Separate the person from the publication
A journalist is a relationship; an outlet is an organization. Store the person's name, role, topics, languages, markets, relationship notes, and contact rules on the contact record. Store the publication's name, country, language, category, tier, URL, audience context, and outlet notes separately. Link them so a desk move changes one relationship without rewriting every past campaign.
Creator records need different context, such as handles, platforms, product fit, gifting preferences, sizing, shipping notes, and no-go rules. They can still share campaign, product-send, coverage, and reporting references with journalists. A single person should not be duplicated merely because they appeared in two campaigns.
| Record | Stable fields | Changing context |
|---|---|---|
| Person | Name, contact kind, provenance | Role, email, topics, markets, languages, notes |
| Media outlet | Outlet name and identity | URL, category, country, language, tier, audience context |
| Campaign link | Contact and campaign IDs | Selection status, send-prep status, dates, notes |
| Product send | Contact, campaign, product or pair | Operational status, milestone dates, shipping and delivery notes |
| Coverage | Contact, outlet, campaign, product | URL, date, type, evidence, quality, measurement notes |
Record the fields that support a decision
A durable contact row answers four questions: who is this, what do they cover, where can the relationship be used, and what should the next operator know? Name and provenance are the minimum. Email is valuable but should not be treated as identity; a shared editorial address may represent an outlet rather than a named person.
Keep controlled values for markets, languages, topics, and tier. Put nuances in notes: a temporary beat, a preferred approach, a correction requested, or a do-not-contact rule. Record the source and last review date so another campaign does not turn an old assumption into a fact.
- Essential: name or clearly labeled generic editorial record, contact kind, provenance, and review date.
- Operational: outlet, role, primary email, markets, languages, topics, tier, and last contact.
- Relationship: preferences, context, no-go rules, corrections, and next action.
- Creator-specific: handles, platforms, audience context, sizing, product fit, gifting preferences, and shipping notes.
What a twelve-row review can reveal
In the synthetic Solstice file, twelve rows produce six different maintenance decisions. J-014 has a new role at Northline Journal, so the outlet link changes while prior campaign history remains. Two rows share the exact same email and need one contact. A different pair shares a name but represents two people at different outlets. One generic editorial row has no named person. One invalid email must be retained as a warning rather than stored as a usable address. One no-go note excludes a contact from product gifting but not from a relevant press update.
These cases explain why removing duplicate-looking rows is risky. Review exact identifiers first, then probable matches, then missing fields. Preserve a source copy before any cleanup. A clean list is one whose uncertain records are visible, not one whose row count has been reduced at any cost.
A maintenance routine between campaigns
Before targeting, filter for the campaign's topic, market, language, and exclusions; then review stale roles and missing provenance. During outreach, record material replies, corrections, and no-go decisions. After the campaign, attach coverage and product-send outcomes to the relationship and update only facts that changed.
Once a month, inspect exact-email duplicates, probable same-name and same-outlet matches, contacts without an outlet or usable address, and records not reviewed recently. Keep the media-list template as a portable source, or move the relationships into cutePR when repeated campaigns make a flat sheet hard to reconcile. cutePR works with your own contacts and does not find or license journalist details for you.
- Before: select by fit and recheck exclusions.
- During: log relationship-changing replies and manual send status.
- After: connect evidence, record unknowns, and preserve campaign history.
- Monthly: review duplicates, missing context, stale roles, and unresolved warnings.