We've Sat on the Other Side of the Pitch.
Our founder spent fifteen years in Upstate local television — executive producer at WSPA, and at WYFF 4 a utility player who worked just about every seat in the newsroom — and NBC News Channel has been a Sidestreet client for nearly a decade. We know what an assignment desk does with your email, because we used to be the assignment desk.
Spartanburg is a small media market where reporters, producers and editors know each other. That makes PR here relationship work — and it means one bad interaction travels as fast as a good one. We handle media relations, crisis response, spokesperson training and campaigns from our office on North Church Street.
The short answer
Sidestreet Media is a public relations and crisis communications firm in Downtown Spartanburg, SC. We handle media relations, crisis preparedness and response, spokesperson training, and political and advocacy campaigns, led by a founder who was an executive producer at WSPA. PR retainers for small and mid-size organizations typically run $1,500–$6,000 a month.
What We Handle in Spartanburg
Media relations
Pitches written the way a producer wants to read them — a clear story, a real person, a reason it matters today, and pictures for TV. Then the follow-through.
What PR actually isCrisis preparedness
Protocols, holding statements, spokesperson roles and a tabletop run-through, built before you need them so the response is structured, not improvised.
Crisis comms guideActive crisis response
Message development, media inquiries and stakeholder updates while it's happening — and an honest read on what reporters will ask next.
The first-hour playbookSpokesperson & media training
On-camera practice with people who've run thousands of interviews. Short answers, the right bridge back to your message, and no surprises.
Political & advocacy campaigns
Digital strategy, earned media and communications for local and state races. We ran the digital and media side of a Spartanburg County sheriff campaign that won 75–25.
Broadcast-ready b-roll
When a story needs pictures, we shoot them and feed them through Latakoo — the same transfer system newsrooms use — so stations can use them the same day.
Spartanburg video productionWhat PR Costs in Spartanburg
Most organizations start with a retainer or a defined crisis-preparedness project. Either way, the scope is written down up front — what we'll do, how often, and what's not included.
PR retainer
Media relations, crisis preparedness, content and senior counsel — the typical range for small and mid-size organizations.
Crisis preparedness project
Protocols, holding statements, spokesperson training and a scenario tabletop — built once, rehearsed, kept current.
Active crisis support
Message development, media inquiries and stakeholder updates while it is happening. Retainer clients go to the front of the line.
We won't guarantee coverage — nobody honestly can. We'll tell you plainly whether a story has legs before you spend money pitching it.
What a TV Producer Knows That Most PR People Don't
How the decision actually gets made
Stories get chosen in a morning meeting by people with too much to cover and not enough crews. A pitch that shows up after that meeting usually waits until tomorrow, and a pitch with no visuals rarely makes TV at all.
We write for that room: the headline in the subject line, the person affected in the first paragraph, and the pictures ready to go.
Crisis is mostly the first hour
Most crisis damage happens before an organization has said anything — while the phones ring and nobody's sure who's allowed to answer. A holding statement, a single spokesperson and a clear owner fix most of it.
Spartanburg's local outlets — the Herald-Journal, WSPA, the Spartan Weekly and the Greenville stations that cover the county — will call fast. We help you be ready when they do.
Who We Work With Around Spartanburg
Businesses & manufacturers · Law, medical & professional firms · Churches & nonprofits · Schools · City & county government · Political & advocacy campaigns · Across Spartanburg County and the Upstate
15+
Years of broadcast-trained communications experience — NBC News, ESPN, NBCUniversal, LTN Global, regional television
75/25
Vote margin in a competitive county sheriff race — our digital campaign delivered a decisive win called before 7pm on election night
0
Contract clients who stayed 1+ year and had a negative ROI — zero, ever
150%
Social media engagement growth for a regional church in 30 days
Spartanburg PR — Questions Answered
Can't find the answer you're looking for? Get in touch
PR retainers for small and mid-size organizations typically run $1,500–$6,000 a month, depending on how much media relations, crisis preparation, content and counsel you need. Crisis preparedness and active crisis support can also be scoped as projects. We put the scope in writing before work starts.
Yes. Our founder was an executive producer at WSPA in Spartanburg and worked in WYFF 4's newsroom in Greenville, and NBC News Channel has been a client for nearly a decade. We understand how local assignment desks decide what to cover — and we respect reporters' time, which is why they take our calls.
We get the right people on a call, agree on the facts you know and don't know, name one spokesperson, and issue a short holding statement so you're not silent while you work out the rest. Our first-hour playbook walks through it step by step.
Yes. We run on-camera media training with realistic interviews, play them back, and work on short answers and bridging back to your message. It's the same preparation we'd want from a guest if we were producing the segment.
Yes. We've run digital strategy, earned media and communications for local and state campaigns in South Carolina, including a Spartanburg County sheriff race that ended 75–25.
No, and you should be wary of anyone who does. What we can do is tell you honestly whether a story is newsworthy, shape it so it has the best chance, and get it in front of the right people at the right time.
Need the Story Told Right — or Need It Handled Now?
Call (864) 574-3811 or send a message. Someone senior gets back to you the same business day.
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