How to get covered in non-academic media
I suspect the PR or Marketing department of your university would be very keen to help you place a story and advise you on writing for the media.

In every University I have worked in, this has been important, and media training was part of the staff development program. I was sent on a BBC media training course, for example, and can now operate a remote radio or TV studio, learn how to be an interviewee or interviewer and record students and staff for media inserts. 

Tabloid writing was a skill I also picked up which is so different from academic writing. Learning to write in a style that the bulk media might pick up and use is not a natural skill for the everyday academic.

So go and ask. Might be fun.