Volume 3, Issue 7 July 2026
The industry’s only tool database 100% focused on Public Relations Tools
School’s Out for Summer!
This week we wrapped up our final week of Spring/Summer PR Tool School with an exploration of Media Contact Databases. With 30 categories of tools in the database, Tool School is an opportunity to take a deep dive into each category and explore the depth of tools that are available to PR pros and communicators.
PRToolFinder is the authoritative discovery platform for the PR technology ecosystem—where buyers discover solutions, vendors build visibility, and AI finds trusted industry context.
With the new addition of a Thursday “Guide” that we also published each week, we decided to test AI’s ability to surface tools on its own and compare to how thorough it is in finding all of the tools. Turns out, it pretty much consistently surfaced only 50% of the tools in the PRToolFinder collection. So, not so thorough. For some, it will be “good enough.” But is it really? What if the tool that didn’t come up would have been perfect for you, your business and your budget?
If you need a quick way to catch up, we link to all of the Tool School posts and you can always catch up by watching our 2 minute category video overviews in our Video Resource Center. Each one is packed with bite size practical insights and tool highlights for busy communicators!
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ICYMI…PRToolSchool all in One Place!
7/23: Choosing the Right Media Contact Database for Your PR Team (Quick Guide)
7/20: Tool School Week 8 – Will AI Replace Media Contact Databases?
7/9: Best AI Video Generation Tools for PR Professionals (Quick Guide)
7/6: Tool School Week 7 – How PR Professionals Are Using AI to Create Video
7/2: Influencer Marketing: How to Find the Right Creators, Measure Results (Quick Guide)
6/29: Tool School Week 6 – Influencer Marketing Tools: How to Find the Right Creators
6/25: – Media Monitoring Tools Compared (Quick Guide)
6/22: Tool School Week 5 – Is Your Media Monitoring Tool Measuring What Matters?
6/18: Podcast Search & Directory Tools for PR Pros (Quick Guide)
6/15: Tool School Week 4: How PR Professionals Use Podcasts to Build Visibility and Trust
6/4: Best Social Media Management Tools for PR Professionals (Quick Guide)
6/1: Tool School Week 3 – How PR Pros Are Managing Social Media Without Losing Their Minds (or Their Entire Day)
5/21: AI Writing Tools for PR: What to Use and When (Quick Guide)
5/18: Tool School Week 2 – How PR Pros Are Using AI to Write Faster and Smarter
5/26: What Can PRToolFinder.com Do That AI and G2 Can’t?
5/14: PR Design Tools & Image Libraries – What to Use and When (Quick Guide)
5/11: Tool School Week 1: How PR Pros Create Hi-Impact Graphics Without a Design Team
What’s New in PRToolFinder?
Tools Added:
MediaList.com: Media Contact DataBase category
Précis PR Platform – Categories: PR Management Tools, AI Gen Text, AI Gen Video, AI Gen Graphics
Influencer Marketing Tools:
Companion (IM Companion): Influencer Marketing Tools
Sphereus: Influencer Marketing Tools
Social Rails (Social Media Management & Scheduling)
Tools Removed: None
PR Tool News & Trends
Muck Rack Licenses MIT Technology Review Content to Expand AI and Emerging Technology Monitoring – giving public relations and communications professionals access to the publication’s full editorial coverage—including paywalled articles—as organizations increasingly seek authoritative sources to monitor rapidly evolving technology trends.
NotebookLM is now Gemini Notebook – You can continue to use Gemini Notebook across web and mobile (Android or iOS) as a standalone experience. You can also access your notebooks directly in the Gemini App.
Press Ranger Launches the First MCP Server for Press Release Distribution – connects AI assistants including Claude, ChatGPT, and OpenAI Codex directly to Press Ranger, turning an ordinary AI conversation into a complete press release workflow.
Cision Adds AI Search Visibility to CisionOne – Helping PR Teams Track How Brands Appear in AI Answers
Onclusive has appointed Peter Harris as chief executive – Peter joins from CRM software provider Pipedrive, where he served as president.
Medianet Becomes First Partner to Integrate TVEyes Premium Media Player – bringing enhanced broadcast and podcast monitoring capabilities to communications professionals across Australia.
PeakMetrics Recognized as a Pace Setter in the 2026 Gartner® Inaugural Emerging Market Quadrant for Narrative Intelligence — Startup Vendors – Gartner defines narrative intelligence tools as those that help organizations preemptively detect and monitor narratives using a broad range of data from various sources (such as social media, news media, the dark web, internal communications channels, and other digital content).
Featured Launches an MCP Server, Bringing AI Agents to PR Agencies – The MCP server is Featured’s first PR agent-facing surface. As Featured extends the co-pilot’s capabilities within the PR space — narrative planning, messaging, reporting, crisis communications, event management, and investor relations — the company plans to bring those workflows into MCP as well, alongside the browser-based product.
News Marketing: The 28-Day Discipline That Keeps Brands Findable, provides a practical framework for helping organizations improve discoverability in AI-powered search and answer engines. A New Book By David McGinnis who founded PRWeb in 1997 and pioneered online press release distribution that allowed organizations to publish news directly to the web, reach consumers, and improve search visibility—changing the traditional newswire model.
For the remainder of the Summer, each Friday we will post a new episode in our fun-filled series that looks at how we got to where we are today by revisiting key milestones in the history of marketing! Check out Part 1: From Billboards to Bots: Marketing’s Wild Evolution (A History of Marketing, Short Version).
Whether you’re an official paid member or enjoying our free tier, we’re happy you’re here! Paid subscribers save hours by having access to pricing and key features. Paid members can also participate in our community forum where members network, ask questions, and share insights.
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