A media list is only as useful as it is current. For most PR teams, keeping one updated is a constant, low-grade headache — and the tool that can help most with that is probably already in your tech stack.
PR professionals have long relied on curated media lists to issue news releases. In addition to the efficiency of issuing a press release, some industries require public notification for some news, such as quarterly and annual earnings reports.
That said, to earn coverage for PR efforts that are outside of required notifications, communicators need to do more than push news out via a wire service or blast emails from a generic media database. This is particularly true for local news and events; a press release sent out via a wire service that appears on the other side of the country may not reach the intended audiences.
Developing media lists is both a core PR practice and one of the biggest time commitments, largely because the need for updates is constant. We have examined media changes here before, but it bears repeating: print media is undergoing huge changes and PR pros have to adjust with it. And that means updating your media lists frequently.
It also means that having a well-developed media list is a fundamental part of an effective communications practice, allowing you to get the right information out to the most appropriate and relevant news outlets.
Effective media monitoring can help you transform an undifferentiated media list into a powerful tool for message delivery.
List development and prioritisation
Depending on your business goals and objectives, there are several approaches to the development of a media list strategy. They are:
Top outlets prioritisation – This approach is where most organisations likely land, as this combines efficiency and efficacy. The first step is to determine which outlets are most important for most of your organisation’s news. A note that the outlets that are most important for YOUR organisation may not be the same as a list of high-reach outlets; in fact, smaller industry-specific trade publications and outlets may be just as important (and more likely to report your news) than the top international daily news outlets.
Geographic prioritisation – This is exactly what it sounds like: you prioritise the outlets within your organisation’s geographic footprint, and update those on your media list outside of that circle when you have time to do so. The main challenge with this method is determining what “geographic footprint” means to the business, as it can be anything from the location of a headquarters, or a service area, or major markets. It is helpful to assess this through the lens of either business goals or crisis management, whichever may be more likely to generate media coverage for your particular field or line of work.
Journalist prioritisation – Some fields have such prominent journalists that it makes sense to dedicate a separate media list to ensure they are not missed when big news happens. Whilst a journalist-specific list within an industry may be short, having a well-maintained list dedicated to those who regularly report on stories within your industry, or who have treated your organisation fairly in coverage in the past, could be an effective use of your time.
Competitor/Share of Voice prioritisation – If you are frequently benchmarking against competitors, prioritising media outreach in areas where they are active may help in achieving business goals. In this case, you will want to make sure that your media lists are focussed on those markets and are up to date and accurate.
Other than “comprehensive and detailed”, which by definition is the broadest category, businesses may determine that a media list should have elements of multiple categories. However, you may then have issues with scope creep as keeping updated media lists will take more time the more you add to them.o process information, rather than an exploration of the inputs it uses to generate results.
Uncovering the information you need
Your media monitoring service is one of the most underused tools for list development.
Media lists can change dramatically over time. Leaving yours in a folder, untouched until you need it, is the quick path to a headache. There are simply too many changes to the media ecosystem to be passive about list maintenance.
Use your media monitoring service to drive the update process. Don’t wait until you realize the list feels stale.
It should be a reasonably straightforward process to search within your recent results to find coverage that was positive or neutral, or contained key messages. From there, you can build lists of the journalists who covered the stories, filter based on maps or locations, and determine which publications should rank as priorities for future outreach.
Essentially, your objective is to finely tune a media list that is relevant and focussed, and that with periodic attention remains up to date. Having an updated list can save you time, of course. It can also save you from having to rebuild a list at the worst possible moment, such as when a crisis hits.
Using your media monitoring tool to jump-start the process allows you to zero in on the most relevant outlets and journalists. And, by using previous coverage as your baseline for research, you can quickly identify where holes in coverage might be and also allows you to focus efforts where they matter most.
