Sign in Start 3-day free trial
Find journalists
Search the databaseFilter 1.5 million+ contacts by beat, outlet, job title or location. Browse media listsLists by media type, role, industry, country, state and city. Coverage checkSee how many contacts match your topic before you buy.
Browse by
Start here
1.5 Million+media contacts, from newsroom editors to podcast hosts.

Try any plan free for 3 days. Cancel before the trial ends to pay nothing.

Start 3-day free trial
Social media contacts
YouTube creatorsFind channels by niche and audience size, and reach the creator directly. Podcast hostsFind shows by topic and pitch the host to get booked as a guest. Browse creator listsBy platform, industry, audience size, language and country. Included in every planCreators and journalists in one plan, from $99 a month.
Browse by
Start here
One plan Creators, podcast hosts and journalists together, from $99 a month. Start 3-day free trial
Browse creator lists YouTubeTikTokInstagramPodcastsXLinkedInNewslettersBlogs
Search the database Browse media lists TelevisionNewspapersRadioOnline newsTrade & industry pressFreelance journalistsBusiness & financeTechnologyHealth & fitnessFilm, TV & entertainmentNews & politicsSportsUnited StatesUnited KingdomCanadaIndia Coverage check
Pricing Contact
Start 3-day free trial Sign in

Media List PR (2026), What It Is and How Pros Use One

ML Media List Editorial Team Oct 19, 2026 6 min read
Media List PR (2026), What It Is and How Pros Use One

In PR, a media list is the working list of journalists, hosts and creators a team plans to pitch for one story, and every campaign starts with it.

It is the first thing built and the thing every later step depends on. If the list is wrong, a perfect pitch still fails.

Facts and counts checked October 19, 2026. See something wrong? Tell us.

Key takeaways

  • A media list is the working list of people a PR team plans to pitch for a story.
  • There are nearly seven US public relations specialists for every reporter, and reporter jobs are projected to fall 6 percent by 2035.
  • Pros sort lists into tiers A, B and C and write most carefully to Tier A.

What a media list does in a PR campaign

A PR campaign has five steps. A media list feeds each of them.

  1. Plan. You choose the story and the audience you want to reach.
  2. Build the list. You find the people who cover that audience.
  3. Pitch. You email them one by one or in small groups.
  4. Follow up. You write once more to those who did not reply.
  5. Report. You log the coverage and share it with your client or boss.

The list is the map for steps three, four and five. It tells you who got what, when, and what came back.

Media List dashboard, a contact table with names, outlets, locations and emails

Why the list matters so much

There are far more people doing PR than there are people to pitch. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics counted about 314,500 public relations specialists in 20251 and about 47,100 reporters, correspondents and broadcast news analysts.2 That is nearly seven PR specialists for every reporter, and the reporter count is projected to fall 6 percent by 2035.

Journalists feel it. 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.3 In a 2026 survey of nearly 900 journalists, 88 percent said they delete pitches that miss their beat.4

The lesson is simple. A smaller, better-matched list wins.

Try Media List free for 3 days, $0 today. See plans and pricing →

What goes into a PR media list

A PR media list holds the same basics every time.

  • Name, title and outlet.
  • Beat, which is the topic they cover.
  • Email, plus a link to their social profile.
  • A recent story you can mention.
  • Your own notes, such as "likes data", "prefers short emails" or "covered us in March".
  • Pitch status and the date of the next follow-up.

You can copy a full layout from the media list template.

How PR teams tier their lists

Pros do not treat every name the same. They sort the list into tiers.

TierWho is in itHow you write to them
A10 to 20 people who are perfect for the storyOne email each, written from scratch, with a real reference to their recent work
B20 to 50 people who fit the topic wellA short template with their name, outlet and one personal line
CA wider group who might careThe same email with name and outlet merged in

Tier A gets most of your time, and it usually brings most of your coverage.

Media List, Emma smiling at a wall of notes

In-house, agency and solo, how the list changes

In-house teams

One brand, many stories. The master list is long, and each story pulls a short list from it. The key habit is tagging every contact with a beat so the pull takes seconds.

Agencies

Many clients, many lists. Agencies need a database they can search fast, a place to keep one list for each client, and a way to show clients the results. Media List has plans with up to 3 seats on Professional and 10 on Scale, plus campaign reports you can share with a client link on Scale.

Solo founders and publicists

One person does it all. Keep the list short, spend your hours on Tier A, and use a database for the rest so you do not lose days to research.

Where the contacts come from

PR pros use three sources. Bylines they read on their own, a media database, and their own past replies. A database is the fastest way to reach beyond people you already know. Media List holds 38,000+ journalists, editors and producers, 27,000+ of them in the US, plus 189,000+ YouTube channels and 1.2 million podcasts. Every contact shows whether its email is verified before you export it, and you can filter to verified emails.

Common mistakes

  • Building one giant list and sending the same email to everyone.
  • Skipping the Beat column.
  • Never updating the list after a reporter moves jobs.
  • Not logging replies, so the same person gets pitched twice.
  • Pitching before you have read two recent stories by the person.

Next, read how to create a media list for the steps, or how to write a pitch that gets a reply for the email itself.

Media List chart, journalists who reject an off-beat pitch

See a PR media list in action

Start a 3-day trial at $0 today with a card or PayPal. You can search the whole database and export up to 25 contacts to test it on a real story. Plans start at $99 a month, with no contract.

Questions, answered

What is a media list in PR?

It is a list of the journalists, editors, hosts and creators a PR team plans to pitch for a story. It holds their contact details, their beat and notes on past contact.

Why is a media list important?

Journalists reject off-topic pitches quickly. A media list built around beat and audience puts your story in front of people who might actually use it.

What is the difference between a media list and a media kit?

A media list is who you pitch. A media kit is what you send them, such as a company summary, photos and facts.

How many PR specialists are there in the US?

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics counted about 314,500 public relations specialists in 2025.

How many journalists are there in the US?

The same agency counted about 47,100 reporters, correspondents and broadcast news analysts in 2025, and projects a 6 percent drop by 2035.

Who builds the media list at a PR agency?

Usually a junior account person builds it and a senior person reviews Tier A. Smaller agencies often have the owner do both.

Sources

  1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Public Relations Specialists, checked 2026-10-19
  2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Reporters, Correspondents, and Broadcast News Analysts, checked 2026-10-19
  3. State of the Media 2025 report announcement, May 7, 2025, checked 2026-10-19
  4. State of Journalism 2026 survey summary, checked 2026-10-19

Search 1.5 million+ media contacts

Start a 3-day free trial, $0 today. Plans from $99 a month, no contract.

Start free trial →