What Are the Cheat Sheets on Sam Whitmore Media Survey?

Cheat Sheets on mediasurvey.com are SWMS's curated media-contact and target lists: each one gathers a specific group of journalists, producers, hosts, podcasts, or organizations in one place so tech PR pros can decide who to pitch and how. They are most useful when you already know the story you want to place and need to identify the right people or outlets — not as a general news feed. The site describes SWMS as producing research and analysis that helps tech PR pros pitch more effectively, and the Cheat Sheets sit alongside its Research, Strategies, PR, and Influencers sections.

What a Cheat Sheet contains

Based on the listings on the site, a Cheat Sheet is a named, dated post that consolidates a target set. The descriptions show two broad kinds:

• People and outlet lists — named contacts at a publication or network, such as producers and hosts. Examples: Cheat Sheet: CNBC Producers (updated) and Cheat Sheet: Yahoo Finance Producers/Hosts.
• Beat and format lists — where a topic or content format lives. Examples: Cheat Sheet: Cybersecurity Podcasts (updated), Cheat Sheet: CEO/Leadership Podcasts (updated), and Cheat Sheet: Quantum Computing Targets.

Some entries go beyond pure contact lists. Cheat Sheet: User Organizations is described as membership-driven organizations that "might welcome your research or access to inside knowledge" — i.e., not edit targets themselves, but potentially useful sources or audiences. Cheat Sheet: CEO Profiles (updated) discusses the editorial bias toward superstar CEOs and profiles 16 people, so it reads as guidance on how that coverage works as much as a list.

Types currently visible on the site

The "View all" link under Cheat Sheets indicates the visible items are a subset of a larger archive.

How often they are updated

Several titles carry "(updated)," and the dates on those revised versions cluster in late September 2026, with newer entries in October 2026. The CNBC Producers entry notes "scarcely any turnover from last year at this time," which tells you the update cadence is roughly annual for some lists and that change between versions can be small. Practical implication: check the date on a Cheat Sheet before relying on a name, and treat older, non-updated entries as more likely to be stale.

When to use one

• You have a story and need a target list. Start with the beat or format list (e.g., cybersecurity podcasts) to find where the topic is covered, then use people lists (e.g., CNBC producers) to identify who to approach.
• You are planning around a rising topic. The Quantum Computing Targets sheet is explicitly framed as early — useful for getting ahead of a beat rather than reacting to it.
• You want non-media placement or sourcing. The User Organizations sheet points to membership groups rather than editors.
• You are preparing a CEO or leadership pitch. The podcast and CEO-profile sheets address that specific, crowded category.

Limits to keep in mind

The site does not state pricing, subscription terms, or whether full Cheat Sheet contents are accessible without an account, so don't assume the lists are free to read in full — the public pages show titles, dates, and short descriptions. The descriptions are also written in the author's voice and sometimes include editorial opinion (for example, the note that the Gatekeepers version is "our best yet"), so treat framing as commentary and verify individual contacts against the outlet itself before pitching.