How to Create a Media List (2026), Seven Steps in Two Hours

You can create a media list in about two hours by picking one story, finding 40 to 80 people who cover it, and sorting them into tiers.

Then you check each email before you send. Here are the seven steps with a time budget for each.

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

Key takeaways

• You can create a media list in about two hours with seven steps.
• Start with one sentence about the story, then pick the audience and beat before you search for people.
• Add a recent story link for your top names, then sort into tiers and set follow-up dates.

The plan at a glance

This is a different angle from our longer guides on how to build a media list and the step-by-step process. This one is built to finish in a single sitting.

Step 1, write one sentence about the story

Say what is new, for whom, and why now. For example, "A local bakery is giving away 500 loaves to the first people in line at its second store on Saturday."

If you cannot say it in one sentence, the pitch will be fuzzy too. Fix that first.

Step 2, pick the audience and the beat

Who needs to hear this? Home bakers, small business owners, parents, investors? Name the audience, then name the topic a reporter would use to cover it, such as food, small business or local news. That topic is your beat.

This step saves you from the biggest error in media relations. 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

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

Step 3, find the outlets and shows

List the places that reach your audience. Check three spots.

• Search your topic and a nearby city, then note which sites and stations come up.
• Look at who reported on similar stories in the last six months.
• Ask your customers where they get news. Their answers are often better than guesses.

Aim for 15 to 40 outlets. Include different media types, such as newspaper, TV, radio, online and podcast.

Step 4, find the people and their emails

For each outlet, find the person who covers your beat. Titles to look for are reporter, editor, producer, host and writer. A producer at a morning show or an editor at a section often decides what runs.

You have two choices for contact details.

• By hand. Open staff pages and bylines, then copy names and find emails. This is fine for 20 to 30 people.
• With a database. Filter by beat, outlet, state and media type, then export. The Media List database holds 38,000+ journalists, editors and producers, 27,000+ of them in the US. It also has 189,000+ YouTube channels and 1.2 million podcasts.

Step 5, add a recent story for your top names

For your best 10 to 20 people, open their latest work and paste a link into your sheet. Add one note on why it fits. This is what lets you write a first line like "I liked your piece on small town bakeries."

It also protects you from the second most common mistake, which is pitching someone who just covered the same thing.

Step 6, sort into tiers and check emails

Mark your dream names as Tier A, the good fits as Tier B and the wider group as Tier C. Then check the email status column. Anything marked bounced, remove. Anything not verified yet, send later or send with care. In Media List every contact shows whether its email is verified before you export, and you can filter to verified emails.

Step 7, save the list and set follow-up dates

Add a Next follow-up date for every person, usually three to five business days after your first email. Save the file with the story name and the date. Next month you will thank yourself.

The sheet itself can be simple. Our media list template shows the 14 columns to use.

What to do after the list is built

• Write the pitch. See how to write a pitch that gets a reply.
• Choose a subject line. See subject lines for media pitches.
• Send Tier A first, one by one.
• Follow up once. See how to follow up without burning the contact.

Do the seven steps with real contacts

Start a 3-day trial at $0 today with a card or PayPal. Steps 3 and 4 take the longest by hand, and a database cuts them down. You can export up to 25 contacts during the trial, and plans start at $99 a month.

How to find media contacts, and whether a media list builder helps

Finding one contact and assembling a list are different jobs. To find media contacts, start from recent coverage of stories like yours, read the byline, then confirm the beat from what that person published in the last 90 days. Staff and masthead pages fill in the editors and producers who do not carry bylines. That is the same work whether you call it a media list builder, a media list maker or media list creation, and the part no tool removes is deciding who belongs on the list. A database shortens the finding, not the judging. To keep what you find, use the blank media list template.

Questions, answered

How do you create a media list from scratch?

Write one sentence about your story, pick the audience and beat, find the outlets, find the people and their emails, add a recent story for your top names, sort into tiers and set follow-up dates.

How long does it take to create a media list?

A focused list of 40 to 80 people takes about two hours by hand or less with a database.

Where do I find journalist emails?

You can check staff pages, bylines and social profiles, or use a database that shows the email and whether it is verified. Always check that the person still works at the outlet.

How many people should be on a media list?

For one story, 40 to 80 is a strong start. If the story is local or niche, 20 to 30 may be enough.

Should I buy a media list?

Buying a fixed list is risky because it goes stale. A searchable database lets you pull a fresh list for each story. Our guide on buying media lists covers the options.

What tools do I need to make a media list?

A spreadsheet is enough to start. A database adds search by beat and state, verified email status and one-click exports.

Related guides

• Media List Template (2026), the Columns Every PR List Needs
• Media List PR (2026), What It Is and How Pros Use One
• Building Media Lists (2026), a Weekly Habit That Works
• Step-by-step media list process

Sources

1. State of the Media 2025 report announcement, May 7, 2025, checked 2026-10-19