Press
Send us your news
Press releases, announcements and event news go to our newsroom. News coverage is free, and the newsroom decides what runs.
News or a paid feature
News and press releases
Pitch the newsroom
Openings, events, milestones, awards and announcements. Sending news is free and never commits you to anything. If it fits our coverage, a reporter follows up.
press@certifiedfl.com
Paid features
Book a feature
Want a feature that runs the week you choose, with a feature carousel on our feed, a long-form article on the site and story coverage on publish day? That is a paid feature. It is labeled Advertisement and booked through our features desk, not the newsroom.
The two never mix. A press release does not commit you to a paid feature, and a paid feature does not buy news coverage.
Who reads it
- The newsroom
- press@certifiedfl.com
Press releases, media alerts, event news and interview offers. Reaches our editor and our reporter.
- Leah BurdickReporter, Tampa Bay
- leah@certifiedfl.com
Already in touch with Leah, or offering an interview for a Tampa Bay story? Write to her directly.
- Everything else
- contact@certifiedfl.com
Corrections, questions about a story you read, and general inquiries.
What we cover
Local news from the places we publish: Tampa Bay (including St. Petersburg).
- Openings, new locations and closings
- Events with a date, a place and ticket details
- Milestones, anniversaries and awards
- New menus, chefs and products
- Real estate and development
- Community, nonprofit and civic news
What to send
The news in the subject line
One line that says what happened and where. "Press release" on its own tells us nothing.
The release in the body of the email
Paste the text into the email itself. A PDF or Word file on its own is easy to miss.
The facts
Who, what, when and where, with the date the news happens and a street address.
A contact
The name, phone number and email of someone who can answer questions and arrange an interview.
Photos
High resolution, attached or linked from Google Drive, Dropbox or WeTransfer. Tell us who took each one and confirm we may publish it.
Timing and embargoes
Send event news at least two weeks ahead. More notice gives us more room to plan coverage.
Embargoed news is welcome. Put the embargo at the top of the email and in the subject line, in this form:
EMBARGOED UNTIL Oct. 20, 2026 at 9 a.m. ET
We honor embargoes.
What happens next
Every release is read. We cannot reply to each one, and not every release becomes a story. If we pick yours up, you may hear from a reporter asking for an interview, photos or a quote.