic “hello,” and double-check that the spelling is right.
• Eye-catching subject line: Pitches sent via email must have an intriguing subject line if you want reporters to open them. The subject should indicate what the email is about and entice the recipient to open it to learn more. To improve your subject lines, use SubjectLine’s free grader to ensure your subject will entice journalists to open your email.
• Body copy with pertinent information: This should also be customized for each journalist. The body of the email should answer the following questions: Why should the recipient (and their audience) be interested? What are the key points? Why do they need to act fast? And where can they get more info?
• Press release: A pitch should include your press release, ideally in several file types. In addition to pasting the text below your email, consider attaching it as a PDF or including a link to your website or Google Docs.

Even small-town journalists may get dozens, if not hundreds, of pitches every week. So while your email pitch needs to be thorough, it should also be short: ideally 200 words or less. The formatting should also be easy to scan, such as answering the pertinent questions above in a bullet point list.

Step 4: Pitch Your News Story by Email & Follow Up

Now it’s time to send your email. If you have a deadline or event in mind, pitch your release early enough to ensure journalists have time to process it, write a story, and publish it in time. Here are the general timelines on when to pitch your press release by outlet type:

• Television and radio: Send your email seven days before your release date.
• Newspapers: Pitch your story two to three weeks beforehand.
• Magazines: Pitch your release three to six months before the release date.

Once you have sent your press release, wait between three and five days, and if you haven’t received a response, send a courtesy follow-up email. If your press release is time-sensitive, send a follow-up before the release time to move it to the top of your recipient’s inbox so they can cover the story in time.

Following up helps journalists stay on top of that deadline, which can be helpful to them. You can also use this follow-up to check if journalists have all they need to run the story by inviting any questions they have about your news story.

To help keep your pitch top of mind, consider connecting with journalists on social networks like Facebook, LinkedIn, and X. A follow request or quick message is fine; just refrain from badgering them with lots of messages across multiple platforms, otherwise they might block you.

Step 5: Prepare for Your Interview

Ideally, you will get replies from journalists after sending them the pitch and press release for your local news story. When you do, respond promptly, identify what they want to discuss, and practice for an interview if necessary.

Journalists often have a specific angle they want to approach and will seek answers to a series of questions. Try to get this information upfront so you’ll be ready when they call or email. Use these pro tips to craft your response so you can be as prepared as possible:

• Ask what they want to discuss: If the journalist requests an interview, ask for a list of questions so you can think about them beforehand to best represent your story and brand.
• Prepare your answers: Jot down your responses to each question so you have some talking points ready. It’s also worth considering any other potential questions the journalist may ask and preparing answers for those as well to avoid getting caught off guard.
• Practice beforehand: Take some time to run through your answers before your interview. Reading your answers out loud can help you work out any kinks and help you become more comfortable with answering the questions.

Remember that journalists often have limited time to collect the information they need. Ensure your pitch and interview answers are insightful yet concise to present yourself (or your media contact) as an expert.

Step 6: Keep Building Relationships With Journalists

Once you’ve provided a quality local news story to a journalist, bolster your chances of future exposure by cultivating mutually beneficial relationships. This holds whether or not your story gets published, but especially if it does. Thank them for running or considering your story, and ask if there are ways to help them in the future. Here are five ways to build mutually beneficial relationships with local journalists:

• Say thank you: Once you get the news to cover your story, reach out to each journalist who gave you press coverage and thank them personally. Answer any questions afterward and offer to be a resource for future stories.
• Connect on social media: Most journalists list social media handles in their author bios. If you haven’t already, follow or send them a connect request on their preferred platforms so you can stay on top of their future stories. Be sure to follow the official media outlet accounts as well.
• Engage with their content: Once you’ve followed key journalists and outlets on their preferred social media channels, help them by sharing, liking, and commenting on their social media posts and local news stories when it feels authentic to do so.
• Offer to make introductions: If you see your key journalist is covering a story series, for example, and you know contacts who can speak to their next piece on the topic, offer to connect the journalist to your contact (after getting your contact’s permission, of course).
• Provide quality stories: Finally, go back to step one and repeat this process once your business has other quality local news stories the journalists’ audiences will value.
• Tag them from your accounts: Once you’ve built relationships with certain journalists and news outlets, tag them in your social media posts whenever you post a positive story about your businesses. Not only will you be promoting the story to your followers, but you’ll also be expanding its reach by notifying reporters.

Press Release Tips for Landing Local Coverage

Although many business events may merit a press release, not all stories you send are guaranteed to attract the attention of local journalists. Most of all, your story needs to be truly relevant to the audience to earn their consideration. Nevertheless, there are some ways to bolster your story’s chances of gaining coverage.

• Promote upcoming events: Many business announcements are made in advance or immediately following major events. Attract more attendees with free event press release templates.
• Turn bad news into something positive: Knowing how to write a crisis press release can ensure your company doesn’t get hurt when you have bad news to share.
• Get attention with new hires: Bringing in a big name or adding a top-level exec to your business is a great way to land local press coverage. Showcase your team and what they bring to the table with free new hire press release templates.
• Use video to your advantage: A video press release is a great choice for executive insights or interviews, testimonials, case study summaries, celebrating milestones, sharing your brand’s story, or offering a sneak peek of a new product or service. It’s also super-easy for journalists to embed videos into their own stories, plus it produces far more online shares and engagement than other types of content.

What Journalists Want in a Press Release

While ultimately getting local press coverage can land you more customers, the main audience for your press release should be the journalists you hope will cover your story. By tailoring your press release to an audience of editors and reporters, you increase your chances of getting your story on the news.

• Error-free copy: Editors prize publication-ready stories, which include being free from typos and grammatical errors. Check spelling and police your work for any punctuation errors, and use an AI-powered grammar checker like Grammarly to improve your copy and ensure it is error-free.
• Copy that covers all the bases quickly: A press release should capture the five W’s—who, what, when, where, and why—of the story you’re trying to tell. It should be concise and free from superfluous details.
• Direct quotes: Incorporate quotes from key figures in your press release if possible. This gives editors and writers someone to point to for who said what and helps local media create more engaging copy.
• A third-person point of view: When writing your press release, refer to yourself and your company in the third person, either by name or as “the company.” You should refer to individuals in the company by first and last name on first use, then last name on later reference.
• Copy free from kitschy writing: Your company has a personality, and while that personality is an important part of your brand, your press release isn’t the place to showcase it. Write in a formal, fact-based voice, and avoid being cute or overly informal. You don’t want to be boring, but at the same time, you don’t want an editor to discard your release because it sounds more like a commercial than a news story.
• Photos or graphics: Adding visuals makes it easier for journalists to cover your announcement, which improves your chances of landing local press coverage. For example, if you’re announcing a new location, attach a mockup or architectural rendering. For a promotion, send a headshot of the newly promoted staffer.

Finally, remember that to an editor or publisher, the best press release is one they don’t have to touch. It’s written like a news story that they can simply copy, paste, and publish verbatim without much editing or proofing. This will help ensure your press release gets picked up by online and print publications and helps grow your brand presence.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

When figuring out how to contact news media with a story, it’s usually more effective to reach out to individual journalists via their email, social media accounts, or personal websites. If you can’t figure out which journalist might be willing to cover your story, you can try submitting requests to tip lines at various local media outlets.

The most important aspect of getting local news coverage is to find the angle that makes it relevant. Your hook should offer a compelling example of why your news story matters to the local community. It should also be timely, and ideally, something that puts your business in a positive light.

Many different types of business stories merit local press coverage. For example, the media often cover events attended by celebrities and publish information and quotes when a significant new hire is added or your company makes a big breakthrough. They also may write stories when your business is expanding, moving to a new location, or planning to add new jobs in the community.

Bottom Line

Learning how to get a story on the news is a worthwhile investment that can yield great rewards. Businesses that get publicity increase their exposure and generate more sales. Best of all, press coverage is free, so unlike other forms of marketing and advertising needed to produce similar results, there’s little to no financial investment.

Aside from helping grow your brand awareness and revenue, getting on the news also grants you credibility as a business. The best way to get started is by crafting a press release, finding the best media outlets, and pitching your story the right way.