Got my hyperlocal AI startup into Bristol's biggest news site — here's what I learned about pitching local press

Quick share for anyone building a hyperlocal or community-focused product.
I'm building Nyata AI — a community AI companion for Bristol (UK) residents that helps people find free meals, hot showers, local services and community events. Just got our first proper feature in Bristol24/7, the city's biggest local news site (~250k monthly visitors, 25k newsletter subs, 100k Instagram, 113k Twitter).
Posting because most "how I got press" posts on here are either TechCrunch dreams or HN front pages. This is neither, and it might be more relevant to anyone whose ideal user lives within 20 miles of them.
The actual journey:

March: Cold-emailed the editorial team with a generic "AI startup wants coverage" pitch. Polite "we're busy, here's our media pack" reply.
April: Re-pitched, this time leading with the community impact angle — verified charity meals, ICO registration, and the fact that I'm a UWE Bristol ITMB graduate building this for the city I studied in. Different reception entirely.
I wrote ~500 words of copy myself with links to the website, App Store and Play Store, and a CTA for both downloads and service-provider sign-ups (two CTAs because the product is two-sided).
April–May: Their designer composited my screenshots into a hero image. Two rounds of image revisions — the first set of screenshots I sent didn't really tell the product story, so I sent better portrait shots that showed the app in use.
May: Article goes live. Permanent canonical URL on a high-DA local site, with newsletter, Instagram and LinkedIn pushing traffic to it. The same outlet's business editor has now also lined up a separate piece on the founder story, which is rolling next.

Three things I'd tell my past self:

Hyperlocal > national for community products. One Bristol resident reading Bristol24/7 is worth 100 random TechCrunch readers if your product only works in Bristol. The conversion ceiling on national press is lower than people think for local-first products, and the activation rate is way higher because there's an actual usable product within 5 minutes' walk of the reader.
One outlet is often two (or three) conversations. Local newspapers usually have a features/commercial side and an editorial side, run by different people with different priorities. I'd been talking to one contact for weeks about a feature; once that was in motion, I got introduced to the business editor, who's now planning the founder-journey piece. Same masthead, separate paths. Don't assume a "no" from one person closes the outlet.
The angle matters more than the medium. My first cold email was generic and got nowhere. What unlocked the door was leading with local relevance: not "we built an AI thing," but "we're helping Bristol residents find free meals from verified charities, and the founder is a UWE Bristol ITMB graduate building this for the city he studied in." Local outlets care about the local human story, not your stack.

Article's live here: https://www.bristol247.com/advertising/features-advertising/meet-the-bristol-ai-helping-residents-find-free-meals-services-and-local-support/
Question for the room: anyone else gone deeply local with their press strategy instead of chasing national? What worked, what didn't?