Is there an easy way to get published in local newspapers and lit journals?

In a process like getting published, I don't think there's ever an "easy way" or "trick" to getting by. If there was, then wouldn't every teenager be doing it to get ahead on their college applications? I think if you have a talent for writing and really believe that what you have is worth being published (which it most likely is, as your opinion is important in your community), then I think you should go for it. The best way that I think to go about getting published is to gather the emails of your local newspapers and lit journals and just mass email them. Individually send them an email asking to be published, explaining what you have written and why you have written it as well as it's relevance. It might also help to explain why your desire to be published and how you admire the work they have published (if you are emailing the editor-in-chief, for example). Do this with a number of newspapers. If you get no response, try revising your email and try a different approach and email some more newspapers and journals. Just don't email the same people over and over again because flooding emails can be quite annoying. Now I don't have any experience in publishing but I used this method to get an internship/job shadow with a doctor that I admired in my community and it worked so I think you can take this method and transfer it here.