A guide to local media
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CloseAdvice and guidance on how to give your story the best chance of being covered in local media.
General tips for local media
1) Keep it local - it might be stating the obvious, but local new channels like to report on local stories. So if you are running a national campaign, you must use local case studies or have some local statistics if you are to have a chance of it being covered by the local press.
2) Spokespeople - as well as local case studies, are there any well-known local personalities, a local MP or councillor who might be appropriate to quote in your press release?
3) The local man who made it national - there’s nothing that local media loves better than the story of a local resident who has made it onto the national stage. It might be someone who has won a national competition or been recognised with a national award.
4) The city on the national stage - does your story/report compare this area with others? How does Birmingham stand against Liverpool in terms of the number of stay-at-home dads for example? It is useful to have comparative statistics to hand if you have them.
Local broadcast – TV
1) Location - if you’re planning a launch event, use somewhere iconic in the region/city you’re targeting – the town hall might be an obvious choice, but what about the local airport, or a flagship building in the city centre?
2) Sight and sound – television is all about sight and sound. You need to give the TV something visual to film (hence the importance of location and the people taking part) as well as something to listen to. That’s why activities that involve music, children, groups of people, unusual events etc make national news.
3) Make it a story – news reports tend to follow a similar pattern – they present the issue or problem, show what’s being done to address it – and then they like to return to it (perhaps weeks or months later) to see the outcome. Bear this in mind as it can help with future media coverage of the same topic.
Local broadcast - radio
1) Sound – radio is all about sound, so try to find something that lends itself to be recorded; music is an obvious one but also thing more laterally - e.g. a variety of voices.
2) Syndicated piece – the BBC’s General News Service (GNS) syndicates news pieces to all regional BBC radio stations. If you’ve got a story that you think would interest local radio stations, contact GNS and see if they’d be interested in recording a piece.
3) Think about the audience – the audience for local radio stations tends to be people who are retired or those who have chosen to stay at home to look after the family. When you’re pitching a story to local radio, try to keep these audiences in mind.
Top tips for local and regional newspapers
1) Pictures – if you can provide a strong photo opportunity, or have a photograph already available, these can be useful when pitching to local newspapers. Try to make sure any photograph you have has a local landmark in view!
2) Lead-in times – local newspapers tend to have shorter lead-in times than nationals – but if there’s an outlet you really want to target, then do.
3) Which journalists? – many of the big regional newspapers have reporters who cover specific issues (education correspondent, environmental editor etc). Send stories to the relevant journalist if possible. For those without journalists covering specialist topics, send to an individual report as well as the main newsdesk.
4) The Press Association (PA) – most local newspapers subscribe to PA and cover many of their stories in their papers. If you can get your story on PA, then you have a strong chance of securing local and regional coverage.
Useful links
Have your say
What are your top tips for getting a story covered locally? Share your experience or question on the communications and the media forum.
