Journalists and content creators are the ultimate influencers. Targeting the right people is critical to pitching and converting earned media coverage. To succeed, we must start by performing adequate media research and intentionally developing relationships with members of the press, including journalists.
Research helps you identify with whom your pitches will resonate and tailor your outreach to the right people. This is undoubtedly hard work, but research says it pays off. Graduate from spray-and-pray and stand out from the crowd. Connect and build relationships with the most relevant people, protect your reputation, and earn more coverage by following these guiding principles.
In this article will cover:
Finding Journalists or Publications by Topic
Unless you are looking for a specific person or publication, we recommend starting your research with a topic relevant to your media campaign or pitching initiative. Media contacts who have written extensively on topics central to your pitch are likely to be much more receptive.
To find people or sources writing about a specific topic, follow these steps:
Click the Media Relations drop-down in the left-hand side navigation bar
Select Search from the top tabs
Navigate to the I’m looking for the section at the top of your screen
Select either Contacts or Sources in the drop-down
Use the search bar to look for journalists by a topic they write about.
In the search bar drop-down, select All contacts writing about
By default, results from the last 14 Days will populate. Click the drop-down to adjust the date range to 30 or 90 days
Finding Journalists or Publications by Name
If you are looking for a specific person or publication, follow these steps:
Click the Media Relations drop-down in the left-hand side navigation bar
Select Search from the top tabs
Navigate to the I’m looking for the section at the top of your screen
Select either Contacts or Sources in the drop-down
Type the journalist’s or source's name in the search bar
If you don't find the right result in the Top results preview, click on All Contacts named to see more results.
Tip: The Top Results preview will display the journalist’s profile type, location, source, and email address.
In a Source search, we display the editions that match your search query. An edition is the main publication; all journalists will be listed for that publication, regardless of the writer's location. On source profiles, you can learn who works at that source via the Staff tab.
The bureau is a smaller, local office and will only list the journalists for that specific office. For example, the New York Times is a very large international publication. In addition to the main New York office, there are also bureaus in cities such as Atlanta and Chicago. In the database, the edition will typically have circulation numbers, unique visitor numbers, and beats, while the bureau will typically be labeled as such in the publication name. You can learn more about the bureaus associated with an edition on the source profile via the Bureaus tab.
Refining Your Search Using Filters
Filter by helps you narrow your focus. For example, if your pitch is regionally focused, the Location filter will likely be relevant. If reaching a large audience is part of your objective, try the Reach filter. If you’re only interested in seeing your private contacts, you’d use the Profile type filter.
Different filters are available to assist your media research. Consider your goals when making your selections. Details for each filter can be found by hovering over the information icon.
Switching Between Contacts and Sources
To switch between Contacts and Sources, follow these steps:
Click the Media Relations drop-down in the left-hand navigation bar
Select Search
Navigate to the I’m looking for section at the top of your screen and select the drop-down
Click Contacts or Sources
Vetting Journalists
As you refine your search and start to identify contacts you are potentially interested in, you will want to vet them further before adding them to your lists.
Click on a contact's name to open their mini-profile on the right-hand side of the screen. In the mini-profile, you will see the following details:
Name and location
Profile type
Sources
Beats
Lists
Recent Articles
Social Media
Contact Information
To view their full profile, click View full profile for this journalist, which will open in a new tab.
Additionally, you might choose to email the person directly from their profile or profile preview. If that is the case, click Email
On the full contact profile, you will have more details to view, including:
Profile header
Contact name
Profile image
Default email address
Interactions record
Sources
Overview tab
Articles and X posts (broken down by Writing about and Beats - you can toggle between the two)
Content stream with recent articles and X posts
Date filter going back 1 year
All published content (articles and tweets)
Ability to run Keyword searches
Actions you can take - tag them, share,
Metrics on the documents themselves (reach, social echo, sentiment)
X posts - reach, engagement, and sentiment
Sentiment of articles or X posts
X profile summary
Authority score, followers, following and # posts
Bio (or contact description if an X handle is not known)
Contact information panel
Action button
Contact’s language(s)
Contact’s aliases
Contact’s social media handles (when available)
Media lists the contact is in
Interactions tab
See outreach that has been sent to the journalist or contact
See email threads between you (and even your team) and the journalist using Email Integration.
Using Explore to find Journalists and other Media Contacts
You can also find contacts of interest directly in Explore.
Click Explore in the left-hand navigation bar
Open an existing search or create a new one
Click the Media Contacts tab
Following People of Interest in Monitor
You can also power Monitor’s content streams with media and author lists. Learn more about Media and Author Lists in Monitor.
💡 Tip
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