Media monitoring is vital in the Public Relations industry. It is essentially important for PR Practitioners to be updated on current affairs, policies or news. By being updated, it will help the PR Practitioner to come up with better strategies and the ability to provide better services to clients.
Prior to the internship, my perception of media monitoring is simply flipping through newspapers, magazines or browsing online.
However, my idea of media monitoring changed when I was given the opportunity to do it. I was tasked to monitor financial news for a client doing Investor Relations. I had no financial background and most often, I was confused by all the financial terms used by the various Medias.
Thus, I couldn't understand most of the articles and was struggling to pick out relevant articles for the client. Nevertheless, practice makes perfect. Things moved faster and easier after some guidance and reading.
Media monitoring for this particular client was only limited to the online platform.
On the other hand, I had to monitor hard copies of the various Medias (newspapers, magazines, etc.) for a consumer client.
The challenge came when I was instructed to flip through magazines in convenience stores or book shops. This is done to cut cost as the client will only be paying for copies with an editorial of themselves. Hence, I often need to sneak around to avoid being caught by the store keepers and reprimanded.
I encountered problems as I was always caught and dislike the feeling of being sneaky. Thus, very often I will purchase the anticipated copies instead. On one hand I will be able to complete my tasks. On the other hand, I made use of the copies to learn more about the Medias and understanding them.
Scanned copy of the page, featuring the editorial, had to be sent to the client. Scanning the page requires some knowledge too.
In order to display professionalism, the page has to be scanned perfectly (without dark edges, creased lines etc.). Editing of the image has to be done to eliminate white spaces.
Despite all the difficulties and trouble, I began to enjoy media monitoring. It is definitely a task no PR Practitioner can escape from!
Regards,
Yiwen
Curtin Singapore
4 comments:
Your are touching on some very important ethical issues here, Yiwen. Thank you for this very honest insight into media monitoring.
Now - at the end of the placement - you are probably realising how much you have learned - and how much better you are starting to understand your clients' industries.
Good work!
Hi Yiwen,
I enjoyed reading your post on media monitoring.
At my placement, I had to make use of an online media monitoring program that allowed you to search through all different types of media such as newspapers and radio.
It sounds like you have been working very hard and learning lots of new techniques you can make use of in the future.
Good luck with the rest of your placement.
Mei (Curtin Bentley)
Hi there!
Well I have to agree with you on the 'easy' perceptions we have about media monitoring.
I too had limited knowledge about media monitoring before embarking upon my internship.
The consultancy where I was placed, Media Monitoring (called IMM) is an important media relations effort. It is a precussor to future strategy, a proof of ROI and also a way to keep tabs on client's competitor.
For more on media monitoring check out my post on the same subject.
Cheers!
Suhas
Miri
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