You're here because you've discovered a profile in Media Relations that needs updating. In this article, we'll show you how to request an update and explain our process for managing media updates.
Thank you for taking the time to bring the issue to our attention. Meltwater manages a database with over 700,000 active journalists and other contacts, and its management is a full-time operation, with over 30,000 updates being processed by our teams and systems each month. We maintain the database through a set of proactive and reactive efforts. This is a challenging job, partly because journalists change employers more frequently than ever before, and varying international data privacy legislation adds to the challenge. Learn more about Our Privacy Notice to Journalists.
We strive to keep the data as up-to-date as possible, but acknowledge that we're not perfect. Our goal is to make it easy for you to notify us and, when you do, we commit to processing your request as quickly as possible. Alternatively, you may choose to personalize a profile with a phone number or email address yourself. Learn more about Profile Types in Media Relations.
This article will cover:
Requesting an Update
Requesting to Add a Missing Journalist
Follow the steps below when a contact you are searching for is missing.
Click the Media Relations drop-down in the left-hand side navigation bar
Select Search
Use the search bar to search the journalist's name
If the contact is not within our database, a message saying We didn't find any results will load on the page.
Select Report Missing Contact
Complete the form
Select OK
Note: To expedite this process please ensure to include enough information for us to confidently locate the correct individual. Email address, social media, and links to their content are all especially helpful. Requests for new journalists containing only a name will likely be returned as not processable.
You'll shortly be emailed updates from our Media Research team as they confirm and add this person to the database.
Requesting an Update to an Existing Journalist
Follow the steps below on how to request an update to an existing journalist:
Click Media Relations via the left-hand side navigation bar
Select Search
Use the search bar to search the journalist's name
Click on a journalist’s name
In the slide out on the right-hand side of your screen select View full profile
Click Actions
Select Submit an update
Complete the form, any context you share with us will speed up the processing.
Select OK
You'll shortly be emailed updates from our media research team as they confirm and add this contact to the database
Similarly, you can request an update on Meltwater source profiles.
Types of Profiles
Alternatively to requesting an update, you can personalize Media Contacts' Profiles in Meltwater, if you have the information available.
User-modified Profiles
When you personalize a profile by adding or updating contact information yourself, that profile becomes User-modified. Verified and Automated profiles can be user-modified. When a profile has the User-modified badge, it means that a user on the account has modified or added to that profile (added or overwritten some field). Meltwater will indicate which team member made the addition/edit and when, and these edits are private to your team.
Personalizing a Journalist’s Profile
Simply navigate to the journalist’s profile and click ‘edit’ on their X handle, description, or contact information.
Limited Profiles
Per our article, Profile Types & Personalizing Journalist Profiles with Contact Information, we do not provide direct contact information for media contacts who are verifiably inactive or are in non-pitchable roles. This could include business executives, politicians, or an artist - these people may create content that is ingested in Meltwater, and we've found it important to show you information about them, but in order to reach them, you'll need to personalize their profile with relevant contact information to do so.
Report Missing Source
Click Media Relations via the left-hand side navigation bar
Select Search
Switch from looking for Contacts to Sources
Use the search bar to search the source's name
If the source is not in our database, a message saying We didn’t find any results will load on the page.
Select Report Missing Source
Complete the form
Select OK
You'll shortly be emailed updates from our Database team as they confirm and add this source to the database.
Update Notified via Email
When your journalist, contact, or members of the media email you to let you know that they’ve changed employer, their beat, are on extended leave or have retired - you can simply forward the email to update@meltwater.com. The same email address can be used to forward automated bounce messages. Please note that this does not apply to your privately imported contacts.
Meltwater's Processes
When you submit media update requests our team will process them within 4 business days, and you will receive an email to confirm that we have received the request. Once completed, you will receive another email from us to inform you of the outcome. Check your spam folder, if necessary.
Privacy Concerns Play a Significant Role in Our Process
Meltwater has adopted a consent-based approach to collecting data from people in several markets. Acquiring consent has the potential of extending our processing time beyond 4 days, and a successful outcome is dependent on the contact's willingness to provide consent. We only require consent from German journalists.
When Consent Applies
Some markets (e.g. Germany) have strict privacy legislation and require consent from journalists before we can make changes to their profiles or add new profiles. We also seek consent before adding personal email addresses and phone numbers (yes, occasionally we do receive requests for that). Consent also applies when people that have previously opted out of our database are requested to be added back in by our customers.
You can Prevent Spam: Playing your Part in the PR Ecosystem
PR spam is a real problem, and some journalists are reserving the right not to be contacted. We respect their decision by unsubscribing them from specific accounts that triggered complaints (you’ll see an “unsubscribed” badge next to their name) or removing their contact information from our database entirely when they request that. Any emails sent to reporters that have unsubscribed will be automatically blocked.
As a PR professional you can, and should do, your part by thoughtfully targeting contacts with personalized pitches that are directly relevant to them. Successful PR is built on empathy and trust, and poorly targeted, general email blasts are, at best, ignored.
💡 Tip
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