FreePint Series Keeps You On Top of the Changing Landscape in News Aggregation
Jinfo Blog

By Andrew Grave

Abstract

The FreePint Topic Series: Beyond Aggregation launched this month and runs until the end of November. Reviews of key news aggregator and awareness tools form a key part of the Series which brings eight product reviews in addition to M-Adaptive already published, plus three mini reviews. Series producer Andrew Grave also previews the articles and webinars in the series, covering areas such as customised integrations of news content and news awareness technology installations.

Item

The FreePint Topic Series: Beyond Aggregation launched earlier this month and runs until the end of November.

External news plays an important role across many areas of an organisation and this has been reflected in the high number of responses to the FreePint Survey: News Needs and Preferences 2013. The survey, currently in its sixth year, has now closed and we had responses from over 200 readers. You can read Robin Neidorf’s analysis of the preliminary results here; her full analysis will be published as part of the Series.

We’ve already published articles examining how legal firm RPC’s news aggregation solution has given it an edge over its peers, a comprehensive market map listing all the key solutions available and a full review of M-Brain’s media monitoring solution M-Adaptive.

Forthcoming Articles

We are very much aware of the changing landscape in news aggregation, particularly with the changes at Factiva, the rise of social media, the rapid growth in the use of mobile devices and the continuous pressure to provide a solid return on investment. We therefore have commissioned an extensive range of articles including:

• Supplier rationalisation: are there opportunities to reduce costs by consolidating news suppliers? Our contributors come from two of the Big Four global accountancy firms: Stephanie Schreiner from PwC based in the USA and Jantinus Meints from EY (formerly Ernst & Young) working out of the Netherlands. They will discuss their experiences and share their tips with us.
  
  
• Trends in content: FreePint’s content expert Anne Jordan casts her expert eye over the most significant trends in content provision from the key providers. She also suggests what may expect to see in the future.
  
  
• Mobile news provision: the explosion of apps on mobile devices has led to a siloing of content within individual apps. How do the news aggregators manage the provision of mobile news? We review who’s doing it well and less well.
  
  
• An overview of sources: what’s out there? Rachael Elliott maps the ever-growing range of content. Can news aggregation tools manage social media and non-text context? If not, how can non-traditional sources can be located?
  
  
• Supplier selection process: what criteria should you use when selecting your news aggregator? What is the best practice to adopt when selecting an aggregator? We provide you with a tool and practical advice to help you successfully manage your news aggregation project.
  
  
• DIY solutions: providers like Attensa and Linex Systems have made a name for themselves as providers of news aggregation software. But what of the newer breed of social media tools like Flipboard? Can these tools be deployed successfully in a corporate environment or are they irrelevant to corporate information teams? Freelance information professional Claire Whayman investigates.
  
  
• Q&As with the main news aggregators delivering insight on their product strategies and plans.

Reports

A key backbone of the series is our range of rigorous product reviews covering a wide variety of aggregation solutions. Reports lined up include:

• Product Review of Attensa
• Product Review of Eureka.cc and the Analytik dashboard
• Product Review of Meltwater News and Meltwater Buzz
• Product Review of Newsdesk
• Product Review of Nexis.com
• Product Review of Northern Light
• Product Review of Thomson Reuters Eikon
• Product Review of Westlaw Practitioner Insights
• Mini Review of FirstRain
• Mini Review of NewsEdge.com

Comparative Matrix

With our formal research protocol for product reviews, we're also able to prepare and publish a comparative matrix on our reviewers' results. Every news-related product we've reviewed within the past 12 months will be included on the matrix, enabling you to make point-by-point comparisons on research conclusions on areas such as interface, search tools, outputs and content.

FreePint Report: Survey News Needs & Preferences 2013

Finally, we'll publish the FreePint Report: Survey News Needs & Preferences 2013 - our sixth annual review of this dynamic sector.

Webinars

In addition to all these articles and reports, we're also planning to bring you webinars on:

• Customised integrations of news content
• News awareness technology installations.

More information on our webinars will be available later this month.

Editor's Note: Beyond Aggregation

This article is part of the FreePint Topic Series: Beyond Aggregation, which runs from October to November 2013. Register your interest, and you'll get pre-notification of when registration opens for any webinars in this series, as well as a free copy of the FreePint Report: Buyer's Guide on News Content when we publish in November.

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