Call a reporter from your local newspaper and invite her to lunch or coffee. Offer yourself as a resource. Feed her tips and story ideas. Become such a valuable source that she keeps coming back to you for more information and eventually writes about you. Consider starting your own television show on your cable TV station's community access channel.
Air time is free.
Call your cable company for details. Build a network of other speakers who concentrate on your topic or area of expertise. Agree informally that you will refer reporters to each other whenever the media calls. Often, reporters want more than one source for a story. It's a chance for all of you to get additional publicity.