Pioneer Press Offers Tips for Local Pitches

("Community Corner" segment at June 2001 PCC Monthly Luncheon)

(An article about the panel discussion from the luncheon--Chicago bureau chiefs of national publications--can be found here.)

Pioneer Press provides a complete editors list to PCC. Click here to download in MS Word format.

By Sue Masaracchia

Pioneer Press Lake County bureau chief Carol Goddard is in charge of editorial for 11 papers in this group. She offered a local focus to the luncheon by describing what stories interest Pioneer Press editors.

The papers have six groups that cover a territory spanning from Oak Park to Barrington to the Lake. Each paper of the 49 papers has a very local concentration, and normally has a color photo featuring something of local interest on its cover (with new presses about to go on-line, color photos will become more prevalent in the body of the paper). Each has its own unique elements, covering local news, such as school board meetings and local government insights. National and international stories are only covered if they implications on local life.

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Sections within each publication include Diversions, Business, Home/Design, Images/Lifestyles, Sports, Schools and news. Some sections, like Trends, are specific to a certain geographic area; in the case of Trends, the geography is from Lake Forest to Evanston along the lakefront. Editors can easily share stories, however they must be asked to have releases submitted to other editors for other editions; don’t assume they will do this on their own.

How to Submit

• E-mailed submissions are preferred and can be submitted by addressing the submission to (editor)@pioneerlocal.com. (Download an updated list of the Pioneer Press editors here in MS Word format.)

• Microsoft Word is the preferred format.

• Photos should be submitted in a “.jpg” format. (Photographers can also be requested, however, requests cannot always be honored.)

Goddard began her career as a sports writer for the Hinsdale Doings (the Doings is now a sister publication). She has been with Pioneer Press since 1985, and has been in her current position since 1990. She tells public relations professionals, “We are always looking for good local stories to offer our readers.”

(An article about the panel discussion from the luncheon--Chicago bureau chiefs of national publications--can be found here.)

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