Ask a PR professional which placement makes a client happiest and the answer is usually the same: a segment on the local evening news. Local television still reaches more people than any other local news source, and it is more trusted than any national news brand. It is also one of the hardest placements to earn, mostly because the two things a news desk needs, a local angle and someone on camera today, have to arrive together and fast.
This guide covers why local TV deserves a place in your media plan, the fastest way onto it (the local angle on a breaking story), how to find the right station and desk, and how to pitch an assignment desk.
Why local TV still matters
The audience is large and loyal. The Pew Research Center's Local News Fact Sheet, updated in April 2026, found that 65% of Americans get local news from local TV stations at least sometimes, more than from any other type of outlet, and 34% name television as their preferred way to get local news. Eighty percent say local news outlets are at least somewhat important to the well-being of their community.
The trust gap is just as striking. In the Reuters Institute's 2026 Digital News Report, summarized by NewscastStudio, 56% of U.S. respondents rated local TV news trustworthy, ahead of every national brand in the survey. ABC News, NBC News and NPR scored 44%.
Meanwhile, newsrooms are thin. The RTDNA/Newhouse survey published in September 2026 counted 26,458 full-time local TV news employees in 2025, down 2.2% from the year before and the second straight annual decline. Nearly two-thirds of stations rely on multimedia journalists who shoot, write, and edit their own stories, and the average station has about two unfilled positions. A newsroom with fewer people and the same number of newscasts to fill needs stories that arrive ready to shoot. That is the opening for PR.
The fastest way on: the local angle on a breaking story
Every national story has a local version, and the local news desk usually wants it the same day. A national housing report becomes a Chicago story when a Chicago brokerage can put an agent on camera this afternoon. A recall becomes a Milwaukee story when a Milwaukee pediatrician can explain what parents should check tonight. The desk is not waiting for your announcement; it is looking for someone local who can speak to the story that is already moving.
Featured's Newsjacking is built for this. Set it up with a client's beats and city markets, and it flags breaking stories where the client fits, with the local angle. When a story card arrives, open it in chat and ask for the TV stations in the client's market. Then draft the pitch to the news desk from a station card, leading with the local angle and the person who can be on camera today. Newsjacking and Find TV Stations are on every Featured plan, including Free.
What the newsroom data shows
Featured's station database covers 1,757 U.S. TV stations and carries newsroom contacts for 470 of them across 195 TV markets: news desk emails for 365 stations, news desk phone numbers for 332, and 269 department desk addresses for weather, sports, consumer and investigative teams. The contacts were collected from station websites on September 24–25, 2026. The methodology and the breakdown by network are in Featured's TV Newsroom Report.
Two patterns from that data matter for anyone building a broadcast list. Reachability is similar across CBS, NBC, ABC and FOX affiliates, so no network is a dead end. Ownership matters far more: some station groups publish full staff directories with individual emails, while others publish a single desk inbox. When Featured does not have a desk contact for a station, the station's own "Contact Us" or "Send a News Tip" page is the next place to look.
How to find the right newsroom
Local TV is organized by market, not by topic, so your search should start with geography. Decide where the story is local, then find every station in that market, because a story that fits one station's early evening newscast usually fits its competitors' newscasts too.
Find TV Stations does this inside the Featured chat. Type a request such as "find TV stations in the Milwaukee market" or "find TV stations in the Tampa market" and Featured returns the stations that serve it, with the news desk email, phone and tip form where it has them, and tells you which stations it can draft a pitch to. You can also search by state, by city, or by call sign when you already know the station.
Whichever tool you use, build the list by market first. A pitch that goes to every network affiliate in one market, each tailored to the station's newscasts, outperforms a national blast every time.
How to pitch an assignment desk
Assignment editors are the busiest people in the building. The 2026 Muck Rack State of Journalism survey found that 88% of journalists immediately delete pitches that are irrelevant to their coverage, 69% prefer pitches under 200 words, and 78% want pitches before noon. Cision's 2026 State of the Media report found that most journalists receive 50 or more pitches a week. For broadcast, a few more rules apply:
Lead with the visual. Television needs something to film. Describe the location, the action, and who will be on camera in the first two sentences.
Give a time and a place. Stations plan the day in a morning meeting. A pitch that says "Tuesday, 10 a.m., at the clinic on Main Street, with the founder available for interview" can go straight onto the assignment board.
Make it local. National data becomes a local story when you add the local number, the local family, or the local business. Pitch the version that mentions the market by name.
Offer the expert live. Morning and midday shows book in-studio and remote guests. A credentialed expert who can be at the station at 6 a.m. is a gift to a short-staffed producer.
Pitch the right desk. Weather teams, sports desks, consumer units, and investigative units have their own inboxes. A pitch about a product recall belongs with the consumer unit, not the general tip line.
Send it early, keep it short, and follow up once. Call the desk after an hour if the story is same-day; otherwise one email follow-up after a few days is enough.
Where this fits in your PR program
Local TV does not replace source requests through HARO or outreach to newsletter writers and trade press. It adds the channel with the largest and most trusting local audience, and it rewards speed. With Newsjacking watching the client's beats and Find TV Stations one question away in the same chat, the local angle can reach the news desk the same morning the story breaks. Try it at featured.com. Free to start. No credit card.
