Amid all the grim news we’ve been hearing about the demise of big-city newspapers, some small newspapers are sitting pretty.

An article at WashingtonPost.com says that while the Internet is transforming the largest papers in the business dramatically—siphoning classified advertising and commoditizing national news—many small papers are weathering the decline with relative ease, and some are even prospering.

Here’s why:

  • They have less competition from other media outlets, and less competition on the web for local news.
  • They’re insulated from advertising slumps that have hurt big newspapers.
  • They have smaller staffs and lower-salaried journalists
  • They are passionate about local news online and offline

That’s good news for Publicity Hounds.

It also means that spending most of your time pitching the big daily newspapers might not be such a good idea. Yes, pitch them. But publicity in the smaller-circulation newspapers could also pay off. Their readers are generally more loyal to the weekly newspaper than they are to the big-city dailies. 

So start forming valuable relationships with local newspapers. Contact people who work for the free shoppers, your local weekly, your business journal, and all the second- and third-level niche publications. As I stated in my “Special Report #49: 17 Ways to Build Valuable Relationships with Media People,” generating publicity is all about building relationships.

Every time you contact a journalist, the message must be “I’m here to help you” instead of “I want something.”

What have you done this week to start building relationships?

Posted In: Newspaper Publicity, Pitching the Media, Publicity for Niche Markets, The Local Angle
posted On: 3/9/2007: 2:35 am: By Joan
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