Media List Template (2026), the Columns Every PR List Needs
A media list template is a spreadsheet with one row per journalist and 14 columns, from name and beat to pitch status and next follow-up date.
Copy the layout below into any spreadsheet and you are ready to start.
Facts and counts checked October 19, 2026. See something wrong? Tell us.
Key takeaways
- A media list template needs 14 columns, from name and outlet to pitch status and next follow-up date.
- Beat is the most important column. In a 2025 survey of more than 3,000 journalists, 86 percent said they would immediately reject a pitch that missed their beat or audience.
- Use drop-down lists for status and tier so filters work.
- You can fill the template by hand or export contacts from a database.
Download the template. The sheet described on this page, with all 14 columns, drop-down lists for status and tier and a pitch log tab, is on the media list template page as an Excel workbook, a CSV file or a printable PDF. No account and no card. The file holds no contacts, so you fill it in with the people you find.
The 14 columns to use
Most templates fail because they hold too little or too much. Too little, and you cannot tell who to follow up with. Too much, and nobody keeps it up to date. These 14 columns are the sweet spot.
| Column | What goes in it | Why you need it |
|---|---|---|
| First name | The person's first name | Lets you write a real greeting |
| Last name | Their last name | Lets you sort and remove duplicates |
| Title | Reporter, editor, producer, host, or writer | Shows how much say they have over a story |
| Outlet | The newspaper, station, site, show, or channel | Tells you where coverage would appear |
| Media type | TV, radio, newspaper, online, magazine, podcast, or video | Helps you pick the right format for each pitch |
| Beat | The topic they cover, such as health or small business | The most important column, because off-beat pitches get deleted |
| Location | City and state | Helps with local angles |
| Their work email | How you reach them | |
| Email status | Verified, not verified yet, or bounced | Keeps your sender reputation clean |
| LinkedIn or social link | A link to their profile | Lets you check what they posted lately |
| Recent story | A link to something they wrote in the last 90 days | Gives you a true first line for your pitch |
| Tier | A, B, or C | A is your dream list. C is a wide net |
| Pitch status | Not contacted, pitched, replied, covered, or no thanks | Shows where every person stands |
| Next follow-up date | A date | Keeps you from forgetting people |
The first eleven columns describe the person. The last three describe your work with them. Keep both groups in one sheet so you never wonder which list is current.
A header row you can paste
Copy the line below, paste it into cell A1 of a new Google Sheet or Excel file, and the columns will split on their own when you paste tab-separated text.
First name Last name Title Outlet Media type Beat Location Email Email status LinkedIn or social link Recent story Tier Pitch status Next follow-up date
Add one example row so the next person who opens the file knows what good looks like.
| First name | Title | Outlet | Media type | Beat | Location | Tier | Pitch status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sample first name | Business reporter | Sample city newspaper | Newspaper | Small business | Austin, TX | A | Not contacted |
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How to set it up in ten minutes
You do not need special software. Do these steps once, and the template works for every campaign.
- Paste the header row into a new sheet and bold it.
- Freeze the top row so the headers stay in view when you scroll.
- Turn on filters for the header row, so you can show only Tier A or only one beat.
- Make Pitch status a drop-down list with the same five choices every time. Free typing leads to "pitched", "Pitched" and "sent", which you cannot filter.
- Color the Next follow-up date red when it is today or earlier.
- Save one clean blank copy before you add any names. You will want it for the next campaign.
If you prefer Excel, our Excel version of this template covers the exact menu steps.
Why beat matters more than any other column
Journalists are firm about relevance. In a 2025 survey of more than 3,000 journalists, 86 percent said they would immediately reject a pitch that did not fit their beat or audience.1 A 2026 survey of nearly 900 journalists found that 88 percent delete pitches that miss their beat.2
That is why the Beat column sits in the middle of the template. Fill it for every person. If you cannot say what someone covers, do not pitch them yet.
How to fill the template with real people
An empty template is only half the job. There are three ways to fill it.
Do it by hand
Read the sites your customers read. Open the author page for each story on your topic and copy the name, title and outlet. Add the reporter's social link. Then find a work email on the outlet's staff page or the reporter's profile. This works well for a list of 20 to 30 names, and it is slow after that.
Start from a database
A database lets you filter by beat, outlet, state and media type, then export the matches. The Media List database holds 38,000+ journalists, editors and producers, with 27,000+ in the United States. It also holds 189,000+ YouTube channels and 1.2 million podcasts, so creators can sit in the same sheet as reporters.
The export has these columns for each contact. First name, last name, title, email, email status, LinkedIn, outlet, website, location, country and industry. Those match the first columns of this template, so you add Tier, Pitch status and Next follow-up date and you are done.
Mix both
Most pros do. They export a base list, then add a Recent story link by hand for the people in Tier A. That one link is what turns a mass email into a real pitch.
How to keep the template alive
- Update Pitch status the moment you send. Do it before you do anything else.
- Once a month, sort by Email status and fix or remove anyone marked bounced.
- Every quarter, check Tier A by hand. People change jobs, and the number of reporter jobs in the United States is projected to fall 6 percent between 2025 and 2035.3
- Add a coverage log tab. Paste the link and date for every story you earn.
For a template built around press releases and campaign tiers, see our PR media list template. For a plain explanation of the idea, read What is a media list.
Try it with real contacts
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Media list format, field by field
The format is the same whatever you build it in. Fourteen columns, one row per person, one tab for the list and one for the pitch log. Text fields for name, title, outlet, beat and location. A single email column, with a separate status column beside it rather than a note inside the address. Two fields that take a fixed set of values, which are tier and pitch status. One date field for the next follow-up.
Three format rules save the most trouble later. Keep one person per row, never a shared row for a desk. Keep the beat in the journalist's own words from a recent story, not your category for them. Keep dates in a real date format, because a date stored as text will not sort and will not trigger a reminder.
If you want the format as a file rather than as a description, the blank media list template is an Excel workbook, a CSV file and a printable PDF, with the drop-down lists already set up.
Questions, answered
What should a media list template include?
At minimum it needs name, title, outlet, beat, email and a pitch status. A stronger template also tracks media type, location, a recent story link, a tier and a follow-up date.
Is there a free media list template?
Yes. You can build one yourself in Google Sheets or Excel with the 14 columns on this page. A template is only a layout, so you still need to fill it with contacts.
How many contacts should one media list have?
Start with 20 to 50 well-matched people for one story. A short list you can personalize beats a long list you cannot.
What is a Tier A, B, C system?
Tier A is your dream list, the people you will write to one by one. Tier B gets a lightly personalized email. Tier C is a wider net that gets the same email with a name merged in.
How often should I update my media list?
Update the status after every send, clean up bounces once a month, and check your top tier by hand every quarter.
Can I put podcasts and YouTube channels in the same template?
Yes. Use the Media type column to mark them. Hosts and creators have a Beat too, so the rest of the columns work the same way.
Related guides
- Media List Template for Excel (2026), Set It Up Step by Step
- PR Media List Template (2026), a Campaign Tracker
- How to Create a Media List (2026), Seven Steps in Two Hours
- What is a media list
Sources
- State of the Media 2025 report announcement, May 7, 2025, checked 2026-10-19
- State of Journalism 2026 survey summary, checked 2026-10-19
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Reporters, Correspondents, and Broadcast News Analysts, checked 2026-10-19
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