Five Ways to Add Journalists to Medialyst

Hey there,

Here's the oldest bug in Medialyst:

Since the day we launched, we had one rule baked into everything: to add a journalist, you had to start from an article. Find the piece first, then pull the person out of it.

That single constraint quietly limited the whole product — it was the #1 thing people ask us about, and also the #1 reason our agent sometimes came back empty-handed.

Today we removed it.

A journalist is now something you can add in 5 ways, matching how PR teams actually work. One place they all live, and every road leads into it:

• type a name (new)

• upload a CSV (new)

• drop in article URLs

• run a news search

• or just tell the AI to do any of the above for you

[screenshot] 5 ways to add a journalist now

More ways are coming. But the real story is what this unlocks.

Why this is the biggest thing we've shipped (so far)

A real journalist-discovery engine needs three things, and until today we had two:

• Eyes — accurate data (the media database + live enrichments). The source of truth under everything. (Had it.)

• Hands — every way the agent can actually get a person into your list, and the tools it reaches for to do it (the agent harness). This was the missing piece for a long time. It's what we shipped today — and it's exactly where most agent failures traced back to. An agent with nothing to grab with can't do much. (Now have it.)

• Brain — the know-how we teach the agent: what makes a list good, how to position a story, how to brainstorm new angles (the agent skills). (Had it, and more on this soon.)

Eyes, hands, brain. We finally have all three. Which means that for most of Medialyst's life, we've been doing this with one hand tied behind our back — and it still worked. Now both hands are free.

Over the next few weeks we're building on top of this new capabilities — expect list quality to keep climbing from here.

Also shipped - your list finally remembers how it was built

Last week we also said the goal is to run your whole media operation in here — lists that live in one place, stay fresh, and get pitched.

Old Medialyst couldn't really do that: it handed you one list and sent you on your way.

Now with many ways to add journalists, you can keep adding to a list however you find people. For example:

• start wtih a few names using our AI discovery

• then combine it with an old list you have - upload the CSV and let AI clean it up

• add a few more journalist by name over the next few days

• let AI find another batch when you spot a new angle

Build it up over an hour or over a week. Every journalist now carries a record of how they got onto the list and when you added them, so it stays legible as it grows. A list you can actually maintain, not a one-time export.

[screenshot] new ways to update your list over time

And your bill gets smaller on the way

Because the agent can now add a real contact so many ways, we only charge you when it actually lands one:

• Every journalist column is now one thing. Profile, verified email, recent articles, and AI analysis come together — same 3 credits as before, when we deliver.

• No verified email = you pay 0. This used to cost 1 credits, now it cost 0.

Nothing to configure. Your tables have already been upgraded. You pay for outcomes, not attempts. That was always the idea. As of today it runs through the entire product.

(Next week we simplify pricing itself — simpler numbers, easier math. If you're already a customer, the only part to know today: you come out ahead. Guaranteed. Details Monday.)

— Elvis Sun, Founder at Medialyst

P.S. Some teams have been asking about setting up automations to get a finished media list waiting in your morning brief. Now it's live — two ways, right here →.