Trade press only — how much does it hurt at the final merits step?

I think I clear six criteria on paper: judging, original contributions, some articles about my work, high salary, memberships, plus recommendation letters from independent experts. The weak spot is media: every article about my work is in industry/trade publications or niche outlets back in my home country — nothing in mainstream press.I understand trade press can still count as published material about me at the criteria stage. My real question is about the second step. When officers move to final merits and ask for a "history of sustained acclaim," how much does that kind of coverage actually carry? Does sustained acclaim effectively mean mainstream media, or can strong independent letters plus citation record compensate for it?For anyone approved with trade-press-only coverage — what did you lean on hardest in the petition?