Press releases don't build reputations. Relationships do. Here are eight UK tech journalists who genuinely shape how growth-stage companies get covered — who they are, what they care about, and how to approach them without wasting their time or yours.
Most founders think about media the wrong way round. They write the press release, blast it to a list, and hope someone bites. It almost never works. The companies that consistently get meaningful coverage — the kind that moves pipeline, attracts talent, gets investors paying attention — have something else entirely. They have relationships with the right journalists.
I've spent over twenty years building media relationships across technology, financial services, and professional services. The single most useful thing I can tell you about PR is this: know who you're talking to. Not "the media" as an abstract concept. Specific people, with specific interests, who are looking for specific kinds of stories.
So here are eight journalists worth knowing if you're building a tech company in the UK. Not an exhaustive list — that would run to hundreds. These are the ones who consistently set the agenda for growth-stage tech coverage.
1. Madhumita Murgia — Financial Times
Beat: Artificial IntelligenceMadhumita Murgia is the FT's AI editor and one of the most influential technology journalists in Europe. Her reporting goes deep — she's not interested in product launches or funding announcements for their own sake. She covers the societal implications of AI, the power dynamics behind large language models, and the regulatory battles shaping the industry. Her book Code Dependent examined how AI affects the world's most vulnerable people. That tells you everything about her editorial lens.
If your company touches AI in any serious way, Murgia's coverage can fundamentally shift how the market perceives you. But she's rigorous. She wants data, she wants access, and she wants the story behind the story.
Don't pitch product news. Pitch insight. If you have data or a perspective on how AI is changing a specific industry, she'll be interested. Reference her recent work and explain — briefly — what you can add to the conversation she's already having. Cold emails work if they're genuinely relevant. Generic pitches get ignored.
2. Tim Bradshaw — Financial Times
Beat: Global TechnologyTim Bradshaw is the FT's global technology correspondent, based in London. He covers the big picture — Apple, Google, the major platform shifts — but he also writes about the European tech ecosystem with real depth. He's been at the FT for over a decade and his rolodex is extraordinary. When Bradshaw writes about a company, the investor community pays attention.
His coverage tends toward the strategic and analytical. He's less interested in what you've built and more interested in why it matters in the context of broader market shifts.
Think bigger than your company. If you can frame your story as part of a trend he's already tracking — European tech sovereignty, the AI infrastructure race, the shift in enterprise software — you've got a much better chance. He's active on X (formerly Twitter) and engages with ideas there. That's a reasonable first touchpoint before the formal pitch.
3. Maija Palmer — Sifted
Beat: European Startups & Deep TechSifted is the FT-backed publication that has become the default read for the European startup ecosystem, and Maija Palmer is one of its most experienced editorial voices. She previously spent years at the FT covering technology and innovation. At Sifted, she focuses on deep tech, Nordic startups, and the kinds of companies doing genuinely hard things (not another marketplace or B2B SaaS play).
For growth-stage companies, Sifted coverage hits the exact right audience — VCs, operators, potential hires. Palmer's deep tech focus means she's comfortable with complexity and won't dumb down your story.
Lead with the technology. Palmer respects founders who can explain what's genuinely novel about what they're building. If you're doing something technically differentiated — robotics, biotech, quantum, advanced materials — she wants to hear about it. Don't over-simplify. She'll ask sharp follow-up questions and she'll fact-check.
4. Mike Butcher — TechCrunch
Beat: European Tech, StartupsMike Butcher has been covering European tech longer than most European tech companies have existed. As editor-at-large at TechCrunch and based in London, he's the bridge between the Silicon Valley publication and the European ecosystem. He's also deeply embedded in the UK startup community — he founded the Tech for Refugees initiative and is a regular presence at every major European tech event.
A TechCrunch story still carries significant weight, particularly with US investors looking at European deals. Butcher's personal network is vast and he's genuinely accessible — more so than most journalists at his level.
Mike is active on X and responds to DMs if you're concise and relevant. He likes founders with strong opinions and companies with a clear European angle. He's seen thousands of pitches, so get to the point fast. One paragraph max. If your story has a social impact dimension, that helps — he cares about tech for good, not just tech for money.
5. Hannah Boland — The Telegraph
Beat: Technology BusinessHannah Boland covers technology for The Daily Telegraph, focusing on the business side — deals, funding, corporate strategy, and the entrepreneurs behind UK tech companies. The Telegraph's tech coverage reaches a different audience from the specialist publications: business leaders, policymakers, and a more mainstream readership. That's valuable if you're trying to build brand awareness beyond the startup bubble.
Boland's reporting is sharp and commercial. She connects technology stories to broader business implications, which is exactly what growth-stage companies need when they're trying to be taken seriously outside their immediate ecosystem.
Frame the business story, not the technology story. Boland wants to know the commercial impact — revenue, growth, market size, competitive dynamics. If you can give her numbers (and not just vanity metrics), you'll stand out. She also covers tech policy and regulation, so if your company intersects with government or regulatory shifts, that's a strong angle.
6. James Titcomb — The Telegraph
Beat: Technology EditorJames Titcomb is the Telegraph's technology editor, which means he shapes the publication's entire tech agenda. He writes about everything from Big Tech regulation to UK startup stories, and he commissions the broader tech coverage across the paper. Getting on Titcomb's radar is valuable not just for a single story but because he'll remember you when a relevant feature or trend piece comes up months later.
His editorial position means he's thinking about reader interest and news value. A story needs to work for a mainstream broadsheet audience, not just the startup community.
Think about what Telegraph readers care about. Consumer impact, UK economic competitiveness, jobs, regulation. If your company's story connects to one of those themes, pitch it through that lens. Titcomb also values exclusives — if you're willing to give the Telegraph first access to a story, that significantly increases your chances.
7. Chris Sherwood — UKTN
Beat: UK Tech News & StartupsUKTN (UK Tech News) has become one of the most-read specialist outlets for the UK startup ecosystem. It's where VCs, angels, and operators go for the daily digest of who's raising, who's hiring, and who's shipping. Chris Sherwood covers the UK tech scene with a focus on funding rounds, growth stories, and the emerging companies worth watching.
Coverage here won't move markets the way an FT feature will, but it reaches exactly the right people. It's also an excellent first step — UKTN coverage often gets picked up and referenced by larger outlets.
UKTN is more accessible than the nationals, and the editorial team is responsive to well-structured pitches. Send a clear press release with the key facts — funding amount, what you do, who invested, what's next. They cover a lot of volume, so make it easy to write up. Include a founder quote that's actually interesting (not corporate boilerplate) and high-res images.
8. Jeremy White — Wired UK
Beat: Technology & ScienceWired UK occupies a unique space — it's a mainstream brand with genuine technical credibility. Jeremy White is a senior writer covering the intersection of technology, science, and culture. Wired stories tend to be longer, more narrative-driven, and more focused on the "why" than the "what." A Wired feature positions your company as genuinely innovative, not just commercially successful.
The challenge is that Wired is selective. They run fewer stories than a daily news outlet, and each one gets significant editorial attention. But when they do cover you, it sticks. Wired pieces get shared, referenced, and linked to for years.
Wired wants stories, not announcements. If there's a fascinating technical challenge your company solved, a counterintuitive insight from your data, or a compelling founder narrative — lead with that. The pitch should read like the opening paragraph of a magazine feature, not a press release. Give them exclusive access to something they can't get elsewhere.
9. Jonathan Symcox — BusinessCloud
Beat: Regional Tech & Scale-upsNot everything happens in London, and BusinessCloud is proof. Jonathan Symcox is the editor of BusinessCloud, which covers UK tech with particular strength in the regional ecosystems — Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Edinburgh. If you're building a tech company outside the M25 (and many of the best ones are), BusinessCloud is essential reading for your community.
Symcox also produces rankings and lists — the "most innovative" and "ones to watch" compilations that get widely shared on LinkedIn and referenced by regional investors. Getting on those lists matters for visibility in regional ecosystems.
Play up the regional angle. Where are you based? How many people do you employ locally? What's your connection to the local tech ecosystem? Symcox genuinely cares about tech outside London and actively champions regional companies. If you're growing a team in Manchester or scaling from Edinburgh, tell that story. BusinessCloud also runs events — attending them is a good way to build the relationship in person.
10. Ryan Browne — CNBC
Beat: European Tech & FintechRyan Browne covers European technology for CNBC from London, with a particular focus on fintech, crypto, and the major funding stories. CNBC's reach is global — a Browne story about your company will be seen by investors and executives across Europe and the US. That international amplification is hard to get from UK-only publications.
He's especially strong on fintech and financial technology, so if your company operates in payments, banking infrastructure, or regulation tech, he's a key relationship. But he also covers the big-ticket European funding rounds and M&A stories.
Browne covers stories with international relevance. If you're raising a large round, expanding into the US, or competing with American incumbents, those are the hooks that work for CNBC's audience. He's responsive on LinkedIn and X. Keep pitches tight — he's covering breaking news much of the time, so your email needs to communicate the story in under 30 seconds of reading.
The bottom line
Every name on this list is a person, not a distribution channel. They have beats they care about, stories they're chasing, and inboxes that are already overflowing. The founders who build real media relationships — the kind that produce coverage over years, not a single mention — treat journalists as people worth knowing, not targets to hit. Start there. Everything else follows.
If you want help building a media strategy that's grounded in real relationships with the journalists who matter for your sector, that's what we do.