Create a Media List
A Media List in Muck Rack is a curated collection of journalists and media professionals who cover specific topics or industries. It is a centralized database for PR professionals, communications teams, and marketers to target and connect with the right journalists.
Media Lists are useful because they enable targeted outreach, save time by consolidating contact information, help build relationships with journalists, track and organize media contacts, and facilitate collaboration within teams. You can learn more about managing Media Lists by checking out our article on Managing Media Lists.
Learn More in Muck Rack Academy
You can learn about Media Lists by taking the Build Media Lists course in the Muck Rack Academy.
Create A Media List
Watch the video or follow the steps below to learn about creating Media Lists in Muck Rack. For advanced targeting strategies, refer to the detailed search techniques and tips provided in the sections below.
Create a Media List from Scratch
From the navigation bar, select Relationships > Media Lists.
Select Create New > Media List in the top right corner.
Give your Media List a name, select your Sharing preferences (share with your organization or Only Me), then select Save.
Add contacts to your Media List via a People Search or by adding Custom Contacts. Alternatively, you can start by Importing a Media List.
TIP: Use Boolean operators and filters to refine your People Search results, such as "reporter OR journalist" and Location filters.
Create a Media List from Search Results
Complete a People Search.
Enter Keywords: Use relevant keywords or Boolean operators to define your search. For example, to find workplace and career journalists, you might use
"Workplace AND career"
Apply Filters: Narrow your results by applying filters such as Location (e.g., United States), Language, or Outlet Type.
From your search results, select the checkbox next to contacts you'd like to include and then Add to Media List from the action bar that appears:
Note: When searching for reporters on Muck Rack, we automatically sort your results based on relevancy or how often that person writes about the keywords. Because of this, we intentionally help you focus on the top 50 reporters on any results screen since the results become less relevant as you scroll.
If you’d like to reach beyond the top 50 reporters in any search, you can always scroll to the bottom of the results before selecting all of the journalists to add to your Media List.
You can also add a single contact to your media list directly from their journalist profile by simply selecting the name of the Media List you'd like to add them to.
Advanced Targeting Strategies
Finding Journalists by Specific Terms or Topics
Run a People Search: Use keywords related to your topic, such as "Prenuvo" or "fitness tech."
Refine Results: Use filters like Location, Language, and Outlet to narrow your search.
Confirm Relevance: Review profiles and recent coverage to ensure they match your needs. Add relevant journalists to a Media List.
Using Pre-Made Searches for Specific Topics
Access Featured Searches: Navigate to the Media Database and select "Featured Searches."
Choose a Pre-Made Search: For example, select the Mergers & Acquisitions search to find journalists covering this topic.
Review and Add: Review the pre-populated search results and add relevant contacts to your Media List.
Creating Media Lists for Specific Locations or Outlets
Use Rankings Lists: Open the U.S. National or New York rankings lists to find major outlets like "Today Show" or "Good Morning America."
View in Search: Click "View in Search" to pull all reporters from those outlets into a search.
Add to Media List: Select the journalists and add them to your Media List.
Building Business Media Lists for Top U.S. Markets
Run Targeted Searches: Use Boolean terms like "business OR economy OR finance" and apply DMA filters for the top 20 U.S. markets.
Refine Results: Narrow your search using filters for Location, Language, and Outlet Type.
Create Lists: Add relevant outlets to an Outlet List and journalists to a Media List.
Excluding Freelancers and Focusing on Verified Outlets
Use Boolean Operators: Search for roles like "reporter OR journalist OR staff writer" and exclude freelancers using NOT or filters.
Apply Filters: Refine results by location (e.g., New York City), outlet verification, and other criteria.
Adjust as Needed: Review and refine your search to ensure it meets your criteria.
Tips for Refining Searches
Use Boolean Operators: Combine keywords with AND, OR, and NOT to broaden or narrow your search. For example, "financial news" OR "Wall Street."
Start Broad, Then Narrow: Begin with general terms and progressively apply filters to refine your results.
Review Profiles: Always check journalist profiles and recent coverage to confirm relevance before adding them to a Media List.
Examples of Common Use Cases
Creating a U.S.-Only Media List: Use location filters to limit results to the United States.
Targeting Specific Topics: Search for journalists covering "fitness tech" or "Mergers & Acquisitions."
Focusing on Major Outlets: Use rankings lists to find journalists from top outlets like "CBS Mornings."
Create a Media List using AI
AI Media List Builder lets you generate a new media list by describing your target journalists in natural language. This option is ideal when you want fast, AI-assisted recommendations based on topics, locations, outlets, and recent coverage.
Exclusive to Standard and Premier Packages
Only Standard and Premier customers will have access to the AI Media List Builder feature. Please contact your Customer Success Manager if you would like to upgrade your subscription.
Learn More About This Feature
For a full step-by-step tutorial on how to use this feature, check out our dedicated Help Center Article. (You must be logged in to view this article)
NOTE: AI Media List Builder can only be used to create new Media Lists. Adding journalists to an existing Media List is supported via Recommended Journalists.
Import a Media List
Import a Media List via the Media List table view or from within an existing Media List.
Select Create New > Media List from Import in the Media list table view.
The import dialog should appear. Input your Media List name and choose your preferred method for uploading your Media List.
Once the import is completed, you’ll see a summary screen with your import results.
NOTE: If there are any errors in your Media List (eg: wrong file format, incorrect # of columns, etc), you will see an error message in your results summary.
Any contacts without a match in the Muck Rack database will be added as a Custom Contact.
Create a Copy of an Existing Media List
To create a duplicate copy of an existing Media List, locate the Actions column, select the three dots, then select Copy > Confirm.
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