Become the quotable local expert for your newspaper

One of the many ways to attract a reporter’s attention is to “localize” the national news by offering commentary on the event as a local expert. Can you become a quotable expert in your field for the local press?

Are you a marriage counselor or a relationship expert? How do you weigh in on the latest celebrity’s confessed affair and mea culpa interview? Are you a PR expert? Will this affect his or her career?

Are you a business coach or a career counselor?  How can people find a new job in this shaky economy? How can small businesses adapt and thrive? 

Are you a travel consultant? The random attack on an American coach’s family in China horrified the nation. What do you do if you are injured in a foreign country and have to be hospitalized? Even more horrible, what do you do if your traveling companion is killed?

Keep an eye on the news and keep your list of newspaper contacts handy. You may have an opportunity to weigh in as a local expert.