With the digital transformation of the early 2000s, some news outlets have digitized while others are digital native, meaning they were born on the internet. Even though respected stalwarts such as the New York Times still print, Pew Research Center’s state of the newsroom indicates that print circulation is on the decline. What does the shifting media landscape mean for press monitoring?
The good: Big news coverage is a guarantee
Without the need to let printing presses dictate publishing schedules, articles are posted at all times of day. Because margins and layouts are more flexible in digital, articles often combine various formats: video, audio, text, photos, and even interactive virtual reality views. These articles are shared via email or social media networks. Improved indexing and search capabilities have made the digitization of news one of the best gifts to professionals keeping track of brand mentions.
Using NewsWhip Spike makes it easy to comprehensively monitor press in the digital age. We call our prediction algorithm the zero-surprise metric because in addition to providing coverage, our software takes the guesswork out of estimating impact.
The bad and the ugly: News can go viral, even if it’s fake news
Two African American customers were arrested at a Philadelphia Starbucks in April 2018, which the public largely attributed to racism. To make matters worse, a fabricated coupon promising free Starbucks reparations coffee for African Americans circulated around the internet adding fuel to the fire.
Although it’s difficult to control fake news that’s achieved viral status, media monitoring mitigates the damage and helps a brand assess how to respond. The best press monitoring catches news before it’s gone viral. Spike data catalogs news within 90 seconds of publishing from about a million global sources, giving an accurate indication of digital spread. Analytics can provide a historical view of fake news incidents pinpointing origin, swell, and the aftermath.
Visit the NewsWhip Research Center: It’s the central intelligence hub of NewsWhip where we regularly publish reports around changes to the social platforms and event-specific insights (Black Friday, Christmas, Super Bowl, World Cup, Brexit, Presidential Elections and much more). This multidisciplinary team is comprised of Content Strategists, Editors, Data Scientists, Research Associates and outside partners, including leaders in academia. The center focuses on demystifying the spread of news and information and provides insightful interpretation of the vast social data that surrounds us.
