When looking for PR for your newly launched app or interesting background story, don't neglect local publications and sites because of their limited audience.
In fact, embrace them.
Starting on a local level greatly increases your chance of landing a writeup on your startup, and it also gives you a starting point to go off of. Plus, plenty of larger publications and blogs are always looking for interesting stories via other sites.
Patch is a great resource for locating local publications to reach out to.