Tracking media on your organization and issues:
Get an email alert every time your chosen person/topic/ organization/issue is mentioned in the news.
Set up a feed aggregator to compile feeds from your favourite news sources and have them sent them to your device.
Boolean operators connect your search words together to either narrow or broaden your set of results.
The three basic boolean operators are: AND, OR, and NOT.
Why use Boolean operators?
Use AND in a search to:
The purple triangle in the middle of the Venn diagram below represents the result set for this search. It is a small set using AND, the combination of all three search words.
Be aware: In many, but not all, databases, the AND is implied.
Use OR in a search to:
All three circles represent the result set for this search. It is a big set because any of those words are valid using the OR operator.
Use NOT in a search to:
Boolean searching content by the MIT Libraries, CC BY-NC 4.0
Advanced Twitter Searching Tips
[search term] Filter:news [search term] Filter:retweets [search term] Near:[location] [search term] Within:[distance] To:[handle] from:[handle] [search term] Since:[date] |
[search term] Until:[date] [search term] min_faves: [number] [search term] min_retweets:[number] [search term] :-) [search term] :-( [keyword] AND Instagram.com |
Examples: #westjet filter:news from:nenshi filter:retweets #plasticfree near:Calgary to:@nenshi since:2020-12-01 until:2021-01-10 To:@westjet :-( "Rachel notley" -from:rachelnotley -@rachelnotley [keyword] AND Instagram.com |
Class Activity:
Work in groups of 2 or 3 to review this press release, conduct a scan of the media coverage, and answer the following questions.
Using the MRU Library news databases, find at least three news outlets that are reporting it.
What database or tool did you use to locate these sources?
Briefly scan the coverage on Twitter. Is it mostly positive or negative? What is the nature of the reaction?
What particular groups, interests, and perspectives do you see?
What aspects of the company's messaging are being highlighted, left out, or amplified in the media coverage?
If you were the PR professional at this company, what could you learn from this media coverage? What additional research should you do in light of this coverage?
Share your answers on a Google Slide (link to the slide deck below).
Get tips, tools and strategies for news searching, scanning and evaluating media from these guides by First Draft.