# Journalist Requests Feed (HARO Alternative) (`mambo_melon/journalist-requests`) Actor

Open media requests from journalists in one feed: SourceBottle call-outs plus #journorequest, #prrequest, #mediarequest and similar posts on Bluesky and Mastodon. Deadlines, outlet, country, contact emails, topic tags. Schedule it daily and get only new requests.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/mambo\_melon/journalist-requests.md
- **Developed by:** [Joran Morgan](https://apify.com/mambo_melon) (community)
- **Categories:** News, Lead generation
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $6.00 / 1,000 journalist requests

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Journalist Requests Feed (HARO Alternative)

A daily feed of journalists looking for sources: every open call-out on SourceBottle, plus #journorequest, #prrequest, #mediarequest, #bloggerrequest and similar posts from Bluesky and Mastodon. One table with the outlet, country, deadline, days left, contact emails when the journalist posted one, and the topics each request is about.

Since HARO wound down, these requests are spread over paid platforms, a free site or two and hashtags. I got tired of checking all of them for clients, so this pulls the free, public ones together, removes duplicates (the same call-out is often posted to several sections or cross-posted with different hashtags) and puts the ones matching your topics first. Run it every morning with "only new requests" on and you get a short list of fresh opportunities instead of the same ones again.

### Example

Input:

```json
{ "keywords": ["small business", "finance", "health"], "onlyNewRequests": true }
```

Two rows from a real run (Sep 29 2026):

```json
[
  {
    "source": "SourceBottle",
    "title": "When did you know you could quit the 9-5 to pursue your business full-time?",
    "summary": "I'm a personal finance reporter looking to speak to a business owner willing to provide some financial details behind making the leap to going full-time as a business-owner. Did it require turning over a particular profit? A certain percentage of your prior salary income?",
    "url": "https://www.sourcebottle.com/query.asp?iid=62&qid=161565",
    "requesterName": "Australian Financial Review",
    "requesterType": "Journalist",
    "verifiedMedia": true,
    "country": "Australia",
    "localOnly": false,
    "topics": ["finance", "business"],
    "contactEmails": [],
    "deadline": "2026-10-09T17:00:00+00:00",
    "deadlineText": "9 October 2026 @ 5pm",
    "daysLeft": 10,
    "isOpen": true,
    "matchedKeywords": ["finance"],
    "isNew": true
  },
  {
    "source": "Bluesky",
    "title": "Wanted right now: Estate agent for kitchen value campaign",
    "summary": "Wanted right now: Estate agent for kitchen value campaign. Deadline 29 Sept, 14:37. #JournoRequest — the brief and how to reply: https://www.thesourceradar.com/r/cmulamc7b000a8ddiuwvozs5v",
    "url": "https://bsky.app/profile/thesourceradar.bsky.social/post/3mwlqepvkyq2n",
    "requesterName": "thesourceradar.bsky.social",
    "authorHandle": "thesourceradar.bsky.social",
    "deadline": "2026-09-29T14:37:00+00:00",
    "deadlineText": "Deadline 29 Sept, 14:37",
    "daysLeft": 0,
    "isOpen": true,
    "matchedKeywords": [],
    "isNew": true
  }
]
```

Every row has the same fields (`null` when a source doesn't provide something). The **Pitch queue** view shows days left, title, outlet, country, your matched topics, emails and the link to respond.

### Sources

| Source | What's collected |
|---|---|
| SourceBottle | All 12 sections: title, full brief, outlet, requester type, country, verified-media flag, local-only flag, deadline |
| Bluesky | Posts with #journorequest, #journorequests, #prrequest, #mediarequest, #bloggerrequest, #sourcerequest, #journorequestuk, #podcastguestwanted |
| Mastodon | The same hashtags on mastodon.social, journa.host, newsie.social, mstdn.social, mas.to and masto.ai |

Social posts are kept only if they read like an actual request ("looking for", "wanted right now:", "writing a piece on"...). Promotional posts from matchmaking services and replies are dropped. Deadlines written in the post ("Deadline 3 Oct, 5pm") are parsed into `deadline` and `daysLeft`; posts without a stated deadline are kept with `deadline: null`.

Honest note on volume: SourceBottle usually has a few dozen open call-outs at any time and the hashtags add a handful to a couple of dozen a day. It's a focused list, not thousands of rows.

### Input

| Field | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| `keywords` | Your topics. Matching requests are tagged and listed first | empty |
| `keywordsOnly` | Drop requests that match none of your topics | off |
| `onlyNewRequests` | Only requests not returned to you in earlier runs | off |
| `onlyOpenDeadlines` | Hide requests whose deadline has passed | on |
| `sources` | `sourcebottle`, `bluesky`, `mastodon` | all |
| `socialLookbackDays` | How far back to read social posts | 7 |
| `sourceBottleIndustries` | Limit SourceBottle to some sections | all |
| `maxRequests` | Cap on rows | 500 |

### Setting it up as a daily alert

Create a schedule for every weekday morning, turn on `onlyNewRequests`, and connect the dataset to Slack, email, Google Sheets or your CRM with an Apify integration (or Zapier, Make, n8n). An AI agent can also call it through the Apify MCP server to triage requests and draft pitches.

### FAQ

**Is this the old HARO?**
No. HARO's email digests aren't public, and Qwoted, Featured and similar platforms need an account. This collects the requests that are publicly posted.

**Why are some deadlines missing?**
Many social posts don't state one. SourceBottle always does.

**Can I reply from here?**
Each row has the `url` to respond: the SourceBottle page (free account needed to reply there), the post itself, or the journalist's link.

**What does it cost?**
See the Pricing tab. You pay per request returned, so a daily run with "only new requests" stays cheap.

### Notes

Only public pages and public APIs are read. If a source changes and something looks off, open an issue and I'll fix it.

# Actor input Schema

## `keywords` (type: `array`):

Topics you or your clients can speak on, e.g. 'personal finance', 'cybersecurity', 'nutrition'. Matching requests are tagged and listed first.

## `keywordsOnly` (type: `boolean`):

Drop requests that don't mention any of your topics.

## `onlyNewRequests` (type: `boolean`):

Return only requests this Actor hasn't returned to you in earlier runs.

## `onlyOpenDeadlines` (type: `boolean`):

Skip requests whose deadline has already passed. Requests without a stated deadline are kept.

## `sources` (type: `array`):

Where to look.

## `socialLookbackDays` (type: `integer`):

How far back to read Bluesky and Mastodon posts.

## `sourceBottleIndustries` (type: `array`):

Limit SourceBottle to some sections. Empty = all.

## `maxRequests` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of requests to return.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "keywords": [
    "small business",
    "finance",
    "health"
  ],
  "keywordsOnly": false,
  "onlyNewRequests": false,
  "onlyOpenDeadlines": true,
  "sources": [
    "sourcebottle",
    "bluesky",
    "mastodon"
  ],
  "socialLookbackDays": 7,
  "maxRequests": 500
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `pitch` (type: `string`):

No description

## `full` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "keywords": [
        "small business",
        "finance",
        "health"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("mambo_melon/journalist-requests").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "keywords": [
        "small business",
        "finance",
        "health",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("mambo_melon/journalist-requests").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "keywords": [
    "small business",
    "finance",
    "health"
  ]
}' |
apify call mambo_melon/journalist-requests --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,mambo_melon/journalist-requests"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/i1UjPAF4RxVAINlGA/builds/cSijogoCIFpN6FRru/openapi.json