With an ever increasing quantity of healthcare blogs, Web sites and other digital venues, do you ever wonder if this media growth translates to more news or just better distribution of stories already generated by the mainstream press? Or if commenting on an article actually triggers more coverage on a topic?
If so, you’re not alone. A recent New York Times article explains how the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard pondered the same questions before launching Media Cloud, a quantitative approach to tracking news coverage so users can determine what topics are or aren’t being covered, who’s driving the agenda, what keeps a story in the news and much more.
While the site is still under development, Media Cloud offers a preview of where media coverage tracking and analysis is headed in the future. Unlike a clipping service which can only tell you where a company or product name gets mentioned, Media Cloud’s data-driven approach is a significant step toward understanding how company-related news is being generated within the context of other news and overarching industry trends.
Having access to this type of information enables PR professionals to more effectively secure the desired level of media coverage for their clients because they know not only what makes news, but also how stories are evolving in today’s constantly changing media landscape, from who’s shaping the dialogue to what the competition has to say about it. As Media Cloud continues to expand its offering, it will be interesting to see how this tool might revolutionize the way that companies track, measure and analyze the impact of their media coverage so they can better shape their message to the market.
