Once a whistleblower is ready to come forward, they must find a media outlet and/or reporter to share their story with — which can be a tedious process, especially for someone unfamiliar with today’s digital media landscape and the focus of various publications. This checklist is a helpful guide:

• Identify your target audience. Every media outlet caters its content to a particular audience, such as general interest, business, or industry professionals. The first step in deciding where to blow the whistle is identifying the audience you hope to reach. Check a publication’s “About” page for more information on its core audience and coverage areas.

• Make a list of publications and read their coverage. Narrow down a list of target publications and begin keeping track of their coverage, including the leading reporters. Keep tabs on their social presence, the types of sources they work with, and the voice that comes through in each story to get a better idea of each publication’s unique style.

• Select a reporter or outlet. After evaluating your media outlets of interest, select one reporter or publication to share your story with. Although it is acceptable to reach out to multiple reporters or outlets, it is advised to work with only one at first, to ensure information is kept confidential and avoid matters of competition between publications.

Note: If you have identified a preferred media outlet but are unsure which journalist to work with, reach out to the newsroom’s tip line or general newsroom email address (instructions below), and the appropriate reporter or editor will likely get in touch with you.

• Find contact information. Reporters can be contacted through various channels including phone, text, and social media, but the most common is e-mail. There are several ways to find a reporter’s contact information:
• Check the publication’s “About” or “Team” pages; these are often at the very top or bottom of a publication’s website.
• Click on the reporter’s byline within a story.
• Check the reporter’s social media bio. Note: Reporters sometimes list their e-mail address in an all-word format to avoid being scammed online (for example, jane [dot] doe [at] wsj [dot] com).
• Search other e-mail addresses at the media outlet to assess format. Newsrooms often use one style of address across the organization (for example, The Wall Street Journal follows this format: First Name [dot] Last Name @ WSJ.com). If there is a pattern across a newsroom, you can likely guess any staff member’s e-mail address by using that “template.”
• Use an email search engine. Some platforms offer verified contact information; these often charge a sign-up fee, but many (including RocketReach.co) offer free trials.