How to Publish a Press Release on USA TODAY & StreetInsider: closest to what buyers type, and the more commercial of the options.

Quick self-check before you submit:

• The release announces something specific that happened or will happen.

• The dateline reads CITY, State, Month Day, Year.

• It has an attributed quote, a boilerplate and a full media contact.

• It contains no sales language, calls to action or guaranteed outcomes.

• Every claim and figure can be verified from a named source.

What does "featured on USA TODAY" actually mean?

A feature on USA TODAY can mean two different things: editorial coverage that a newsroom writes or accepts, or a press release published in a USA TODAY Network press-release section through a distribution partner. Both carry the network's name. Only the first is an editorial endorsement, and the difference matters for how you describe the result.

In June 2025, Gannett announced an agreement under which press releases distributed through XPR Media would run on USA TODAY's website and across USA TODAY Network publications, with a dedicated press release section for readers. The network includes more than 200 local publications, which is why a single approved release can appear in many local markets at once.

So the accurate wording is "published on the USA TODAY Network" or "distributed through the USA TODAY Network." Avoid "covered by USA TODAY" or "as seen in USA TODAY" for a distributed release. Overstating the placement is a misleading claim. It damages trust with the readers you are trying to reach, and it is exactly the kind of statement an editorial review is built to catch.

For a company, the practical value is credibility and discoverability. A release on a recognized news domain gives your announcement a citable, indexed home that journalists, customers and AI search tools can find. If you want the full picture of how this works, see our guide to USA TODAY press release distribution.

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Route 1: How do you pitch a USA TODAY newsroom or apply as a contributor?

The editorial route means contacting a USA TODAY Network newsroom or contributor desk directly, through its contact or tip page, and competing with every other applicant. It can produce genuine coverage, but expect weeks of follow-up with no guaranteed outcome and no control over timing or wording.

Contributor and tip pages differ by outlet, and acceptance is at the editor's discretion. A workable process looks like this:

1. Choose the right desk. Send local stories to the local newsroom and national stories to the national desk. Check each site's contact page for a tip line, a "submit a story" form or a contributor application.

2. Lead with the news, not the company. State what changed, who it affects and why it matters now in the first two sentences.

3. Keep the pitch short. Three or four sentences, one verifiable data point, one named spokesperson and an offer of supporting material.

4. Attach clean assets. Include the full release, a boilerplate and any images you hold the rights to.

5. Follow up on a schedule. One polite follow-up after three to five business days and a second at around two weeks is reasonable. After that, move on.

6. Respect lead times. One Gannett paper's published guidance asks for event releases at least 10 days ahead.

This route suits founders and brands with a genuinely local or newsworthy story and the patience to chase it. It is a poor fit when you need the announcement live this week, because editors receive far more submissions than they can run and rarely reply to every one.

The upside is real: if an editor decides your story is news, you earn coverage that a distributed release cannot match. Treat it as a bonus channel alongside a faster route, not the only plan.

Route 2: How does TS Newswire get a press release onto the USA TODAY Network?

TS Newswire submits your press release into the feed that publishes to USA TODAY Network press-release sections, and releases that pass editorial review typically go live within a few hours. You trade editorial discretion for speed and predictability, so the release itself must read as news, not advertising.

A press release is a structured news announcement written in a neutral, third-person voice that tells media and the public about a verifiable development, such as a launch, partnership, award, event or financial result. That definition is also the test every submission faces: would a journalist reasonably publish this as news?

The process has five steps:

1. Draft or craft the release. Bring your own draft, or have the TS Newswire team shape the announcement into the format the network expects.

2. Check it against the editorial standards. The release is evaluated for quality, classification and compliance before it goes out (the standards are in the next section).

3. Submit through TS Newswire. One submission is routed into the distribution feed. There is no separate application to each outlet.

4. Pass review. Each release is screened as either a press release or an advertorial. Advertorial-style copy is rejected rather than published.

5. Go live. Approved releases appear in the USA TODAY Network press-release sections and can be indexed and cited by search engines and AI tools.

The speed advantage is the main reason brands choose this route. In our experience, an approved release is typically live in two to three hours, though timing varies with review volume and the quality of the submission. A release that needs edits takes longer, which is why preparation matters more than the submission itself.

TS Newswire helps brands write the release to these editorial standards from the start, so fewer drafts bounce back. If you need a faster path to a recognized news domain, our press release distribution services cover the full workflow, and our press release writing support handles the drafting.

What standards must a press release meet?

A release passes when it contains a clear news announcement and every standard structural element, and it fails when it reads as marketing copy. Each submission receives a quality score from 1 to 100 and a classification of either press release or advertorial, and missing a quote or boilerplate is treated as a major penalty.

Length matters. Below roughly 400 to 500 words, a release usually lacks detail and loses points. The recommended range is 500 to 1,000 words. Above about 1,500 words, readability and score drop unless the structure is very strong.

Auto-reject conditions. Content is pushed toward the advertorial classification, and the score falls sharply, when there is no real announcement, when claims are misleading or unverifiable, or when the copy is mainly sales-driven. Releases are also checked for missing components, a wrong dateline pattern, prohibited phrases such as guaranteed outcomes, unconfirmed image rights, sensitive medical, political or financial content, and excessive promotional language.

If you want the same discipline applied before you submit, our press release writing service drafts to this checklist, and the best press release distribution comparison shows how these requirements differ across wires.

Which USA TODAY Network sites run press-release sections?

Many local USA TODAY Network newspapers run a dedicated press-release section on their own domain, which gives one approved release a presence in several state and metro markets. The table below lists 24 local newspapers with such sections. Which sections carry a given release can vary by topic, region and review outcome, so confirm the live URLs after publication.

These are established regional brands with long publishing histories and strong domain authority. For a local business, a release that appears under a familiar metro masthead reads very differently from one on an unknown site.

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How do you get featured on StreetInsider?

StreetInsider is a financial news site read by investors and traders, so it rewards announcements with market relevance: earnings, funding rounds, mergers, listings, and fintech or crypto launches. It is built around a continuous news flow, so the fastest legitimate route is distributed press release placement rather than a contributor application.

There are two ways to approach it, mirroring the USA TODAY options:

1. Inquire directly. Use the site's contact page to ask about contributor-style or partner content. Placement through this route is arranged by inquiry, has no published guaranteed process, and depends entirely on the editors.

2. Distribute through TS Newswire. Submit one release and route it to StreetInsider alongside other outlets. As with USA TODAY, an approved release is typically live within a few hours, and the same editorial standards apply.

Check the fit before you submit. StreetInsider's audience is financial. A release about a home-cleaning service or a consumer gadget does not belong on a markets site, and forcing it there wastes the placement. Match the outlet to the audience: financial and investor news to StreetInsider, local business and community news to the USA TODAY Network press-release sections.

Write for investors. Lead with the number or event that moves a decision, such as the amount raised, the contract value or the reporting period. Attribute figures to a named source, avoid forward-looking promises, and keep promotional adjectives out. Releases containing sensitive financial content are reviewed more closely, so every figure should be verifiable.

If your announcement is financial, our StreetInsider press release distribution page explains what to prepare, and the same checklist from the previous section applies line by line.

Which route should you choose?

Choose the pitch route when you have time and a story with real news value, and choose distribution through TS Newswire when you need a predictable result on a deadline. Most brands use both: distribute first for speed and a citable record, then pitch editors with the published release as proof.

A release that scores well also gives your pitch more weight. Editors respond to a clear announcement with a named spokesperson and verifiable facts, which is the same material a distributed release must contain.

Why do press releases get rejected, and how do you fix each problem?

Most rejections come from copy that reads as advertising, not from the topic itself. The same seven problems appear again and again, and each has a direct fix.

1. No real announcement. A release with no event, launch, partnership or milestone has nothing to report. Fix it by naming the specific development and the date it happened or will happen.

2. Sales language and calls to action. Words such as buy, purchase, click and subscribe push a release toward the advertorial classification. Use neutral verbs like evaluate, read or use, and keep to one contextual link.

3. Unverifiable claims. Health, performance and financial claims stated as fact are the most common trigger for a misleading-claims flag. Attribute them to published research or to the company, and remove precise figures you cannot source.

4. Missing quote or boilerplate. Both are treated as major gaps. Add a specific attributed quote and an accurate company background paragraph, and vary the boilerplate wording rather than reusing a stock block word for word.

5. Invented or reused spokespeople. Fabricated quotes, or the same spokesperson name appearing across unrelated companies, signals low quality. Use a real, named, reachable person for every release.

6. Wrong dateline or missing contact. Use the format CITY, State, Month Day, Year, and include a media contact with name, title, email and phone.

7. Repeated disclaimers and repeated promotion. Consolidate disclaimers into one instance and avoid restating the product benefit in every paragraph.

A useful habit is to reread the draft as a skeptical journalist. If a sentence would not survive in a news story, rewrite it as a fact with a source, or cut it. When a follow-up release covers the same topic, give it a new angle and fresh wording, because rewrites of earlier releases can be flagged as spin content.

Frequently asked questions

Is a press release on USA TODAY the same as being covered by USA TODAY?

No. Coverage means a journalist chose to report your story. A distributed release is your announcement, published in a press-release section after review. Describe it as published on or distributed through the USA TODAY Network.

How long does it take to go live?

The contributor route is unpredictable and can take weeks. Through the TS Newswire feed, an approved release typically goes live in two to three hours, though review volume and revisions can extend that.

Will a distributed release improve my search rankings?

Treat it as a visibility and credibility tool, not a guaranteed ranking lever. A release on a recognized news domain creates an indexed, citable record of your announcement, but do not promise ranking value from the links inside it.

Can any industry publish this way?

Most industries can, but regulated categories such as health products, financial services, crypto and gaming face stricter review. Every claim must be verifiable and free of guaranteed-outcome language.

What do I need to submit?

A final release with headline, dateline, lead, quote, boilerplate and media contact, plus any images whose rights you hold. If you do not have a draft yet, the writing team can prepare one.

What is the fastest way to get started?

If you need a published announcement this week, prepare a release that meets the standards above and submit it through TS Newswire. If you also want editorial coverage, pitch the relevant newsroom in parallel and reference the published release. Tell us your announcement, your industry and your target outlets, and we will confirm the best route and help you craft the release. Explore our press release distribution services to see the options.