In the era of information overload, we need media monitoring that cuts out the noise. As communicators, we know the power of agenda-setters that define the media landscape and influence stakeholders, and use that to power our media monitoring.
Media monitoring is essential for all communicators, but whether you’re using Google Alerts or a sprawling platform, those traditional methods can be overwhelming to use and underwhelming when you need them.
Traditional media monitoring tools cast a wide net, attempting to capture every mention, every article, and every social media post and then flood your inbox with irrelevant alerts from publications that your audience are never going to see.
The sheer volume of data can obscure the truly influential pieces of information. These tools often do not discriminate between a blog post from a relatively unknown source and a front-page story in The New York Times. This leads to an oversaturation of data and the risk of missing the real story.
Individuals only read so much news at any time. Agenda-setting theory is the well-established correlation between issues the media deem important and the public’s prioritization of those issues. Media consolidation is only driving more influence to the “towering heights” of media, while smaller publications like locally-focused news outlets have seen readership cut in half in just the past few years.
Focusing on the key outlets that drive the conversation, break news, and provide influential commentary from columnists with credibility is a straightforward way to stay ahead of the news without getting lost in it.
Every industry has its own definition of the agenda-setting media. The tech industry, for example, may focus on outlets like TechCrunch and The Information, while healthcare companies need to monitor Healthcare Dive and Modern Healthcare. No monitoring solution works if it does not have these industry-specific agenda-setting publications.
When communicators need to manage issues with stakeholders, waiting to read about it in the news may not be fast enough. No longer confined to just news media, these “key opinion formers” (KOFs) are people and organizations with influence and credibility on specific topics and with specific audiences that are proven to be effective at driving the conversation and spreading information online.
Effective media monitoring is not casting the widest net, but focusing on the news, people, and organizations that are driving the agenda and shaping stakeholder opinion on the issues that matter.
At Penta, we believe that a more focused approach, one that prioritizes influential news sources, can help communicators cut through the noise and understand the narratives that are truly driving public discourse.
Our media monitoring platform is built with this philosophy at its core. We emphasize the importance of agenda-setting news outlets, focusing on the sources that shape public opinion. By doing this, we offer a more meaningful and concise overview of the narrative landscape.
We know that more data isn’t always better – what matters is receiving the right data, at the right time, from the right sources.
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