mediasurvey.com

Sam Whitmore Media Survey (mediasurvey.com) is a subscription research and analysis service for tech PR professionals, operating since 1998. It helps PR teams pitch more effectively by publishing interviews with business and technology editors, analyzing published coverage, and packaging both into practical formats—cheat sheets, strategy notes, and influencer profiles—that support day-to-day pitching and long-term media relationships. It is most useful for PR pros who already have a target list of tech and business outlets and want evidence-based guidance on who to approach, with what angle, and how to build a relationship beyond a single placement.

What the site actually produces

The site organizes its work into a few recurring content types, each serving a different pitching task:

The through-line is that the material is derived from editors themselves—the site states it interviews business and technology editors and publishes their advice and commentary—and from analysis of published work. That makes it closer to primary-source intelligence than to a media database.

How it supports more effective pitching

1. Pitching advice grounded in editor interviews

Rather than generic best practices, the site's value is that recommendations come from the editors receiving pitches. For a PR pro, this means you can check a target editor's stated preferences and priorities before writing. For example, if you are preparing a pitch to a business tech editor at a major outlet, the interview-based material tells you what that editor says they want—useful for choosing the angle and the supporting evidence you lead with.

2. Coverage analysis to guide story selection

The "SWMS Audit" feature is explicitly framed as a way "to help you see a publication empirically, the way it actually is." For pitching, that means matching your story to what an outlet demonstrably publishes, not to assumptions about its beat. A practical workflow: pick a target publication, review the audit and recent coverage analysis, then shape your pitch around the themes the outlet actually runs.

3. Cheat sheets for target and contact mapping

Cheat sheets compress list-building work. Examples from the site include CNBC producers, Yahoo Finance producers and hosts, cybersecurity podcasts, CEO/leadership podcasts, and quantum computing targets. The site notes some of these are updated periodically—the CNBC producers sheet, for instance, was described as having "scarcely any turnover" from the prior year, which is itself useful information: it tells you the contact map is stable and worth maintaining.

The "User Organizations" cheat sheet is a different kind of resource: it lists membership-driven organizations that "might welcome your research or access to inside knowledge." That is a route to third-party credibility rather than direct coverage—useful when a direct pitch is not landing.

4. Relationship-building over one-off hits

The site frames its purpose as helping PR pros "land coverage today and build relationships for the long run." The influencer profiles and editor interviews support this by giving you context on a journalist's career moves and interests—for instance, tracking journalists who are newly in a role ("Out of the Gate" entries) is a natural moment to introduce yourself with a relevant, low-pressure note rather than a cold pitch.

Where it fits—and where it doesn't

Best fit: tech PR practitioners and agencies with an existing media relations function, working beats like enterprise tech, cybersecurity, AI, and business technology, who want editor-sourced guidance and curated target lists.

Less relevant if: you need a contact database with emails and pitch distribution tools, real-time coverage alerts, or performance analytics. The site's own description centers on research, analysis, interviews, and cheat sheets—not on outreach software. Pricing and access terms are not specified in the available site material, so confirm subscription details directly before assuming cost or access level.

A realistic use pattern: treat it as a pre-pitch research layer. Before a campaign, pull the relevant cheat sheet to finalize targets, read the audit or coverage analysis for each priority outlet, check influencer notes for recent beat changes, and adjust your angle using the strategy material. Then pitch—and use the relationship guidance to plan follow-up beyond the first story.

The site has been publishing since 1998 and brands itself as "Tech Media Intelligence for the AI Era," which signals an emphasis on AI-adjacent coverage and targets—relevant if your clients sit in that space.

Yes. Sam Whitmore Media Survey (mediasurvey.com) describes itself as "Tech Media Intelligence for the AI Era" and has published since 1998. Its visible content includes cybersecurity cheat sheets, quantum computing targets, CEO and leadership podcasts, and interviews with business and technology editors. It is written for tech PR professionals who want to pitch more effectively and build long-term relationships with journalists. If you are looking for general tech news or consumer cybersecurity advice, this is not that kind of site.

What the site actually covers

The site organizes its work into recurring sections: Research, Strategies, PR, Influencers, Contributed Content, Interviews, Events, and Cheat Sheets. The stated method is to interview business and technology editors, publish their advice, and analyze published work to show what gets covered and why.

Recent items visible on the homepage give a concrete sense of the mix:

So cybersecurity appears as a media-landscape topic—which podcasts and outlets cover it—rather than as security research or product guidance. The same applies to quantum computing: the cheat sheet frames it as an emerging beat expected to grow, not as a technical primer.

Who gets the most value

The content is aimed at tech PR and communications people. The site says its research and analysis "help tech PR pros pitch more effectively," and the cheat sheets are built around named editors, producers, hosts, and membership organizations that might welcome research or inside knowledge.

You will find it useful if you need to:

• Identify which journalists and producers cover a beat before pitching.
• Understand how a specific publication actually operates, as in the VentureBeat audit.
• Track emerging beats such as quantum computing before they become crowded.
• Find podcasts and executive-media venues where clients can appear.

It is less relevant if you want breaking tech news, product reviews, or hands-on cybersecurity guidance.

How to use it for a coverage decision

1. Start with the Cheat Sheets index. Scan the list for your beat—cybersecurity, quantum, CEO media—and open the matching sheet. Expect named targets and short commentary rather than a database export.
2. Read the relevant audit or "Out of the Gate" profile. These show how a publication or journalist works, which is the input for tailoring a pitch.
3. Check the date on each item. Several sheets are marked "updated," and the homepage shows revision dates, so confirm you are working from the current version before building a contact list.
4. Cross-check against the Strategies and Research sections. These explain the reasoning behind the targets, which helps you decide whether a given outlet fits your client's story.

A common snag: the cheat sheets are editorial guides, not live contact databases. Treat names and roles as a starting point and verify current assignments before you send anything.

What to expect on access and pricing

The provided site information does not state subscription prices, login requirements, or free-versus-paid access. The homepage shows headlines and short excerpts with "Read more" links, so some material may sit behind a click-through. Check the site directly before assuming any section is free or fully open.

Bottom line

If your job is placing tech stories and you care about AI-era media dynamics, cybersecurity coverage, and emerging beats, the site's beat-specific cheat sheets and publication audits are directly on point. If you need technical cybersecurity content or general tech news, look elsewhere.

Sam Whitmore Media Survey (SWMS) is a research and analysis publication for technology PR professionals, running since 1998 and currently describing itself as "Tech Media Intelligence for the AI Era." It interviews business and technology editors, analyzes published work, and packages the results into advice aimed at helping PR people pitch more effectively and land coverage. If you work in tech communications and want to understand how editors actually think, this is the kind of resource the site positions itself as; if you're looking for general news or a consumer tech publication, it isn't that.

What the site actually publishes

The homepage organizes content into a few recurring categories, each with a distinct purpose:

• Research — empirical looks at specific publications. A current example is the "SWMS Audit" series, which the site describes as an ongoing feature "to help you see a publication empirically, the way it actually is." The first entry covers VentureBeat.
• Influencers — short interviews with journalists, often framed as "Out of the Gate" pieces with people such as Cade Metz (NYT), Erin Woo (WSJ), Micah Barkley (Bloomberg), and Alex Eichenstein (The Information).
• Cheat Sheets — reference lists of targets and contacts. Recent examples include CEO/leadership podcasts, CEO profiles, Yahoo Finance producers and hosts, CNBC producers, cybersecurity podcasts, quantum computing targets, and "Gatekeepers."
• Strategies and PR — advice-oriented material for pitching and relationship-building.
• Contributed Content, Interviews, and Events — additional formats listed in the site's navigation.

Who it's for

The stated audience is tech PR pros. The content assumes you already know the beat and want tactical help: which producers to contact, which editors are newly in role, which topics are heating up. The cheat sheets are explicitly framed that way — for instance, the "User Organizations" sheet notes it doesn't identify edit targets per se but lists membership-driven organizations that "might welcome your research or access to inside knowledge."

A useful way to think about it: if your task is "find the right producer at CNBC" or "figure out which cybersecurity podcasts are worth pitching," a cheat sheet is the intended tool. If your task is "understand why an editor passed on my pitch," the interview and audit content is closer to the point.

How current is it, and what to expect

The material shown is dated through late 2026, with frequent updates — several cheat sheets carry "(updated)" labels and revision notes (e.g., "Scarcely any turnover from last year at this time" on the CNBC producers sheet). That cadence matters for PR work, since contact lists go stale quickly.

The site does not display pricing information or payment details in the material available, so whether full access requires a subscription isn't something that can be confirmed from the page itself. Treat access terms as something to verify directly rather than assume.

Practical takeaway

Use mediasurvey.com as a working reference for tech-media targeting: start with the cheat sheet closest to your beat, cross-check names against the dated update notes, and read the audit and influencer interviews when you need to understand a publication's actual interests rather than its stated coverage area. The value is in the specificity of the lists and the editor commentary, not in broad industry news.

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.

mediasurvey.com is the site of Sam Whitmore's Media Survey (SWMS), a research and analysis service for tech PR professionals that has operated since 1998. Its content is organized into several sections—Research, PR, Strategies, Influencers, Interviews, Events, Contributed Content, and Cheat Sheets—each aimed at helping PR practitioners understand tech publications and pitch them more effectively. The sections are best understood by what they help you do: analyze a publication, prepare a pitch, or track people and events.

Research

This section contains empirical analysis of publications and the people who work at them. The flagship example is the SWMS Audit, described on the site as "an ongoing feature to help you see a publication empirically, the way it actually is." A featured audit covers VentureBeat. If you want to understand a target outlet's actual coverage behavior rather than its stated mission, this is the section to start with.

PR and Strategies

These two sections carry practical guidance for pitching and relationship-building. The site frames its overall output as research and analysis that "helps tech PR pros pitch more effectively," and says it interviews business and technology editors and publishes their advice and commentary, alongside analysis of published work intended to help land coverage today and build relationships for the long run. PR and Strategies are where that editor-sourced advice and tactical insight sit.

Influencers

This section profiles journalists and editors—particularly those new to a beat or a publication. Recent entries include "Out of the Gate" pieces on Cade Metz (NYT) and Erin Woo (WSJ), and on Micah Barkley (Bloomberg) and Alex Eichenstein (The Information). Use it to identify who is newly covering your space before you pitch.

Cheat Sheets

Cheat Sheets are the site's most concrete resource: curated lists of targets, producers, hosts, and podcasts. Examples visible on the site include:

Several are marked "updated," so check the date on each before relying on it.

Interviews, Events, and Contributed Content

• Interviews: conversations with business and technology editors, published as advice and commentary.
• Events: listings related to the tech media and PR community.
• Contributed Content: outside contributions, such as the October 2026 Gatekeepers Cheat Sheet published under this label.

How to Choose a Section

• Researching an unfamiliar outlet → Research (SWMS Audit).
• Building a target list → Cheat Sheets, matched to your beat (e.g., cybersecurity podcasts or CNBC producers).
• Preparing an actual pitch → PR and Strategies, plus the relevant Influencers entry for the reporter.
• Tracking new beat reporters → Influencers.

The site does not publish pricing or access details in the material available here, so whether any section sits behind a subscription is not established—verify on the site before planning around a specific resource.