Get Featured in TCPalm

Space in a local publication goes first to public affairs, emergencies, schools and sports. That leaves little room at TCPalm for a business owner or professional who sends in a story idea cold, even when the story has a real local tie. A guaranteed placement works differently: it is arranged with the publication before any writing starts, you sign off on the draft, and it goes live on tcpalm.com within a window stated in writing, usually one to two weeks. It is a real article on the site that you can put in a proposal, a deck or a profile.

What TCPalm covers

Readers in Florida have plenty of national and international news to choose from. TCPalm does a different job. Local news publications concentrate on a defined area and report what is going on inside it, from civic affairs and the local economy to community events, schools, sports and the arts. The common thread is place: each story matters to someone nearby.

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 TCPalm

The readership of a local news publication is concentrated where the publication is. For TCPalm, that is a community in Florida. Its readers include longtime residents, families, local employers and employees, community leaders and neighbors who follow local affairs. They read with attention because the news concerns places they know and people they may have met.

Local coverage carries a kind of weight that advertising does not. When neighbors read about a business, a practice or a cause in their community’s news publication, the name becomes familiar and easier to choose. For companies entering the market from elsewhere, it is a way to introduce themselves to the area in a setting locals already read.

Why coverage in Florida matters

For most companies, the people who matter most are within driving distance. A feature in TCPalm speaks to that group directly, because its readers have a stake in what happens in Florida. Coverage there can support word of mouth, give your sales conversations a local reference, and show up when someone in Florida looks for information about you or your company.

Those who ask for coverage in Florida are often professionals whose work depends on reputation in a defined area, such as attorneys, physicians, financial advisers, builders and agents. Event organizers, schools and hospitality venues are common as well, along with national brands that are launching a new location in Florida.

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.

The angles below are where we begin. One clear angle, backed by real details about your work in the community, makes a better local story than a list of everything you offer.

What weakens a pitch

• Nothing new. A local story needs a reason to run now, such as a date, a change, an event or a recent result.
• Missing details. Without a location, a description of what you do and a clear timeline, a feature reads as generic and local readers move on.
• Claims that cannot be supported. Local readers know the area and will notice exaggeration, and we only write what is accurate.
• A story with no people in it. Community news is about neighbors, so a feature needs an owner, a team or a client perspective.