Back to Marketingskills

Media Outlets — Where to Pitch

skills/public-relations/references/media-outlets.md

2.4.29.1 KB
Original Source

Media Outlets — Where to Pitch

A curated, opinionated list of where to pitch for software/SaaS PR. This is the media-outlet slice of resources like submit.co — the journalist-driven half. For startup/SaaS/AI directories (Product Hunt, BetaList, Futurepedia, etc.), use the separate directory-submissions skill — different intent, different audience.

How to use this list

  • Don't pitch a publication. Pitch a journalist at that publication. See journalist-pitching.md for the discovery workflow.
  • Tier signals quality, not effort — a small tier-3 outlet might be perfect for your niche
  • Submission/tip URLs are listed where they exist — but a journalist's email beats a tip form every time
  • This list ages fast — verify the outlet still exists and the journalist is still there before pitching

Tech & Startup Press (Tier 1)

The big names. High bar to clear, high payoff when you do. Pitch the specific reporter, not the tip line.

OutletBest forTip URL
TechCrunchFunding, product launches, startup newstechcrunch.com/got-a-tip/
The VergeConsumer tech, product reviews, policytheverge.com/contact
WiredLong-form tech, culture, businesswired.com/about/feedback
Fast CompanyInnovation, design, business strategyfastcompany.com/contact-us
VentureBeatAI, enterprise tech, gamingventurebeat.com/contribute
Ars TechnicaDeep tech, science, policyarstechnica.com/contact-us
The InformationSubscription-gated, scoops on tech industrytheinformation.com/about
Bloomberg / ReutersBusiness, finance, big-picture storiesbloomberg.com/feedback
WSJ TechEnterprise, business anglewsj.com/tips
NYT TechMainstream tech, culturenytimes.com/tips

SaaS & B2B (Tier 1–2)

Lower-profile than the consumer tech outlets but often higher ROI for B2B SaaS.

OutletBest forNotes
SaaStrB2B SaaS founders, growth, salesJason Lemkin's outlet; pitch contributed posts
First Round ReviewOperator-level B2B insightsHigh bar; original frameworks only
OpenViewSaaS metrics, PLG, pricingOften runs research-backed pieces
Lenny's NewsletterProduct / growthSubscriber-only; pitch via Lenny directly on X
Future (a16z)Tech + culture piecesLong-form, original thinking required
StratecheryTech strategy analysisDon't pitch Ben Thompson; engage via responses

AI / ML Press (Tier 1–2)

The hottest beat right now. Reporters here are inundated — your angle has to be sharp.

OutletBest forNotes
The DecoderAI news, fast-turnDaily AI news cycle
Import AI (Jack Clark)Weekly AI newsletterPitch research-backed angles
The Batch (Andrew Ng)AI industry analysisSubmitted by deeplearning.ai team
MIT Technology ReviewAI policy, capability, ethicsHigher bar, slower cycle
Hugging Face blogOpen-source AI toolsContributed posts welcome
Latent SpacePractitioner-focused AI/MLPodcast + newsletter

Developer & DevTools Press

Where to pitch if your audience is engineers.

OutletBest forNotes
The New StackDevTools, infra, cloud-nativeActive contributor program
InfoQEnterprise dev, software architectureLong-form technical pieces
DEV.toSelf-published, community-drivenBuild credibility before pitching
Hacker NoonTech blogging platformEasy to publish but low signal
ConsoleDevTools newsletterCurated weekly; submit projects
DevTools FMPodcastPitch as guest

Business & Marketing Press

For pitching the business / marketing angle of your story.

OutletBest forNotes
Inc.Founder stories, business adviceContributor program available
EntrepreneurSmall business, growthVolume publisher; quality varies
HBR.orgOriginal research, frameworksHigh bar; long lead time
MarketingProfsB2B marketingContributor-friendly
Marketing Brew (Morning Brew)Daily marketing newsletterReporter-driven, pitch directly
Marketing Land / Search Engine JournalSEO, SEM, channelsNiche but high-intent audience
ReforgeGrowth, product, retentionOriginal framework required

Newsletters (Reporter-Driven)

Newsletters are increasingly the most valuable PR placement — small audiences, but high-intent.

NewsletterAudienceHow to pitch
Lenny's NewsletterProduct/growth, ~600k readersDM Lenny on X with sharp angle
The Pragmatic Engineer (Gergely Orosz)Software eng leadersPitch via email; original engineering insights
The Generalist (Mario Gabriele)Tech business analysisPitch via email; deep angles
Stratechery (Ben Thompson)Tech strategyDon't pitch; engage in replies
Newcomer (Eric Newcomer)Tech business + scoopsTips welcome via email
Platformer (Casey Newton)Tech + policyPitch via Substack
Big Technology (Alex Kantrowitz)Big Tech analysisPitch via Substack
Not Boring (Packy McCormick)Tech + cultureTough to crack; original takes only

For B2B SaaS:

  • SaaStr Daily
  • Demand Curve
  • Growth Unhinged (Kyle Poyar)
  • Trends.vc

For AI:

  • Import AI (Jack Clark)
  • The Batch (Andrew Ng)
  • The Algorithm (MIT Tech Review)
  • Interconnects (Nathan Lambert)
  • AI Tidbits

Podcasts

A podcast appearance is often higher leverage than a press hit — longer engagement, evergreen replay, audience trust transfer.

Top SaaS / startup podcasts

  • Lenny's Podcast — product/growth
  • My First Million — founder stories, business ideas
  • The Twenty Minute VC — funding angle
  • SaaStr Podcast — B2B SaaS
  • Acquired — deep-dive company stories (don't pitch unless you're a unicorn)
  • The All-In Podcast — broad tech/business (very hard to get on)

Top AI podcasts

  • No Priors (Sarah Guo, Elad Gil)
  • Latent Space
  • Practical AI
  • The TWIML AI Podcast
  • The Cognitive Revolution

Top dev / engineering podcasts

  • The Changelog
  • Software Engineering Daily
  • DevTools FM

How to pitch a podcast

  1. Listen to 3 episodes — non-negotiable
  2. Find the host's preferred channel (X DM, email, guest form)
  3. Pitch a topic, not yourself — "I'd love to come on and talk about [specific angle]" not "I'd love to be a guest"
  4. Bring evidence — links to other appearances, your unique angle, what listeners will learn
  5. Make it easy — bio, headshot, suggested questions in the pitch

Industry / Vertical Press

Don't overlook trade press — smaller audience, much higher intent.

VerticalOutlets to investigate
MarketingAdweek, Marketing Brew, AdAge, Search Engine Land
SalesSales Hacker, Modern Sales Pros
HR / People OpsHR Brew, SHRM, HR Dive
Finance / FintechThe Block, CoinDesk, Finextra
Healthcare techSTAT, MobiHealthNews, Healthcare IT News
Education techEdSurge, EdScoop
Real estate techInman, The Real Deal
Legal techAbove the Law, Law360
Climate techHeatmap, Canary Media, Latitude Media
DevtoolsThe New Stack, InfoQ, DevOps.com

For your specific vertical: Google "top publications" + "[your industry]" and run the same scoring exercise from journalist-pitching.md.


Regional / Local

If your company has a regional angle (HQ location, customer concentration, government contract), local press is underrated.

  • Local business journals — Bizjournals network covers 40+ US cities
  • Local NPR affiliates — high-quality, business angle welcomed
  • Local TV business segments — high reach, easy to get
  • State / regional tech news — e.g., Built In (Chicago, Austin, etc.), TechBuzz (Utah)

What's NOT On This List (And Why)

  • Product Hunt, BetaList, Indie Hackers — these are directories, not press. Use the directory-submissions skill.
  • Press release wires (PRNewswire, BusinessWire, GlobeNewswire) — overpriced for early-stage; journalists ignore them. Skip until you have IR / SEC requirements.
  • "As featured in" badge mills — paid "media coverage" services. Worthless and damaging.
  • Random "guest post" SEO link networks — Google penalizes these. Don't.

Maintaining This List

This list will go stale. Recommended cadence:

  • Quarterly: verify your tier-1 contacts are still at the outlet
  • Monthly: add new outlets/newsletters relevant to your category
  • Per pitch: confirm the journalist is still there before sending (check X / LinkedIn for "joined [new place]")

Store your live, working version in .agents/media-list.md (per journalist-pitching.md).