Working with Weeklies

By Lois Whitehead, Public Relations Manager

The quality of the many weekly publications found around the state ranges from daily-news caliber to shoppers and circulars with little space for news. Some are free, some require a modest subscription price.

It’s worth the time to become familiar with these publications as another media conduit to help your practice or business create a positive image in the local community.

There are more than 350 weeklies in New York state. Suffolk Life, in Riverhead, has the largest circulation of any weekly, with 486,000. Brooklyn has the largest number of weeklies in a single geographic area.

The New York State Society of CPAs makes regular contact with these publications, submitting to them weekly columns on money management and personal finance, among other matters. (These columns can be found in the “Sound Advice” section at the top of the Society’s website at www.nysscpa.org and can be distributed to your clients.)

Weekly publications are eager for local news and often will print a submitted press release in its entirety. They also have events calendars that are perfect for listing upcoming meetings and seminars that you may be conducting. Publicizing such events in this way is great for networking with local residents and businesses. Weeklies also accept photographs of these events, which generates quick and easy publicity for your practice.

Finally, many weeklies have a section for letters to the editor, for you to voice your opinion on issues relevant to your local community.

Remember that it’s a mistake to talk to the press only when you want coverage. Reporters are professionals with whom you have to establish a relationship in the way you do with customers or potential clients.

This is an important relationship that you should maintain, and if you have not yet incorporated a media relations campaign into your marketing plan, you should do so. There is no more cost-effective way to create publicity and creditability for your business.

For example, you can be a helpful resource to a reporter by talking about a story that may have nothing to do with your company but, nevertheless, provides meaningful insight. That sort of assistance pays off in the long run, whether you are working with a daily or weekly publication or a radio or television station.

Tax Time Is Approaching

The Society’s Public Relations Department is busy contacting statewide media for year-end tax and tax-season interviews. If you would like to be considered for a local media spot, send your background information to the author at lwhitehead@nysscpa.org, or to Sanjay Paranandi, public relations specialist, at sparanandi@nysscpa.org.

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