Get Featured in The News Tribune

Being local does not make The News Tribune easy to get into. A community newsroom has limited reporters and limited hours, so stories about businesses, practices and organizations often wait behind news that has to run today. A guaranteed placement removes that uncertainty: the piece is arranged with the publication in advance, you approve the draft, and it publishes on thenewstribune.com inside a written window, 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 The News Tribune covers

Readers in Washington have plenty of national and international news to choose from. The News Tribune 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 The News Tribune

The readership of a local news publication is concentrated where the publication is. For The News Tribune, that is a community in Washington. 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.

Reaching readers and customers in Washington

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

Those who ask for coverage in Washington 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 Washington.

You do not need a big announcement to be local news. You need something real: an opening, a milestone, a new offering, a community effort, a personal story with roots in the area. What matters is that the details are accurate, the local link is plain, and the story tells readers something they did not know.

Before drafting, we identify the strongest of the angles below. Owners often overlook the story behind the business, such as why they started or whom they serve, and it is frequently the one readers remember.

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.