How to find journalists' contact details

Tips and tricks for finding the relevant desk for your story

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First off, please can I just caveat that PR is far more than just pitching to the media. Sending your story to a journalist is called publicity and is one strand of PR otherwise known as media relations.

Now that we have cleared that up, we can talk about what it takes to find journalist contact details and make a great journalist database of your own.

It is a myth that you can only land a story if you have contacts. Obviously, it helps if you do, but the best publicists I have worked with know how to tell a good story, know who to tell it to and at the right time. Here’s how you can do that.

Do start by reading the publication

Outrageous, I know. But it is an actual courtesy to buy and support a publication that you expect to be featured in. At any publication, there are multiple different desks. You need to know what page or section you expect to be on and work backwords from here. Start to learn the names of the target journalist you expect to write about you.

Take connecting steps.

Once you have identified the media you want to write about you find them on Twitter or LinkedIn…