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Search (for Journalists)

Conduct in-depth research and gather valuable information in Muck Rack

Sara Sorenson avatar
Written by Sara Sorenson
Updated over 2 months ago

The information in this article applies to Journalists listed in Muck Rack's database. For information on getting started with Muck Rack as a PR Professional, check out our article on Getting Started with Search in Muck Rack.

Search (for Journalists)

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Search in Muck Rack is a fundamental feature that empowers you to explore and access media-related information efficiently. With Muck Rack's search functionality, you can effortlessly delve into our extensive database of articles, media outlets/journalists, and other content creators. This allows you to conduct in-depth research on specific topics, industries, or events, enabling you to gather valuable information, identify freelancers or editors as well as looking for jobs.

NOTE: Your search results will be limited unless you meet Muck Rack's criteria for journalist verification.

If you are not currently verified and believe you should be, or are currently verified but seeing limitations, please reach out to us by choosing the chat icon in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen and selecting Messages > Send us a message.


Search Types in Muck Rack

Muck Rack offers various search types, including People, Articles, and Media Outlet:

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People Search helps you find and explore information about journalists, content creators, and other media professionals. Using the People Search functionality, you can discover individuals based on various criteria, such as their name, topics they've covered, publications, location, and more. This is best to find a specific person or roles at specific outlets.

When you complete a People Search, our system scans each journalist profile in our global database for mentions of the keywords you’ve entered, whether it’s located in their bio, the titles of their recent articles, or recent tweets they’ve published.

NOTE: You can get additional tips on improving your search by selecting the Search Help guide on the far right of the Search tab.

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Article Search helps you explore published content from the past five years until now. By conducting an article search, you can efficiently navigate to find specific articles or as many as match your keywords and topics.

Our system scans each article in our global database for mentions of the keywords you’ve entered, whether it’s located in the article headline or body.

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Media Outlet Search allows you to explore different media outlets based on keywords, location, type, or other criteria to discover new platforms for pitching your freelance work, scoping out new job opportunities, or building professional partnerships.

Select the name of the search type listed above to access more information on how to conduct these types of searches.


Configure Search Preferences

Muck Rack search offers many different filters and it can be time-consuming to manually enter the same filters for every new search you run. Using Search Preferences you can define your preferred default search filter settings for new searches.

  1. Select Search preferences from above the Search tool.

    Shows the Muck Rack home page with 'Search preferences' link circled in red and a red arrow pointing to it above the search bar

  2. Configure your filters to your preference, then select the Save button at the bottom.

    Shows the 'Search preferences' panel open and someone selecting various options then the Save button

NOTE: When setting up Search Preferences from the search page, you may check the "Apply immediately" box to clear any previous filter selections and apply the defaults you just set up.

Shows a close up of the 'Apply immediately' checkbox next to the 'Cancel' and 'Save' buttons at the bottom


Boolean Search in Muck Rack

Boolean search combines keywords and operators to refine online searches and get more accurate results. The three basic operators used in boolean search are "AND," "OR," and "NOT," but there are more operators in advanced iterations.

Example of a keyword search:

Tesla

Example of a Boolean search:

Tesla AND CEO

Thumbnail of the Boolean Quick Reference Guide

Download our Boolean Quick Reference Guide for a full list of available operators, modifiers, and tips.

We recommend using filters as much as possible first, reviewing your initial search results, then adjusting your Boolean search string to further refine your results as needed.

Learn More in Muck Rack Academy

Want to learn more about Boolean search? Muck Rack's Become a Boolean Expert course will provide hands-on search education.


Search Filter Guide

If you come across a filter within search that you don't understand, use this guide to see how each filter functions. Filters have been listed in alphabetical order.

Filter

Function

Article Topics

Muck Rack will automatically analyze the text of an article, determine what it is about, and assign up to 4 Topics to that article.

You can then use the new Article Topics filters to include some, all, or none of the topics you see in your Article Search results.

Appears in: Article Search

Beats

Filter journalists based on the specific topics or industries they cover.

Appears in: People Search

Bios and Titles

By enabling this filter, the search results will only include journalists who have written blogs or articles with the specified terms in their titles. This filter allows users to target journalists who have created content specifically related to the keywords or topics of interest.

Appears in: People Search

Content Types

Allows you to filter results based on the specific type of content.

  • For Articles, this includes online or print

  • For Broadcast, this includes Radio or Television

Appears in: Article Search

Contributed Content

Allows you to specify whether your results should include media outlets that accept or do not accept contributors.

Appears in: Media Outlet Search

Date Range

Allows you to select a specific timeframe within which you want to search for articles. You can search up to 5 years.

Appears in: Article Search, People Search

Domain Authority

Only shows results from media outlets that have been given a Domain Authority score within the specified range (as provided by Moz).

Appears in: Article Search, Media Outlet Search

Domains

Search for articles from specific website domains. You can enter domain names related to specific websites to find articles published on those websites or from related sources. This filter helps You focus your search on articles from preferred domains or sources.

Appears in: Article Search

Frequency

Filter results based on how frequently a Media Outlet publishes content (daily, weekly, monthly, etc.).

Appears in: Media Outlet Search

Languages / Article Languages

Search for results with articles written in specific languages. You can select one or multiple languages to refine Your search.

Appears in: Article Search, People Search, Media Outlet Search

Locations

Allows you to search for articles based on geographic location.

Appears in: Article Search, People Search, Media Outlet Search

Markets

Narrow down results by specifying a particular geographic area based on the location of a media outlet.

Appears in: Article Search, People Search, Media Outlet Search

Media Lists

Enables you to search for articles or people only from the specified media list.

Appears in: Article Search, People Search

Media Outlets

Enables you to search for articles or people specifically from selected media outlets. You can choose specific media outlets or a combination of outlets to narrow down the search results to articles published by those particular sources.

Appears in: Article Search, People Search

Media Outlet Types

Filter articles based on the type of media outlet they are published in. You can select specific outlet types, such as newspapers, magazines, online publications, or broadcast outlets, to refine your search results according to your preferences.

Appears in: Article Search, People Search, Media Outlet Search

Must Appear In

Allows you to specify where your search terms must appear.

  • For Articles, you can specify whether terms appear in the Headline or Article body

  • For People, you can specify whether terms appear in their Name, Bio or title, Posts on X, Shared articles, Bylined articles, or Headlines

  • For Media Outlets, you can specify whether terms appear in the Name or Description of the outlet

Appears in: Article Search, People Search, Media Outlet Search

Outlet Lists

Enables you to search for articles or people only from the specified outlet list.

Appears in: Article Search, People Search

Scopes

Search for articles within specific areas or scopes of expertise. Like the "Scopes" filter in People Search, this filter helps you find articles that cover particular topics or industries of interest.

Appears in: Article Search, People Search, Media Outlet Search

Verification

Filters results based on verification status.

  • Verified articles have been independently fact-checked or vetted by reputable sources.

  • Verified journalists and media outlets are those who meet Muck Rack's criteria.

Appears in: Article Search, People Search, Media Outlet Search


Get Help

For additional help, contact support by choosing the chat icon in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen and selecting Messages > Send us a message.


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