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Localize Your Story

Whenever possible, find a local angle when pitching a story to a daily or weekly newspaper. Editors are much more likely to use a story about a person or company in their back yard than they are to use something which is statewide or national in nature. If you are trying to tell a story, look for a local hook.

If you're telling a story about a product, then figure out where the inventor is from and pitch the story to his or her hometown business editor. If you're promoting an ice hockey team, send a story to the sports page of the home town paper of each of the players. If you're promoting a university, send a release to the community editor of the home town of each incoming freshman and each graduating senior.

Press releases or pitches with localized angles are always more likely to be published than stories that span the miles of a state or the nation.

...more of Nancy's Tips