# Media list: definition, building and data protection

What a media list is, what a good entry contains, how to build and maintain one, and which GDPR rules apply to the contact data of the journalists on it.

**A media list is a maintained list of journalists and newsrooms that an organisation contacts with press releases, story ideas and invitations. A good media list is segmented by topic and outlet and only includes contacts for whom the content is relevant.**

A business editor who receives an email about a new lipstick shade deletes it and remembers the sender. Your media list decides whether your [media relations](/en/glossary/media-relations) work reaches people who actually cover your topic. A small, accurate list achieves more than a large one you send everything to.

## What a good entry contains

An entry is more than a name and an email address. Useful fields are:

- **Name** of the person
- **Outlet**, and for freelancers every outlet they write for regularly
- **Role and beat:** reporter, editor, section head, freelancer; business, local news, technology
- **Topics:** what the person actually writes about, backed by recent articles
- **Contact channel:** work email, phone and the channel the person prefers
- **Language and country**
- **Last contact** and its outcome
- **Notes:** deadlines, preferences, agreements such as an [embargo](/en/glossary/embargo)
- **Data source:** where you got the contact from. You need this for the information duty (see below).

## Building a list: research, don't buy

Articles are the best starting point. Who has written about your topic, your sector or your competitors in recent months? Author pages, mastheads and trade media give you names and beats. That way you know why each contact is on the list.

Bought bulk lists are often outdated and untargeted, and the origin of the data is often unclear, though you need to be able to state it.

## Segmenting

A media list is rarely a single list. Common segments are:

- **Topic:** energy, mobility, retail, health
- **Outlet type:** daily newspaper, trade title, consumer magazine, online outlet, podcast, radio and TV
- **Region and language:** for example separate segments per market
- **Role:** section heads are more likely to get background briefings, specialist reporters detailed information

## Example: a fictional media list

The company, people and outlets are invented. A maker of balcony solar kits, here "Sonnhalde Energy", is preparing a press release about a new battery.

| Name         | Outlet                       | Topics                          | Channel              | Language/country | Last contact          | Note                                     |
| ------------ | ---------------------------- | ------------------------------- | -------------------- | ---------------- | --------------------- | ---------------------------------------- |
| Anna Berger  | Energy trade magazine        | Solar, storage, grid connection | Email                | German/DE        | March, interview done | wants technical data as a table          |
| Tobias Wendt | Regional daily               | Regional business               | Phone, after 2 pm    | German/DE        | never                 | wrote about local solar firms in October |
| Selin Kaya   | Consumer website             | Saving money, household         | Email, keep it short | German/AT        | June, no reply        | offer a test unit                        |
| Mark Fowler  | Freelancer, two trade titles | Energy policy                   | Email                | English/UK       | September, declined   | only pitch with new market data          |

For the battery release, Anna Berger and Selin Kaya go into the "product" segment. Tobias Wendt gets a separate pitch with a regional angle, and Mark Fowler nothing this time.

## Keeping it current

Journalists change outlets, beats and topics. Check the list before every larger send-out, remove addresses that bounce and record the outcome after every contact. Anyone who asks not to be contacted again comes off the list straight away.

## Data protection

A journalist's name and work email address are personal data under the GDPR, so the general rules apply to a media list.

- **Legal basis:** media lists usually rely on legitimate interest under Article 6(1)(f) GDPR. The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) sets out three conditions that must all be met: a legitimate interest, processing that is necessary for it, and a balancing test in which the person's interests and rights do not override that interest.
- **Information duty:** if the data did not come from the person, Article 14 GDPR requires you to inform them, including about the source of the data. This has to happen within a reasonable period after you obtain the data, at the latest within one month. If you use the data to contact the person, inform them at the latest with the first communication. If you plan to disclose the data to another recipient, inform them at the latest when you first disclose it (Article 14(3)(a) to (c)). Public contact details do not automatically mean that one of the exceptions in Article 14(5) applies. If a journalist gives you their details directly, Article 13 GDPR applies instead.
- **Right to object:** under Article 21 GDPR, the person can object to the processing. You must explicitly point out this right at the latest in your first communication.

National rules on electronic communication apply on top. In Germany, Section 7(2) no. 2 of the Act against Unfair Competition (UWG) treats advertising by email without prior express consent as unacceptable harassment. The text does not say explicitly whether a factual press release sent to a newsroom counts as advertising, and views on this differ. A clearly promotional email does not become something else by being called a press release. For specific cases, ask your data protection adviser.

## Pitching over mass mailing

The more accurate the list, the more personal your outreach can be. A good pitch addresses the person by name, refers to one of their articles and explains in a few sentences why the story matters to their audience. The [press release](/en/glossary/press-release) and a [press kit](/en/glossary/press-kit) provide the details. One follow-up is fine; several are not.

## How aclipp helps

aclipp [media monitoring](/en/media-monitoring) shows which outlets and journalists cover you and your competitors. That helps you add contacts who actually cover your topic and spot entries that have gone stale. aclipp is not a distribution service.