How Tech Startups Use Media List to Find the Journalists Who Cover Them

The Silicon Review 23 October, 2026

Author: The Silicon Review Team

You shipped. The product works, the blog post is live, and the team is watching the dashboard. Then launch day goes quiet.

It is a common story. Picture a small team that spends months building a security tool. Then they send one press release to twenty names found on the web. A few of the names are wrong. A few reporters cover other things. Nobody writes back. The product was not the problem. The list was.

The fix is a media list. It is a short list of the journalists, editors, podcast hosts and creators who already cover your kind of product. Each one has a way to reach them. This guide shows tech founders how to build one, using Media List for the examples.

Key takeaways

Tech reporters are flooded with launch news. In Cision's 2026 State of the Media survey, 72% of journalists said fewer than a quarter of the pitches they get are relevant to them.
Beat matters more than reach. In Media List's public coverage check on October 22, 2026, "technology" returned 13,716 contacts at 8,943 outlets, while "cybersecurity" returned 751 at 701 outlets.
Most newsrooms have one person worth reaching. In Media List's study of 2,993 news outlets, 46.1% had exactly one reachable journalist.
Keep pitches short. In Muck Rack's 2026 survey, 69% of journalists said they want pitches under 200 words.
Plan a pitch and two follow-ups together, so the follow-ups are part of the plan.

Why tech launches go quiet

Tech news is crowded, and the math is not friendly. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics counts about 314,500 public relations specialists and 47,100 reporters and correspondents, roughly 6.7 PR people for every reporter. Every one of those PR people is sending launch news.

Reporters cope by deleting what does not fit. In the Cision survey, 72% said fewer than a quarter of the pitches they receive are relevant. That is not a sign the press does not care about startups. It is a sign that most pitches go to the wrong desk.

Yet pitches still work. In Muck Rack's 2026 State of Journalism report, 86% of journalists said at least some of their stories began with a pitch. That comes from the survey's public summary. A pitch that fits, sent to the right person, still gets read.

Step 1. Map your beats

"Tech" is not one beat. It is dozens, and each has its own reporters. Before you search for anyone, write down the two or three beats that fit your product. A cloud security tool might sit in cybersecurity and enterprise software. A payments app might sit in fintech. A model for hospitals might sit in artificial intelligence and health tech.

Here is how those beats look in Media List's public coverage check on October 22, 2026.

Contacts that match each search in Media List's public coverage check, October 22, 2026.

Smaller beats are good news. A search for "tech startups" returned 330 contacts at 286 outlets, including GeekWire, Inc42 and DealStreetAsia. A beat with a few hundred people is a short list of writers who really care about companies like yours.

Step 2. Find the one person at each outlet

You do not need to email a whole newsroom. In Media List's August 2026 study of 2,993 outlets, 46.1% had exactly one reachable journalist, and the median outlet had two. Producers made up 23.5% of newsroom contacts, nearly as many as reporters at 31.5%.

So the job is to find the one person who covers your beat, and the best way is to check what they wrote lately. If a reporter covered a launch like yours in the last few months, they are a strong fit. If they wrote about a rival, even better, because they already know the category.

Media List AI search turns a plain-English request into a filtered list. Names are shortened in this example.

On Media List's Professional plan, you can type a plain request, like "journalists who cover cybersecurity startups". The AI search builds the filters for you. You can then save the results as a named list in one step.

Step 3. Do not forget podcasts, creators and newsletters

Tech news does not only live on news sites. Podcasts, newsletters and YouTube channels cover technology too, and each has a host or writer you can pitch. A launch that reaches a respected podcast host or newsletter writer gives you another way to meet your buyers.

This is where a database helps. Media List has more than 1.5 million contacts. Journalists, producers, podcast hosts, YouTube creators, newsletter writers and bloggers are in the same search. So you can build one list for one launch.

Step 4. Write a pitch in under 200 words

Muck Rack's 2026 survey found that 69% of journalists want pitches under 200 words, and 62% prefer a one-to-one email over a mass send. A good tech pitch has four parts.

One line on what is new. "We built a tool that finds exposed API keys in code before it ships."
One reason it matters now. A number, a trend or a customer result.
One thing you can offer. A demo, a short interview or early access.
One clear question. "Would you like a demo this week?"

Mention one real story the reporter wrote, and keep the tone plain. A launch email that reads like a press release gets treated like one.

Step 5. Time it, then follow up

Timing is part of the plan. PR Gun's 2026 analysis of 178,863 press releases found that 83.4% go out Monday through Thursday, with Tuesday the busiest day at 23.4%. The busiest hour is 8 to 9 a.m. Eastern, which carries 14.0% of timed releases, while noon carries just 5.9%. If your news is ready, a mid-morning send, outside the early rush, is a sensible choice.

When press releases go out, from PR Gun's 2026 analysis of 178,863 releases.

Then follow up. Write one short reminder at the same time as the pitch, and send it about a week later in the same email thread. Following up is easier when it is part of the plan, not an afterthought. On Media List's Professional plan, you can turn a saved list into a campaign. It sends your pitch and follow-ups from your own mailbox, on weekdays, in your time zone.

A simple launch checklist

Write one sentence that says what is new and who should care
Pick two or three beats and search for each
Build a list of 25 to 50 people, with one person per outlet
Read each person's last few stories before you write
Send a short pitch, then one follow-up
Keep a sheet of who replied, who covered you and what to change next time

Frequently asked questions

How do I find journalists who cover my startup's industry?

Search a media database by beat, outlet and job title, then check each person's recent stories. A good match has written about your category in the last few months.

What is a media list?

It is a list of journalists, editors, producers, podcast hosts and creators who cover your topic, with a contact for each one.

How many journalists should I pitch for a product launch?

Usually 25 to 50 well-chosen people. Because many outlets have only one person worth reaching, that can cover 30 or more outlets.

Should I pitch podcasts and newsletters too?

Yes. Podcasts, newsletters and YouTube channels cover technology too, and a good guest spot or mention reaches their audience directly.

Do I need a PR agency for my first launch?

Not always. Many founders run the first launch themselves with a tight list and a short pitch, and add help later.

Where to start

If you take one thing from this guide, make it this. Map your beats, find the one person at each outlet who covers them, and send a short, personal pitch. I used Media List for the examples above. It puts tech journalists, producers, podcast hosts and creators in one search. It also has a 3-day free trial, so you can build your first launch list before you spend anything.

Media List helps startups find the journalists, podcast hosts and creators who cover their category, build a media list and pitch with follow-ups. Plans start at $99 a month, with a 3-day free trial. https://medialist.com

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