Tech reporters at major outlets receive 200 to 600 pitches a week. The ones that get replies are not the best written. They are the most specifically relevant.
This guide is about tech journalists specifically, not journalists in general. The sub-beat differences inside tech matter more than most people realise, and getting them wrong is the fastest way to get deleted. If you want the broader process first, start with how to pitch a journalist: the full guide.
Who counts as a tech journalist in 2026?
"Tech journalist" is not a useful category. Tech journalism splits into sub-beats, and each one wants a different story.
Consumer tech: The Verge, Engadget, Tom's Guide. Products people buy and use, gadgets, apps, hardware.
Enterprise tech: Ars Technica, ZDNet, TechRepublic. The software and infrastructure businesses run on.
Startup and venture: TechCrunch, Forbes Tech, Business Insider. Funding, founders, and company building.
Platform and policy: The Verge, Axios Tech. Big tech, regulation, and the politics of technology.
Tech culture: Fast Company, the Wired general section. How technology changes work and life.
The most common mistake in tech PR is pitching the wrong sub-beat. A Series A raise belongs with startup and venture reporters, not consumer tech reporters. A new laptop belongs with consumer reporters, not enterprise ones.
You can find tech journalists by beat instead of guessing, and we cover sourcing in detail in tech journalist database: where to find reporters covering your beat.
What tech journalists actually want from a pitch
Three things, and none of them is your feature list.
The user story. How does this change what people actually do? Not what the product does, but what becomes possible for a real person because it exists. Tech journalists translate technology into human terms. Do that work for them.
Market context. Who else is solving this, why does it matter now, and what is the "why this matters today" angle? A product without context is a press release. A product positioned against a shift in the market is a story.
Founder credibility. Specific knowledge of the problem, not just the product. Why is this team the one to solve this? What do they understand that others miss? Journalists write about people, not just companies.
The pitch structure for tech journalists
Keep it under 200 words. Four parts.
Subject line: specific and timely. "Story idea: our new app" gets deleted. "The note-taking app that works fully offline, no account required" gets opened.
Opening: the hook. What is happening and why now.
Story: two to three sentences written as a story, not a press release. What changed, who it affects, what it means.
Ask: a specific offer. A demo, an interview, early access, exclusive data.
Here is a full example for a developer tools company, around 130 words.
Subject: The CI tool that cut build times 60% by skipping tests it can prove are safe
Hi Marcus,
Your piece on the hidden cost of slow CI pipelines stuck with me, especially the line about engineers context-switching while they wait. We built something that attacks that directly.
Our tool reads the dependency graph and skips tests it can mathematically prove are unaffected by a change. In production across 300 engineering teams, it cut average build times by 60% with zero missed regressions.
The interesting part is not the speed. It is that it changed how often those teams ship, from a few times a day to dozens.
Happy to give you early access and walk you through the data. Would next week work?
That pitch references a real article, leads with a concrete result, and ends with a clear offer.
The mistakes that get tech pitches deleted
Pitching off-beat. The single most common mistake. A consumer reporter does not cover enterprise funding, no matter how good the story is.
Leading with funding as the story. The raise is not the story. What you are doing with it is. "We raised $10M" is a fact. "We raised $10M to make X possible" is a pitch.
Sending to the editor instead of the reporter. Editors assign, they rarely write. Find the person who would actually write the piece.
Sending a press release as the pitch body. A press release is a document. A pitch is a personal message. Pasting one into the other signals you did not bother.
Pitching after you have already published publicly. If the news is already on your blog and your X account, there is no story to break. Pitch before you go public, with lead time.
Which tech journalists to pitch for different story types
Story type
Target sub-beat
Outlet examples
Startup funding (seed to Series B)
Startup / venture
TechCrunch, Forbes Tech, Business Insider
Enterprise software
Enterprise tech
Ars Technica, ZDNet, TechRepublic
Consumer app or hardware
Consumer tech
The Verge, Engadget, Tom's Guide
Developer tools
Enterprise + startup
TechCrunch, Ars Technica, The New Stack
Big tech or platform news
Platform / policy
The Verge, Axios, Wired
Founder profile or opinion
Startup + culture
Fast Company, Wired, Forbes
Frequently asked questions
How many tech journalists should I pitch per story?
Five to ten well-matched journalists beats fifty random ones. Build a shortlist filtered by sub-beat and recent coverage, then personalize each pitch. If you are offering an exclusive, pitch one at a time.
Should I pitch TechCrunch for a seed round?
Only if the round or the company has a genuine hook. TechCrunch covers a lot of funding, but a standard seed round with no unusual angle rarely makes it. Lead with what makes the story unusual, not the dollar amount. For most seed rounds, a startup reporter at a slightly smaller outlet is a better bet.
How do I pitch a tech journalist I've never met?
Reference their recent work in the first line, get to your story in the second, and include one specific data point. You do not need a relationship. You need to show you read what they write and have something relevant for their beat.
How long should I wait before following up?
Three to five business days, and only with one new piece of information. One follow-up maximum. "Just checking in" does not count and does not help.
Start pitching the right tech journalists
The fastest way to improve your tech PR is to stop pitching the wrong sub-beat. Find tech journalists by beat, read their recent work, and match your story to the right person.
For the complete process, read how to pitch a journalist: the full guide. If you are still building your list, PR software for startups and the journalist directory are where to start.
