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Getting Featured in Local News and Neighborhood Guides
Local newsrooms are smaller than they were, and their remaining editors still need stories about the places their readers use every week; a business that brings a real local angle, a number and a photo makes that job easier.
At a glance
- Local press here means any outlet that tells a specific community what is happening in it: the daily paper, local TV, a neighborhood newsletter, a digital news site, a "best of" guide or a community events calendar.
- Local news has fewer outlets and reporters than it did, with 136 newspaper closures in the past year and 213 U.S. counties left without a local news source, according to Northwestern's Medill School.
- Readers still look for it; in a Pew Research Center survey of 5,146 adults, 85% said local news outlets are at least somewhat important to their community and 52% said they at least sometimes get local news from online forums such as Facebook groups or Nextdoor.
- In a global survey of more than 3,000 journalists, 86% said they would immediately reject a pitch that does not fit their beat or audience, so the work is picking the right outlet and the right angle before writing anything.
- One feature a year that brings in three new regulars covers about 20 hours of an owner's time, in the illustrative math below.
Part 1 | The map of local outlets is wider and smaller than it used to be
Local press still brings the daily paper to mind, and that picture is out of date in two directions. The paper may be thinner or gone; Northwestern's Medill School counted 213 counties with no local news source in 2025 and about 50 million Americans with limited or no access to local news. At the same time, more than 300 local news startups launched in the past five years, about 80% of them digital-only, along with neighborhood newsletters, community Facebook groups and city magazines that publish guides to the best places to eat, get a haircut or find a contractor.
Pew's 2024 survey shows where people actually find local news, and it is a useful way to rank the outlets worth an owner's time.
The owner's first instinct is often we need a big story in the paper, while the better first target is usually the outlet that serves the few square miles your customers live in. A neighborhood newsletter with 4,000 local subscribers can bring more bookings than a citywide piece read by people who will never drive across town for a haircut.
Part 2 | Editors say yes to an angle, a number and a picture
A local editor is looking for something that is new, nearby and true, and a business opening its doors is rarely enough by itself. The stories that get picked up tend to fit one of a handful of shapes, and each one can be built from what an owner already knows.
- A local number. "We replaced 140 water heaters in the county this year, and here is what failed most often" gives a reporter a fact readers can use.
- A seasonal service story. Pre-winter furnace checks, back-to-school haircuts, tax-deadline reminders and spring allergy tips from a clinic all fit the calendar editors already plan around.
- A community connection. A free class, a fundraiser for a school or a partnership with the business next door gives the outlet a reason to cover you that is about the neighborhood.
- A milestone with a story inside it. Ten years open, a second generation taking over, or a renovation of a building with local history.
- An expert answer. Offer yourself as the source for questions in your field, such as what to do when a pipe bursts or how to spot an unlicensed contractor.
Journalists say what helps. In Cision's 2025 survey of more than 3,000 journalists in 19 markets, 72% named press releases as the most useful resource public relations teams can offer and 85% said the best way to start a relationship is to introduce yourself by email, even without a story to pitch.
Part 3 | A pitch an editor can use in two minutes
The pitch itself should be short enough to read on a phone. Find the reporter or editor who has covered something similar in the past few months, which a search of the outlet's site will show, and send one email.
The local pitch, in five lines
| Line | What it says | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Subject | The story in under ten words | "Why so many [town] furnaces fail in the first cold week" |
| Opening | Why it matters to their readers now | "The first freeze is two weeks out, and [number] of the no-heat calls we answered last year were preventable." |
| The facts | Two or three numbers or details | "[Number] calls, the three most common causes, what each costs to fix" |
| The offer | What you can provide | "Photos from our trucks, a five-step checklist for homeowners and an interview this week" |
| Contact | One way to reach you quickly | "[Name of the business], [phone], [email]" |
Neighborhood guides and "best of" lists work differently. Some are reader-voted and others are assembled by an editor who searches for well-reviewed local businesses, so a complete Google Business Profile, recent reviews and a short note to the editor when the guide opens for nominations do more than a press release.
Put a number on the effort before you start.
| Owner hours a year on pitching and interviews (Assumption) | 20 |
|---|---|
| Value of an owner hour (Assumption) | $60 |
| Cost of the owner's time (Calculated (20 × $60)) | $1,200 |
| Average annual spend of a regular customer (Assumption) | $480 |
| New regulars needed to cover the time (Calculated ($1,200 ÷ $480)) | 2.5, about 3 |
Illustrative example; replace every assumption with your own numbers. A feature also brings links, photos and a quote you can reuse on your own site for years.
How you compare
- Coverage in the past year: count the times your business appeared in any local outlet, guide or community calendar; if the count is zero, one well-chosen story is a real start.
- Your press page: check whether a reporter could find a short description, three good photos and a contact on your website within a minute.
- Your source tally: add "news story or local guide" to your "How did you hear about us?" question so the next feature can be measured.
Questions to ask this week
Which three local outlets do my customers actually read? Ask ten customers at checkout.
What do I know that a reader would want to know? A number from your own records is usually the best story you have.
Who covered something like this recently? Search the outlet's site and note the reporter's name and email.
Do I have three good photos ready to send? Bright, recent and showing the work or the team.
Pick one outlet and one angle from the list above this week, and send a five-line pitch to the person who covered a similar story most recently.
About this research: This article draws on Pew Research Center's 2024 survey of 5,146 U.S. adults, Northwestern Medill's State of Local News report and Cision's 2025 State of the Media survey of more than 3,000 journalists, a vendor survey that publishes its sample but covers many countries. The worked example is illustrative.
Sources
- Pew Research Center. Americans' Changing Relationship With Local News. May 2024. 5,146 U.S. adults.
- Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University. News deserts hit new high and 50 million have limited access to local news, study finds. 2025. Summary of The State of Local News 2025.
- Cision. 2025 State of the Media Report. May 2025. More than 3,000 journalists in 19 markets.
Related reading: What to Post on Your Google Business Profile Every Week · How to Get More Reviews Without Begging, Based on What Makes Customers Write Them · Do Customers Prefer Local Businesses? What the Surveys Show · Hosting a Small Event at Your Business
Work with osNOVA on getting your business into local news and guides
We help owner-run service businesses find the local story in their own numbers, build a simple press page and write pitches that fit the outlets their customers read, starting from what you want more of, whether that is more first visits, a stronger local reputation or fuller weeks.
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