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Coverage Reports

Create, automate, customize, and export Coverage Reports in Muck Rack.

Nikki Craig avatar
Written by Nikki Craig
Updated today

Article Contents


Coverage Reports

Coverage Reports offer a comprehensive overview of your organization's media coverage, highlighting press hits from various sources such as newspapers, magazines, and online publications. By consolidating media mentions and interactions into a single, easy-to-digest format, these reports help you gain valuable insights into your brand's visibility, reach, and overall reputation in the media landscape.

Muck Rack Academy Essentials

You can learn about Coverage Reports by taking the Coverage Report course in the Muck Rack Academy.


Create a Coverage Report

Creating a Coverage Report can be done from scratch or through Alerts.

Watch the video or follow the steps below to learn how to create a Coverage Report.

⚠️ Important: Coverage Reports are restricted from adding more than 10,000 articles simultaneously. You can effectively manage this limitation by refining your search using specific date ranges. For instance, by filtering articles based on time intervals such as the first half of the year, you can gradually import segmented batches of articles, each containing up to 10,000 entries.

(Select the "Step-by-Step Instructions" dropdown to learn more)

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Go to Reporting > Coverage Reports

2. Select Create New.

3. Fill out the desired information and then select Save.


Navigate a Coverage Report

When you access a coverage report, the Article Overview section will provide visual data on your report. Watch the video below or continue reading to learn more about these topics.

Select each item listed below to view a preview and description of each tab available within a Coverage Report.

Article Overview Tab

In the Article Overview tab, you'll see top-level metrics for the set of coverage. Included at the top of every report are several engagement metrics.

Articles Tab

The Articles tab is the central place to view the individual articles that make up your report. Every Coverage Report will be created with a set of default columns which can be customized to fit your needs.

Clips Tab


The Clips tab provides access and analysis of Broadcast Clips added to your Coverage Report.

NOTE: Access to Broadcast Clips is a paid add-on feature. To get Broadcast added to your Muck Rack account, contact your Customer Success Manager via Email, or contact Support.


Coverage Report Data

Muck Rack offers various types of data points and metrics to make it easy to quantify your PR campaigns. For a full list of the data that can be seen or added to Coverage Reports (such as Engagement, Journalist Shares, UVM, and AVE) visit our Coverage Report Data article.


Customize a Coverage Report

Tailoring coverage reports ensures relevance, allows targeted analysis, and facilitates better team collaboration. With features like custom columns, filters, and other helpful tools, you can present information meaningfully, inform data-driven decisions, and optimize your media strategy.

Watch the video or continue reading below to learn more.

How to Enable Custom Columns

Custom Columns in Coverage Reports allow you to add your organization’s unique data to your press hits, enabling you to work directly with the most up-to-date coverage in Muck Rack. Column options provide over 30 data options that you can use in your Coverage Reports.

1. Go to the Articles section of your Coverage Report.


2. Select Edit Columns.

3. Toggle the Column options ON and OFF to view or hide them.

How to Add Custom Data

Some data within the columns will be blank unless it is customized manually.

You can edit the custom data for your Coverage Report at any time in your Settings and Sharing using the following steps.

1. From the Articles tab, select More, then select Settings.


2. Select Custom Data.


3. Under each option, type to add column choices as needed and then select Save.

How to Assign Custom Data to Articles

Assign Custom Data to Single Articles

  1. In the Articles tab of your report, scroll to your new custom columns and click Edit for a pop-up to appear that allows you to edit a given article’s data:

  2. Select the choices for your custom columns in the Edit Article pop-up and click Save. For example, assign the Placement Type “Feature” to your recent feature in The New York Times.

Assign Custom Data in Bulk

You can bulk assign items in your Coverage Report(s) with your various Custom Columns choices by selecting the checkboxes next to any articles and selecting Edit in the upper blue action bar.

How to Edit Subscribers

1. Go to the report and select More, then select Settings:

2. Under Sharing, use the dropdown to select the team you'd like to share this report with.

3. Select the Save button at the bottom.

How to Connect Pitches to Your Coverage

Connect articles in your Coverage Reports to specific Pitches that your organization has sent through Muck Rack.

Connecting Pitches to Coverage

  1. From your Coverage Reports page, click into an individual Coverage Report

  2. Navigate to the Articles tab and toggle on the column labeled Pitch Placement

  3. Within the Pitch Placements column, select the Edit button next to Select Pitch

  4. In the Edit Article modal, select a Pitch to associate with the article

  5. Click Save

Assigning Articles to a Pitch in Bulk

  1. From the Articles tab of the applicable Coverage Report, select the checkboxes next to the articles you wish to associate with a pitch

  2. Click the Attribute Coverage to Pitch dropdown in the blue action bar and select the pitch to associate.

Edit Article Details in a Coverage Report

Coverage Reports automatically include snippets of text from articles added, along with details such as the article title, byline, publishing outlet, publication date, and sentiment. At times, you may need to edit these details for accuracy.

  1. Go to the Articles tab in your Coverage Report

  2. Click Edit under the Actions menu for the article you’d like to change, or hover over the article details and select Edit

  3. Update your desired fields (e.g. title, media outlet, author, publication date, sentiment, article snippet)

  4. Click Save

See our Help Center article on Sentiment Reports to learn more about bulk-updating article sentiment in Coverage Reports.


Automate a Coverage Report

Using Alerts, you can have coverage automatically added to your report, saving you valuable time and effort. There are two ways you can automate a Coverage Report. Select each option below for step-by-step instructions.

From Alert Settings

1. Navigate to the Alert Settings page.

2. Under General Settings, scroll down to the Automate Coverage Report section.

3. Select an existing Coverage Report using the dropdown menu or enter a new Coverage Report Name to create a new Coverage Report.

4. Select the Save button.

From Coverage Report Settings

From the settings of your Coverage Report, you can automate coverage through an Alert or through Keywords and filters.

Alerts

1. Navigate to your Coverage Report Settings page.

2. Scroll down to the Data automation section.

3. Toggle the Add content from Alerts option to ON.

4. Select the Alert you'd like to use to gather content for your report using the Select Alerts dropdown.

5. Select the Save button.

Keywords and filters

1. Navigate to your Coverage Report Settings page.


2. Scroll down to the Data automation section.

3. Toggle the Keywords & filters option to ON

4. Add your boolean string under Keywords to monitor

5. Toggle ON Articles and tweets to automatically add articles that match your keywords and filters. Here you can add any relevant filters, such as location, language, etc.

6. Toggle ON Broadcast clips to automatically add broadcast clips to your Coverage Reports that match your keywords and filters.

📌 NOTE: When broadcast clips are added to your Coverage Reports through keywords and filters, you will still need to save the broadcast clip to ensure the video and transcript remain available. Learn more about clip availability and how to save broadcast clips here.

7. Select the Save button.


Populate a Coverage Report

When you automate a Coverage Report, the report will only populate with articles published from that point on. If you would like to add any coverage that's been published already, you can quickly backfill your Coverage Report from an article search.

(Select the "Step-by-Step Instructions" dropdown to learn more)

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Run an Article Search for the query you want to use to populate your report.


2. Select individual articles by selecting the checkbox to the left of each headline OR bulk select the entire list of articles by selecting the checkbox at the top of the results page and choose Select all.

⚠️ Important: Coverage Reports are restricted from adding more than 10,000 articles simultaneously. You can effectively manage this limitation by refining your search using specific date ranges. For instance, by filtering articles based on time intervals such as the first half of the year, you can gradually import segmented batches of articles, each containing up to 10,000 entries.


3. Select Add to Coverage Reports in the action bar that appears. Enter the Name of your Coverage Report or create a new report.


Bulk Add URLs to a Coverage Report

If you have articles that you located outside of Muck Rack that you would like to add to your Coverage Report, you can bulk add up to 100 URLs at a time.

(Select the "Step-by-Step Instructions" dropdown to learn more)

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Go to the desired Coverage Report and select More > Add Content > Add URLs


2. Copy and paste the URLs of the articles you want to add, separating multiple links with line breaks.

3. Select the Add links button.

NOTE: If you have more than 100 URLs to add to your Coverage Report, contact our Customer Support team using the chat bubble or by emailing us at support@muckrack.com.


Group Duplicate Content

Group similar articles together in Coverage Reports to streamline your results and better track important press coverage. The report will organize duplicate articles, showing unique results first.

How does this work?

Duplicates are identified when articles have similar content. An Original badge appears if an article is deemed the primary source, considering various factors like external links, brand, and publication time.

Check out the video to learn more about the feature, or follow the step-by-step instructions below.

(Select the relevant dropdown below to learn more)

Filter Duplicate Content

1. Go to a Coverage Report > Articles and select + Add Filter

2. Select Duplicates.

3. Choose either Articles with duplicates or Articles with no duplicates, then select Apply.

NOTE: The article representing the duplicate group, shown in the main table of the report without expanding "Show All Duplicates", may or may not be the original article. The article shown in the report's main table depends on the sorting order applied to the Coverage Report.

NOTE: Sometimes new duplicate articles will initially appear outside of the duplicate group. If this happens, they will typically be processed into the existing group within 30 minutes.

Group Duplicate Content

  1. Visit your Coverage Report and access More > Settings:

  2. You can adjust the duplicate grouping settings on a report level under the option Duplicate Content Is:

  3. Choose Grouped Together to group duplicate content within your report.


    NOTE: This setting is automatically enabled in all Coverage Reports.


Coverage Report Spike Notifications

Leveraging proprietary algorithms driven by Artificial Intelligence, Muck Rack will now send notifications directly to a user's inbox when a sharp increase in the number of articles is detected in any of the automated Coverage Reports they own or subscribe to.

How does this work?

Our AI tracks news trends over various timeframes like days, weeks, and months. When we notice an unusual increase in coverage for a report, we call it a 'spike' and send you an email notification, helping you make the most of the heightened attention. Our AI adapts the spike thresholds as it learns, ensuring you only get notified about the most relevant stories.

The algorithm works by analyzing user-curated Coverage Reports, checking for deviations from normal coverage levels, and sending an email if it's significantly higher than usual, all within 24 hours.

(Select the "Step-by-Step Instructions" dropdown to learn more)

Step-by-Step Instructions


You can turn these notifications ON or OFF by using the following steps:

1. Go to Organization Settings.

2. In the Monitoring section, select the toggle next to Coverage Report spike notifications.

NOTE: By default, users have this feature turned ON.


Export a Coverage Report

When you need to share articles and their impact with clients or colleagues, you can export your Coverage Report to Excel, PDF, or Rich Text.

(Select the "Step-by-Step Instructions" dropdown to learn more)

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Go to Reporting > Coverage Reports and click the title of the Coverage Report you want to export.


2. Select Export and choose your export format.

3. Select either Filtered rows (will export only columns you have turned ON and uses the dates in your date filter) or All rows (will export every available row).

Export Formats

Format

Preview

Excel

  • Includes clickable URLs

  • Includes columns and rows that are available within the original Coverage Report

  • Can leverage Excel functionality to sort and filter if needed

PDF

  • Provides a summary of metrics at the top

  • Includes clickable URLs and Clips of the articles

  • Includes data for each article based on the columns and rows enabled in the original Coverage Report

Rich Text (Outlet name with linked title)

  • Provides a list of articles with the Outlet Name first, then a clickable URL to the article

  • Great to copy and paste into communications, Presentations, reports, etc.


TIP: You can copy and paste links into a Text Only slide within your Presentations to provide a full list of articles if desired.

Rich Text (Linked outlet name only)

  • Provides a list showing only the Outlet Names, with clickable URLs that open each article

NOTE: You can customize what elements of your Coverage Report are exported by adjusting the Columns and Filters within the Articles Tab.

⚠️ IMPORTANT: When exporting your Coverage Report in an Excel format, a Journalist Statuses tab will appear, which contains all journalists who have Tweeted the articles in your report along with each of their tweets.


Frequently Asked Questions

Question

Answer

How do I delete duplicates?

Expand the target duplicate group by selecting "Show All Duplicates". From there, select the entire subtable by clicking the top-left checkbox. Unselect any articles you want to retain and then delete the rest.

If I add in several article URLs that are in the same duplicate group, will they still all appear as separate rows in the coverage report?

If duplicate grouping is active for the coverage report, all articles within a duplicate group would be displayed with all of the duplicates underneath it.

Do all duplicate groups have an original article?

If there isn’t sufficient evidence to determine an ‘Original’ article, none will be chosen.

How do I easily delete duplicates from a coverage report?

Expand the target duplicate group by selecting "Show All Duplicates". From there, select the entire subtable by clicking the top-left checkbox. Unselect any articles you want to retain and then delete the rest.

What if UVM isn’t available for a media outlet?

If available, the UVM for a media outlet will be displayed directly on its profile page (e.g. http://muckrack.com/nyt). A media outlet that does not have UVM will display N/A, signifying that the data isn’t currently available from Comscore or SimilarWeb.

Media outlets are automatically updated when any new or additional UVM data is available, so you always have the most up-to-date information we’re able to provide.

How do I turn on AVE (Advertising Value Equivalency) in my Coverage Report?

You can turn on the AVE (Advertising Value Equivalency) under the filters on the left-hand side of the Articles tab of your Coverage Report. Under the "Media Outlet Data" section, toggle on the AVE:

This will display AVE for individual articles on the Articles tab and an overall metric on the Overview tab. You can learn more about AVE in reporting here: Enabling and Configuring AVE in Coverage Reports.


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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