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Claim or Create A Journalist Profile

Learn how to create, claim, and remove a journalist profile in Muck Rack

Nick Lemen avatar
Written by Nick Lemen
Updated over 2 months ago
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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 Muck Rack.

Claim or Create A Journalist Profile

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We believe in supporting the journalist community. Muck Rack was founded as a journalist tool, and we’ve stayed true to our commitment to journalists by promising to provide journalists with free tools to support their work, forever.

How Journalist Profiles Come to Be

You may be curious as to how your profile came to exist. Muck Rack ingests millions of articles a day from media outlets from all over the globe. In that process, we automatically identify the author of any article and assign that article to an existing profile or create a new one.

Our editorial team then updates selected profiles with publicly available information with the aim of having the profiles claimed and maintained by journalists.

Learn More About Solutions for Journalists

See our journalist solutions page or other Help Center articles for more information on what we provide.

⚠️ IMPORTANT: We realize that not everyone may want to have a page in our database. To remove your profile from Muck Rack, please contact us at hello@muckrack.com and provide a link to your profile.

Watch the video below to learn more about what details exist on a Journalist profile in Muck Rack.


Create a New Journalist Profile

You may wish to create a new Journalist Profile in Muck Rack or take control of an already existing one on Muck Rack. Either way, you'll need to start by signing up for a free user account.

  1. Navigate to the Account Signup page.

  2. Fill in the requested information and select the Sign up free button.

    1. Be sure to identify yourself as a Journalist

    2. You also have the option to sign up for the Muck Rack Daily newsletter.

      Show the Sign Up page with options to identify as a journalist and subscribe to the Muck Rack Daily newsletter.


  3. After you create a user account, we’ll send you a confirmation email to verify that it is really you. Select the Verify my email address button within this email.

    Shows the email address verification page.


  4. Once you’ve confirmed your email, you can customize your new Muck Rack profile.

    Shows the Profile landing page which defaults to the Bio & Title section.


Claim An Existing Muck Rack Profile

Claiming an existing Muck Rack Profile allows you to control your free publicly updated portfolio as well as take ownership of the information made available by Muck Rack to users. Our goal is to have every journalist controlling their Muck Rack profile as an active participant in editing and maintaining the data made available to media professionals.

After you verify your account email, if any matching profiles exist, Muck Rack will prompt you to claim the profile by asking “Is this you?”

  • Answering Yes will automatically merge the profile into your new account

  • Answering No will open the platform chat to flag for our team to assist further

Alternatively, you can claim a profile that has a matching X (Twitter) account.


Claim Your Profile Using Your X (Twitter) Account

  1. Navigate to the profile create page and select Connect to Twitter.

    Shows a 'Welcome to Muck Rack' message with a button labeled 'Connect to Twitter'


  2. Enter your X (Twitter) username/email and password, then select Authorize app.

    Shows the app authorization page with fields for username or email and password as well as the 'Authorize app' button


  3. Wait to be redirected back to Muck Rack.

    Shows a confirmation message that reads, 'Redirecting you back to the application. This make take a few moments.'


  4. Fill in your profile information and be sure to select Save changes.

    Shows the profile landing page again with a confirmation message at the top that reads, 'X (Twitter) account connected'


NOTE: If any existing profiles have a matching X handle, Muck Rack should automatically merge it into your new account once you have linked your X account.


Privacy

Muck Rack takes data privacy and security seriously and encourages journalists with any questions or concerns to contact us. We review all queries promptly and are happy to provide additional information or respond to any requests for updates or corrections.

Answers to most questions can be found in our Journalist Privacy Policy, but If you have any further questions or concerns, please reach out to us at privacy@muckrack.com.

Learn More About Privacy for Journalists

Learn more about your privacy options and how Muck Rack protects your data in our Privacy in Muck Rack for Journalists article.


Have Your Muck Rack Profile Removed

You can choose to hide your profile entirely or remove specific information included there. If you would like us to remove the profile Muck Rack maintains for you from our platform without claiming your profile, please contact us at hello@muckrack.com and provide a link to your profile.


Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Question

Answer

What are the benefits of having a verified profile on Muck Rack?

A verified profile on Muck Rack signifies that you meet the criteria set by Muck Rack's editorial team as a full-time journalist. This verification provides credibility and access to advanced features, including tools for monitoring media coverage, analyzing trends, and networking with other journalists. The green verified badge also helps you stand out to potential employers, editors, and PR professionals.

Is there any cost associated with creating or claiming a profile on Muck Rack?

No, creating or claiming a journalist profile on Muck Rack is completely free. Muck Rack offers its core services to journalists at no cost, providing tools and features to help you manage your online presence, stay informed about industry trends, and connect with other media professionals. Access to advanced features is available to our verified journalists.

How can I maximize the benefits of my Muck Rack profile?

Here are some of the ways to get the most out of your free Muck Rack profile:

  1. Upload a good photo, fill in your bio, and link out to your socials and sites.

  2. Choose your preferred contact email and phone number for PR pitches.

  3. Fill in your contact preferences and call out what you do and don’t cover.

  4. Be sure we’re monitoring your publications to automatically pull in new digital coverage.

  5. Highlight your best work via the Portfolio section - even multimedia and print!

  6. Get verified!

  7. Use Who Shared My Link to see who has shared and seen your work.

  8. Leverage Muck Rack’s powerful search engine to identify competition and see how certain topics are being covered. You can also set up news alerts and see trending stories!

  9. Use Trends to see how coverage of a certain topic trends over time.

  10. Keep track of the industry. See who’s changing jobs, subscribe to the Muck Rack Daily newsletter, and scan our jobs board!

What is Muck Rack and how does it support journalists?

Muck Rack got its start in 2009 to connect journalists on social media. It quickly became very popular, with more than 10,000 journalists requesting to be added to the site in the first year.

Today, tens of thousands around the world use Muck Rack’s free tools to showcase their work with online portfolios, analyze news about any topic and measure the impact of their stories.

How long does it take to set up a Muck Rack portfolio?

Setting up a Muck Rack portfolio is a quick and straightforward process. Most journalists can create a complete and professional-looking portfolio in less than an hour.

The platform’s user-friendly interface allows you to easily add your work, customize your profile, and specify your coverage topics. And even if you’re having trouble, Muck Rack’s editorial team is available to help out with any questions or concerns you may have.

How does Muck Rack work with PR professionals?

We want journalists to receive the most relevant and timely pitches from PR pros who use our platform. That means the more accurate our journalist profiles, the better the pitches. Claim your profile, set your pitch preferences and update your preferred contact information to help PR professionals understand how you like to work.

There are two profiles and/or emails for me and I need them combined. How do I do that?

If you are having any trouble claiming a profile or merging one profile with another, please avoid signing up for another account and reach out to us for help consolidating profiles.

You can reach out to us by selecting the chat widget in the bottom right-hand corner of the page and selecting 'Send us a message.'

I see some of my articles appearing on another journalist's profile. How do I get this fixed?

You can reach out to us by selecting the chat widget in the bottom right-hand corner of the page and selecting 'Send us a message.'


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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