How to pitch a story to a local journalist (without sounding like a sales email)

What a good pitch looks like

Keep it short. A journalist should understand what the story is and why it matters within the first two sentences, not by the third paragraph.

A good pitch usually has:

• A subject line that states the story, not the business name
• One line that hooks the reader in
• Two or three sentences of context
• An offer: a photo, an interview, a bit of data or a case study
• A clear, specific ask

Compare these two subject lines:

"Exciting news from Riverside Bakery" tells a journalist nothing. "Local bakery hires two apprentices as high street footfall recovers" tells them exactly what the story is and why it might matter to their readers.

What turns a pitch into a sales email

Adjective-heavy language is the biggest tell. Words like "exciting," "innovative" and "thrilled to announce" are about how you feel, not why a reader should care. Cut them and see if the sentence still works. It usually reads better without them.

The other giveaway is a pitch that's all about the business and nothing about the reader. If every sentence starts with "we," it's a press release about you, not a story for them. Try rewriting a few sentences so the reader or the community is the subject instead.

Finding the right person to send it to

A generic email to a generic newsroom inbox usually goes nowhere. Local weekly papers, regional dailies and hyperlocal Facebook groups or newsletters all want different things, and they're often read by different journalists with different beats.

Look at recent stories similar to yours and see who wrote them. A pitch addressed to a named reporter, referencing something they've covered before, gets read far more often than one sent to "the editor."

Timing matters more than people think

Avoid pitching right before print deadlines, when a newsroom is at its busiest. Early in the week tends to work better than a Friday afternoon. And if you've pitched the same journalist recently, give it some space. One good story is worth more than three mediocre ones sent too close together.

After you've sent it

Don't chase within a few hours. If you haven't heard back after four or five days, a brief, polite follow-up is fine, but keep it to one line. If the answer is no, it's often "not now" rather than "never." Keep that journalist in mind for the next story that's a better fit.

A quick worked example

"We've hired two new staff" is a fairly ordinary update. Reframed as "Local firm bucks the trend of small business closures by expanding," with a quote from the owner about why now felt like the right time, it becomes something a reporter can actually use.

That reframing is most of the work. Get it right and the pitch practically writes itself.

Want a hand getting your story in front of the right people? Our Local press service can help.