How to Build a Restaurant Media List
Build a comprehensive, accurate media list of journalists, editors, bloggers, and influencers who cover restaurants in your market. The media list is the foundation of all PR outreach.
Identify your media categories
Organize your list into categories: daily newspapers (food section), alternative weeklies, city magazines, national food publications with local coverage, local TV stations (morning show producers), local radio, food bloggers, Instagram food accounts, TikTok creators, and podcast hosts covering food and dining.
Research local food journalists
Read every local publication's food coverage for the past 6 months. Identify which journalists cover openings, which cover trends, and which write reviews. Note their bylines, social media handles, and any specific interests or beats. Subscribe to their newsletters if they have them.
Find national outlets with local presence
Eater, Infatuation, Thrillist, and similar national outlets have city-specific coverage. Identify who covers your city for each. Check if food magazines (Bon Appétit, Food & Wine, Saveur) have recently covered your market. Add relevant travel media that cover dining destinations.
Map local influencers and bloggers
Search Instagram and TikTok for food content in your city using location tags and local hashtags (#[city]eats, #[city]food). Look for accounts with 5,000-100,000 followers and high engagement rates (3%+). Note their content style, posting frequency, and whether they typically accept invitations.
Organize with essential details
For each contact, record: name, title, outlet, email, phone (if available), social handles, beat/coverage area, recent relevant articles, and relationship notes. Use a spreadsheet or media database tool. Flag contacts by priority: Tier 1 (must-pitch), Tier 2 (pitch regularly), Tier 3 (pitch selectively).
Maintain and update continuously
Media lists degrade fast — journalists change beats and jobs frequently. Review and update your list quarterly. Track bounce-backs and update emails immediately. Note when journalists move to new outlets. Remove inactive contacts and add new voices covering food in your market.
Pro Tips
- Start with 50-75 quality contacts rather than 500 outdated ones
- LinkedIn is excellent for finding journalist email patterns and confirming current positions
- Many journalists list their email in their social media bios or publication profiles
- Muck Rack and Cision are professional tools, but a well-maintained spreadsheet works for most restaurants
Frequently Asked Questions
How many contacts should be on a restaurant media list?
For a single-location restaurant, 50-100 well-researched, active contacts is more effective than a 500-name blast list. Quality beats quantity every time. A list of 50 journalists you know and who know you will generate more coverage than 500 cold contacts.
Should I buy a media list?
Purchased lists are generally low-quality and often outdated. They also don't include the personal research and relationship notes that make outreach effective. Build your own list through research — it takes more time upfront but produces dramatically better results.
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