Patch.com, the uber-local news site that operates in more than 800 communities throughout the U.S., wants to hear your story ideas for a new series called ”Dispatches: The Changing American Dream.”
Stories will run occasionally and will focus on how residents and businesses are dealing with issues such as lack of jobs, foreclosures and debt.
“We don’t think there’s one American Dream, but a multitude of American Dreams which a multitude of people are working toward. Looking out across the country, we see businesses holding their breath deciding whether to expand; college graduates returning home because they can’t find jobs; and senior citizens bringing boarders into their homes to help pay their bills.”
For example, today, my local Patch for Port Washington/Saukville, Wisconsin included a story on the handful of new businesses that have sprung up in downtown Port Washington, a small town of about 10,000 residents, despite the flat commercial real estate market throughout the country. But Patch doesn’t only want business-related stories. It sounds like they’re open to ideas from the nonprofit and government sectors, too.
“But we also see bold new volunteer efforts, inspiring stories of local businesses that succeed because they innovated, and locals who’ve taken these trying times as a signal to engage more, not less, in their government.”
How to Pitch
Pitching Patch is easy because editors will be far more receptive to your ideas than editors at traditional media outlets like local newspapers and magazines.
Go to the Patch site and click on one of these 22 states: California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. A window will open and show you the communities within that state where it has websites. Click on your community and you’ll find the editor’s name and a link to the email address at the top.
I’ve written here about several ways to pitch the Patch editors. If your story is also ideal for traditional media, bloggers and other new media, but you feel uncomfortable pitching, or your current pitches don’t bring results, join me on Thursday, Aug. 18, for a 90-minute webinar on “A Simple 5-Part Formula for Delivering the Perfect Media Pitch and Hitting it Out of the Park” from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time. Can’t make it because of a previous commitment? Register anyway and you’ll receive the video replay and other materials within 72 hours.
You can use my formula as a cheat sheet every time you pitch. And I’ll give you 27 story angles you can steal on days when the idea well is dry.
Have you pitched Patch? If so, what was the result? Share your tips here.
The Publicity Hound