If you do buy a list, BCC everyone at once. Treat it as a starting point, not a final product:
Direct email addresses and phone numbers.
You might find vendors selling "Targeted Media Lists" for a few hundred dollars. These are often outdated the moment you buy them. Journalists change roles frequently, and using an old list leads to high bounce rates and "spam" reports.
Media List 101: Build Yours Like a Pro (With Template Examples) - Cision
Use a tool like Hunter.io or NeverBounce to check if the emails are still active.
Filter the list down from 500 names to the top 20 who actually cover your specific topic.