How to Find Journalists’ Email Address for Your PR Outreach

8 PR Secrets for Building Your Media List and Connecting with Journalists

So you’ve found the perfect media contact to pitch, but how do you find that journalist’s email address? Luckily, you’ve landed in the right place.

At Media List Market, finding journalists’ email addresses (and a lot more media contact data) is what we do all day, and we’re happy to share some of our PR pro expertise with you to help you get that media placement!

If you’re just getting started building your media list, check out our free media list template which is the exact template we use in our media lists and to land our clients coverage in the press.

We’ve also written a step-by-step guide on how to build your media list if that’s helpful, too.

But now…to the good stuff. Let’s find that email address for you.

8 Ways to Find a Journalist’s Email Address

Once you’ve identified the media contacts you want to reach out to, the next step is to find their email address. 

1 - Finding an Email on the Publication’s/Media Outlet’s Website

2 - Using an Email Finder Tool

If you’re still unable to find a journalist’s email address, consider using an email finder tool like Hunter.io, Seamless.ai, or RocketReach. While not 100% accurate, they can unearth emails not publicly listed.

Although some require a paid subscription, these platforms can help uncover professional email addresses.

3 - Good Old Sleuthing

Sometimes a quick look around a journalist’s social media accounts or personal website can reveal their direct email.

4 - Make a Phone Call

Yes, it is 2024, but it still works. If you call the main phone number of the journalist's publication or media outlet, they can provide the journalist’s email.

5 - Reach Out Directly

This tactic requires finesse and does not work for all media outreach, but at times, it might be appropriate to reach out directly to the journalist on another platform like X or Instagram (if it’s a professional public account).

Do not send your pitch this way. Instead, send a direct message asking how to send them a story idea or a news tip. But if they don’t respond, do not pester them.

6 - PR Database Subscription

If you’ll be regularly looking for journalists’ contact information for PR outreach, you might consider a subscription to a PR Database like Cision, Prowly, or Muck Rack. 

Again, this is for the truly committed, as most subscriptions start around $5,000 and are paid upfront annually. To learn more about PR Databases and how they compare to media lists, we’ve written a very thorough guide with everything you need to know.

7 - Get an Evergreen Media List from Media List Market

When you buy an annual Evergreen subscription for your purchased media list from Media List Market, you automatically get 20 free media contact requests a year (with options to add more). So not only do you get a comprehensive media list tailored to your industry or niche that’s automatically updated monthly, but for anyone else you’d like to add, we’ll do all the work for you.

Just send us the journalist you’re looking for, and we’ll send you their contact info within 1-2 business days.

8 - Order a Custom Media List

If you have a long list of journalists and media contacts who need email addresses, it might be worth ordering a custom media list and handing off all the sleuthing to the PR professionals.

Get a free quote for your custom media list here.

Get the Contacts You Need for Your Media Outreach

In our years of experience, the quality of the media list is closely tied to the success of your PR campaign. The tactics above take time; we get it. We also love taking the time to find hard-to-find information, so we’re happy to help you get more responses and more media placements with your outreach.

Browse our selection of pre-built media lists with 100% verified media contacts, or request a custom media list to start pitching today.