# Building Journalist Outreach List From Twitter

> Builds targeted journalist and media contact lists from Twitter/X using apidojo's Twitter scrapers on Apify. Triggers when the user asks to: find journalists covering a specific beat or topic on Twitter, build a media outreach list from Twitter, identify reporters writing about an industry, find editors or writers at specific publications on X, create a PR contact list from Twitter, discover freelance journalists in a niche, or compile a list of media contacts for a press release or story pitch. Returns name, handle, publication affiliation from bio, follower count, and recent article topics. Ideal for PR agencies, startup communications teams, and founders doing press outreach.

- Skill: `apidojo-io/building-journalist-outreach-list-from-twitter` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add apidojo-io/building-journalist-outreach-list-from-twitter`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/apidojo-io/building-journalist-outreach-list-from-twitter/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- License: Apache-2.0
- Author: apidojo-io (https://skillmd.com/u/apidojo-io)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/apidojo-io/building-journalist-outreach-list-from-twitter

---


# Building a Journalist Outreach List from Twitter

Finds journalists and media professionals on Twitter/X who cover a specific beat, industry, or topic. Journalists are the heaviest users of Twitter for professional networking — it's the best platform to build a media contact list.

## Prerequisites

- `APIFY_TOKEN` environment variable set
- Optional: Apify MCP server installed


## Inputs

| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Notes |
|-----------|------|----------|---------|-------|
| `startUrls` | array | Optional | `[]` | Twitter profile or tweet URLs |
| `twitterHandles` | array | Optional | `[]` | Twitter usernames (without @) |
| `twitterUserIds` | array | Optional | `[]` | Twitter user IDs |
| `getFollowers` | boolean | Optional | `false` | Extract follower lists |
| `getFollowing` | boolean | Optional | `false` | Extract following lists |
| `getRetweeters` | boolean | Optional | `false` | Extract retweeters of a tweet URL |
| `includeUnavailableUsers` | boolean | Optional | `false` | Include unavailable/suspended users |
| `maxItems` | number | Optional | Unlimited | Maximum users to return |
| `customMapFunction` | string | Optional | — | JavaScript function to transform each output object |
## Workflow

```
Progress:
- [ ] Step 1: Define beat, industry, and target publications
- [ ] Step 2: Search for journalists tweeting about the beat
- [ ] Step 3: Enrich profiles to extract publication affiliation
- [ ] Step 4: Filter and verify journalist signals
- [ ] Step 5: Deliver press contact list
```

### Step 1: Clarify Parameters

Ask the user for:
- **Beat/topic** (e.g., "artificial intelligence", "climate tech", "fintech", "B2B SaaS")
- **Target publications** (optional — e.g., "TechCrunch", "Forbes", "Wired", "any tier-1 tech media")
- **Type** — staff writers, freelancers, or both
- **Geography** (optional — US, UK, global)
- **List size** (default: 30 contacts)

### Step 2: Search for Beat-Relevant Tweets

Find journalists actively tweeting about the beat — recency of coverage matters for outreach.


**Recommended — run_actor.js (handles waiting, output, and file saving automatically):**
```bash
# Quick answer (prints table to chat)
node scripts/run_actor.js \
  --actor "apidojo~twitter-user-scraper" \
  --input '{"param": "value"}'

# Save as CSV
node scripts/run_actor.js \
  --actor "apidojo~twitter-user-scraper" \
  --input '{"param": "value"}' \
  --output YYYY-MM-DD_results.csv --format csv

# Save as JSON
node scripts/run_actor.js \
  --actor "apidojo~twitter-user-scraper" \
  --input '{"param": "value"}' \
  --output YYYY-MM-DD_results.json --format json
```
> `APIFY_TOKEN` must be set in environment or `.env` file.

**If Apify MCP is available:**
```
Tool: apify:run-actor
Actor: "apidojo~tweet-scraper"
Input:
{
  "searchTerms": [
    "[TOPIC] journalist",
    "[TOPIC] reporter",
    "writing about [TOPIC]",
    "[TOPIC] story [current year]"
  ],
  "maxItems": 300,
  "tweetLanguage": "en"
}
```

Also run a second query for article link tweets (journalists tweet their published work):
```
Input:
{
  "searchTerms": ["[TOPIC] [publication_domain OR article link signal]"],
  "maxItems": 200
}
```

**REST API fallback:**
```bash
curl -X POST \
  "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/apidojo~tweet-scraper/runs?token=$APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "searchTerms": ["[TOPIC] journalist", "[TOPIC] reporter", "writing about [TOPIC]"],
    "maxItems": 300
  }'
```

Collect unique author usernames from all results.

### Step 3: Enrich Profiles

**If Apify MCP is available:**
```
Tool: apify:run-actor
Actor: "apidojo~twitter-user-scraper"
Input:
{
  "usernames": ["[username1]", "...", "up to 150 usernames"]
}
```

**REST API fallback:**
```bash
curl -X POST \
  "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/apidojo~twitter-user-scraper/runs?token=$APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"usernames": ["[username1]", "[username2]"]}'
```

### Step 4: Filter for Journalist Signals

Keep accounts where bio contains ANY of:
- Publication names (e.g., "TechCrunch", "@Forbes", "Bloomberg", "@Wired")
- Journalist titles: "reporter", "journalist", "editor", "correspondent", "writer at", "staff writer", "freelance writer", "contributing editor"
- Byline signals: "bylines at", "writes for", "covering"
- Press credentials: "press", "media"

**Follower range:** 1,000–500,000 (removes complete unknowns and major TV anchors who don't respond to pitches)

**Remove:** PR/comms people (bio says "PR", "communications", "agency"), brand accounts, academics without journalist credentials.

### Step 5: Format Output

## Output Format

```
# Journalist Outreach List: [BEAT/TOPIC]
Contacts found: [N] | Publication filter: [if any] | Date: [DATE]

## Contact List

| # | Name | @Handle | Publication | Beat | Followers | Recent Coverage |
|---|------|---------|-------------|------|-----------|-----------------|
| 1 | [name] | @[handle] | [pub] | [beat] | [N] | [recent tweet/article topic] |

## By Publication

### [Publication Name] ([N] contacts)
1. **[Name]** (@[handle]) — [title from bio] | [N] followers
   Recent tweet: "[excerpt showing beat relevance]"

2. **[Name]** (@[handle]) — [title] | [N] followers

### Freelancers / Independent ([N] contacts)
1. **[Name]** (@[handle]) — writes for [pubs mentioned in bio] | [N] followers

## Pitch Angle Notes
Based on recent tweets, the top 5 contacts are actively covering:
1. @[handle]: recently tweeted about [specific topic] — pitch angle: [suggestion]
2. @[handle]: covering [topic] — pitch angle: [suggestion]
```

## Personalization Tip

Before pitching, read the journalist's last 3 tweets and their most recent published article. Reference something specific. Generic pitches fail. The recent tweet data in this output enables that personalization without additional research.

## Troubleshooting

**Too many non-journalists in results:** Strengthen bio filter — require "reporter" OR "journalist" OR "editor" as exact words, not just a publication name.
**Can't find journalists for obscure beats:** Widen the search to adjacent beats or try the publication name directly as a search term.
**Follower counts seem stale:** For final outreach list, spot-check the top 10 contacts directly on Twitter.