Get Featured in Lexington Herald-Leader

Lexington Herald-Leader is a local news publication, and local newsrooms tend to run on small staffs with more story tips than they can follow. Pitches from businesses usually lose out to public meetings, breaking news and school sports, however good the story is. With a guaranteed placement, the outlet is confirmed first, you approve every word, and the article publishes on kentucky.com inside the window written into your scope, usually three to five days. It is a real article on the site that you can put in a proposal, a deck or a profile.

What Lexington Herald-Leader covers

Lexington Herald-Leader is a local news publication serving readers in Kentucky. Publications in this category report on the things that shape everyday life in a community: local government and public services, schools, business openings and closings, development, public safety, weather, sports, arts and events. The coverage is defined by geography. If it happens in the area or affects the people who live there, it is a potential story.

Stories about people are a natural fit for local news because readers may know the subject, or may walk past the storefront every week. A profile of an owner, a look at a new location, a firm’s anniversary, a fundraiser, a book by a local author: these are familiar formats for a community publication, and they work when they are specific about the place and the people.

Who reads Lexington Herald-Leader

A local audience is small compared with a national one, and far more relevant to a local business. Readers of a publication like Lexington Herald-Leader live, work, shop and vote in the community it covers in Kentucky. Many of them are deciding where to spend money, whom to hire and which organizations to support close to home.

That matters for anyone whose work depends on local reputation. Real estate agents, advisers, physicians, attorneys, contractors and restaurateurs all win business through familiarity and word of mouth. A story in Lexington Herald-Leader adds to both, and it can be shared on your site, in your office, in proposals and across your social profiles.

Why coverage in Kentucky matters

A business that serves Kentucky benefits from being seen where people in Kentucky already get their news. A feature in Lexington Herald-Leader places your name in front of nearby customers, suppliers and referral sources who can act on it without leaving the area. It also adds a local reference point for anyone in the state who researches you before making a call or signing an agreement.

Coverage in Kentucky is commonly sought by service businesses, restaurants, medical and legal practices, real estate professionals, contractors and nonprofits that depend on local customers. It also suits companies from other states that are opening an office, a store or a franchise location in Kentucky and want to introduce themselves to the community.

Out-of-area companies and longtime locals face the same test: is there a reason for people in this community to care? For a newcomer, it may be jobs, a new location or a service not offered nearby. For an established name, it may be growth, history or community work. Either way, specifics carry the story.

We start by choosing one of the angles below. Most businesses and practices have two or three that would work, and the best choice is usually the one with the clearest local connection and timing.

What weakens a pitch

• A national message with a town name added. Local readers can tell when a story was not written with their community in mind.
• Jargon. Industry terms that work in a trade magazine lose a general local audience, so plain language serves the story better.
• Overstated community ties. If the connection to the area is thin, say what is true and build the story on something else.
• Everything at once. A feature that tries to cover history, services, awards and future plans together leaves readers without a clear takeaway.