Data & Freshness

Q: How often is journalist data updated?

We retrieve all data in real-time. When you run a search or enrichment, we pull live data from Google News, author pages, and third-party sources. Our data is as fresh as it gets.

Q: Can I import CSVs?

Yes. Open a media list and select Add journalists → From CSV. Map one column to Journalist name, optionally map Outlet and Email, and append up to 1,000 mapped rows. The import is recorded as From CSV in Sources.

Q: How can I add journalists to a list?

Use By name, From CSV, By article URLs, By news search, or AI discovery. The paths can be mixed on one persistent list over time. The pinned Sources column records how and when each row was added.

See Find Journalists to choose a path.

Q: Can I export my results?

Yes. Export workflow table results as CSV for reporting, handoff, or cleanup.

Match Scores

Q: Why is a journalist's match score low?

Match scores range from 0-100 and are based on the journalist's recent coverage. A low score means we found weak overlap between your story angle and what they've been writing about lately.

To improve scores:

• Be specific in your prompt — Tell us exactly what kind of journalist you want: beat, audience, publication tier, story angle
• Provide complete context — The more detail you give about your story, the better we can match
• Check the journalist's recent articles — If they haven't written about your topic recently, the score will reflect that

Q: What does the score represent?

It's a relevance ranking based on evidence from recent articles. Use it to prioritize who to review first—your 90s are top priority, your 60s probably aren't a fit.

Emails

Q: Why do some journalists have no email?

We try multiple sources in sequence:

1. Author page — Check the journalist's byline and publication profile
2. Email finder — Query third-party lookup providers
3. Premium email finder — Try additional paid sources

If all three fail, Journalist Profile returns no verified email and the row costs 0 credits. We prioritize accuracy—better no email than a bad one that damages your sender reputation. See Credits for how outcome billing works.

Q: What does "condition wasn't met" mean for emails?

This message appears in older workflows that use a separate email column. It means the row did not pass an earlier condition required before email discovery could start.

Common reasons:

• No author page found — The article didn't have a clear byline or author profile link
• Publication classified as non-editorial — We skip email lookup for brand blogs, press-release wires, and aggregator sites because they rarely yield pitchable journalist contacts
• Journalist profile couldn't be resolved — The enrichment pipeline couldn't confidently identify a single journalist from the article

New media lists use a combined Journalist Profile result instead. To widen the pool, add known people by name, import a CSV, paste article URLs, run another news search, or ask AI discovery. See Find Journalists.

Q: What do email validation statuses mean?

• deliverable — Mailbox appears reachable
• risky — Catch-all or higher bounce risk
• unknown — Server didn't return enough signal
• undeliverable — Likely to bounce, do not send

Credits & Billing

Q: How do credits work?

Most paid columns charge per row when they run. Journalist Profile bills on outcome: 1 credit per row that delivers a verified email, and 0 credits when it does not. The delivered result includes the resolved profile, contact lookup, recent articles, and campaign-fit analysis.

See Credits for how pricing works and Cost Optimization for strategies to save credits.

Q: When does a row cost 0 credits?

Rows blocked by runWhen conditions are skipped before the column starts and cost 0 credits. Journalist Profile rows also cost 0 credits when they complete without a verified email — only a delivered verified email is charged, at 1 credit. Other paid columns charge their displayed per-row cost when they run.

The public journalist-enrichment API bills the same outcome-based way; see Credits for details.

Q: Where can I see my credit usage?

Go to Settings → Usage in the app. You'll see a breakdown of credits consumed per workflow, per day, and your remaining balance. The Billing tab in Settings shows your plan details and purchase history.

Q: Do credits carry over between campaigns?

Yes. Credits stay in your account until you use them. Running one campaign doesn't expire your remaining balance — unused credits are available for your next campaign or whenever you need them.

Workflows

Q: Can I run only failed rows instead of rerunning everything?

Yes. There's a button to run cells that haven't run or have errors. You can also click on any individual cell and rerun just that cell if it failed.

Q: What integrations are available?

• Gmail — Send pitches directly from Medialyst
• Outlook — Send pitches directly from Medialyst
• Reply.io — Push contacts and personalization variables into Reply.io campaigns
• Instantly — Sync leads for follow-up sequences
• Email validation — Verify deliverability before sending

See Outreach for sending and sequence workflows, and Third-Party Integrations for research enrichments like SimilarWeb and Ahrefs.

Q: Is there an API?

Yes. API-based list creation is available on higher-tier plans. Contact us if you need custom integration support.

Q: Where can I track product updates?

Check the Changelog for releases and the Roadmap for what's coming next.

Chat & AI Agent

Q: How do I resize the chat panel?

Drag the left edge of the chat panel to make it wider or narrower. If the chat panel is covering your journalist table, drag it toward the right to shrink it. On mobile devices, the chat panel takes the full width — tap outside it to return to the table view.

Q: How do I reset the AI agent when it's not performing well?

Click New Chat at the top of the chat panel. This starts a fresh conversation with a clean context — the agent won't carry over any confusion from the previous thread.

Q: Why do I sometimes see "Compacted older context" in the chat?

When a conversation gets long, we automatically summarize older messages to keep the agent responsive. You'll see a brief note like "Compacted older context to keep this chat responsive." This is normal — the agent retains the key points from earlier in the conversation while freeing up capacity for your current request.

Q: Why do duplicate publications appear in my list?

When you search with broad terms or multiple methods, the same publication can appear more than once because different articles from that outlet matched your search.

To handle this:

1. Enable row deduplication — Open Configure Deduplication from the table toolbar and use {{Journalist Profile}}.journalistIdentityId as the key. This collapses duplicate journalists automatically. See Tables → Row Deduplication for details.
2. Use filters — Filter by publication name to review and remove unwanted duplicates manually.
3. Narrow your search — More specific keywords or fewer source articles produce cleaner lists with less overlap.

Need More Help?

• Email: [email protected]
• In-app feedback: Click the feedback button in the bottom-right corner