By Richard Bagnall

I spent the last 20 years running Metrica which grew from start-up into one of the world's leading communications measurement businesses during one of the most exciting periods of change the media has ever faced. When we began the company the media that we were being asked to analyse was predominantly paper-based newspaper clips and magazines. Occasionally broadcast might also be included too although this was inordinately expensive to source.

These days content has exploded, audiences have fragmented and drawing insights from this exciting new world is more difficult than ever. The pace of change in the industry is frightening so I need to keep close to smart people and organisations who can help me make sense of the new media.

First, two organisations whose content I always value:

• The Pew Research Center: Although an American-focused research "fact tank", I find the insights that it provides concerning issues, attitudes and trends towards the media to be vital in helping me understand what is coming to the UK market.
  
  
• Journalism.co.uk: A veritable treasure trove of information for PRs and for journalists in the UK. As the changes to the media mean that more and more PRs are creating content, I keep a keen eye on its website and its Twitter feed for well-written and interesting articles affecting the crossover point between journalism and public relations.

And three smart people whose books and blogs that you should be reading regularly:

• Jay Baer’s Convince & Convert blog: I was fortunate to once hear Jay speak at a packed PRSA International Conference in the USA. Jay is an extremely engaging speaker and a very bright mind who totally understands the challenges and opportunities that the new media creates. He has published two books – "The NOW Revolution" and, most recently, "Youtility", both of which should be on your reading list.
  
  
• Seth Godin: Seth one of the best known names in marketing. He blogs every day at www.sethgodin.com, every post is well thought out, challenging, motivating, and always makes me stop and think how I could run my affairs better.
  
  
• Brian Solis: Finally, Brian Solis is one of the communications industry’s leaders and at the top of his game. Having been a practitioner in the industry, Brian is now the principal analyst at the Altimeter Group. He is a fabulous speaker, and a prolific author, his latest book – "What’s the Future of Business" is a great read. Like Jay and Seth above, many of his insights are published on his blog at www.briansolis.com.

Richard Bagnall has over 20 years' experience in the PR industry. He joined Metrica at its inception in 1996, and as its managing director built the company into one of the world's leading PR measurement and media analysis consultancies. In 2009 he led the sales process of Metrica to Exponent Private Equity which went on to bring Metrica, Durrants and Gorkana together to create the Gorkana Group, where Richard was the Group's Managing Director of Global Insights and Analysis for four years.

He left the company in 2013 to bring his extensive experience of media analysis best practice to bear via consultancy work at Comms Clarity Consulting. As one of the world's most experienced consultants in communications measurement, Richard's experience is in demand for traditional media and helping to guide the PR industry towards social media measurement standards.

http://www.twitter.com/richardbagnall.

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FreePint Features offers the latest commentary on trends, issues and opportunities in the information world, as well as examples of how organisations use FreePint resources to raise the value of information.

Selection of the latest FreePint Features articles:

• Introducing the Acquired Content Adviser
  By Jantinus Meints on Monday, 18th November 2013
  The information market is in a period of great change, creating the opportunity to rethink the way we procure content. Organisations need professionals in place who understand both the business and the information marketplace, argues Jantinus Meints of EY as he makes the case for the "acquired content adviser" whose mission is to guide the business in developing a portfolio of content that provides the best value.
  Posted in: Information services management - Information purchasing - News sources
  
  
• End-to-End Media Monitoring & Analysis with Eureka.cc & Analytik
  By Anne Jordan on Friday, 15th November 2013
  FreePint last reviewed online media monitoring service Eureka.cc from Canadian-based CEDROM-SNi in 2010. There have been interesting new developments in the intervening three years, including the launch of the Analytik module for media analysis, new source additions, and new functionality allowing users to add references to documents residing outside the platform - both public web-based documents and an organisation's internal documents.
  Posted in: Information purchasing - Media monitoring - News sources - Regional sources - Social media sources
  
  
• Upcoming Webinar Opportunities to Explore "Beyond Aggregation"
  By Robin Neidorf on Thursday, 14th November 2013
  Registration is now open for two exciting FreePint Webinars around news aggregation. News Integration in Work Environments: Lessons from the Field takes place on 21 November, followed by New Thinking on News Awareness: Technology, Content and Culture on 3 December. FreePint Webinars are free, however, seats are limited and registration is required.
  Posted in: Information purchasing - Media monitoring - News sources - FreePint News
  
  
• Concluding the FreePint Topic Series: Compliance in Context
  By Andrew Lucas on Thursday, 14th November 2013
  The FreePint Topic Series: Compliance in Context concluded with the final article taking a look at how you can keep up to date with regulatory change. The Series includes 46 articles, comprising product reviews; Q&As with leading vendors Alacra, Bureau van Dijk, LexisNexis, Perfect Information and Thomson Reuters; market overviews and specialist in-depth examinations of compliance issues.
  Posted in: Regulatory compliance - Compliance tools - FreePint News
  
  
• Sixth Annual News Needs & Preferences Survey Tracks Change
  By Robin Neidorf on Wednesday, 13th November 2013
  FreePint's Sixth Annual News Needs & Preferences Survey quizzes information managers as to their organisation's needs and preferences around news content. Robin Neidorf introduces the results which provide a data-driven view into the concerns of information managers as they consider significant changes in their organisational approach to news awareness. Trends include increasing importance of the ability to redistribute news content and access to news content on Bring Your Own Devices.
  Posted in: Information purchasing - News sources - Subscription management
  
  
• Compliance Managers Challenged to Keep Abreast of Changing Regulations
  By Chris Porter on Tuesday, 12th November 2013
  Chris Porter provides an introduction to the drivers for compliance monitoring and the kinds of monitoring options available from do-it-yourself to subscription options and offering varying levels of sophistication and cost. As the pace of regulatory change continues to increase, keeping updated on the changes becomes a progressively more challenging task for those involved in areas such as Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Know Your Customer (KYC), Anti-Bribery and Corruption (ABC) and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT).
  Posted in: Regulatory compliance - Compliance tools
  
  
• Future Gazing: Vendors' Next Steps in News Aggregation
  By Andrew Grave on Monday, 11th November 2013
  Producer of the FreePint Topic Series: Beyond Aggregation, Andrew Grave, previews the upcoming Q&As with six leading vendors in the news aggregation space: Acquire Media, Attensa, Comintelli, Dow Jones, M-Brain and Northern Light. FreePint will be interviewing the vendors to find out about their development plans and perspectives on the future of news aggregation.
  Posted in: Media monitoring - News sources - FreePint News
  
  
• Newsdesk - From Aggregation to Collaboration
  By Penny Crossland on Friday, 8th November 2013
  Penny Crossland looks at the latest release of Newsdesk, the well-known current awareness tool that is turning into a sophisticated workflow and collaboration tool. New search parameters, filters and reporting features have made this a news source that will be welcomed by information professionals and end-users alike.
  Posted in: Collaborative and social tools - Media monitoring - News sources - Social media sources
  
  
• Customer Due Diligence Checks: Your First Line of Defence
  By Neil Marshall on Friday, 8th November 2013
  Anti-Money Laundering and Know Your Customer/Customer Due Diligence expert Neil Marshall explains the importance of Customer Due Diligence checks and how they can be used as a first defence against money laundering. He illustrates how failing to carry out due diligence checks can have ramifications beyond the obvious into areas such as company reputation.
  Posted in: Regulatory compliance - Compliance tools
  
  
• The Big Three for News: Then and Now
  By Robin Neidorf on Friday, 8th November 2013
  Thomson Reuters' (TR) NewsRoom used to be one of the Big Three news aggregators, now its news offering has evolved and FreePint finds out more about the company's strategy and plans for its news aggregation suite. Robin Neidorf examines how TR tailors its original professional and general news to a host of audiences, from compliance to financial professionals, legal, pharma, intellectual property, scholarly & scientific research and tax specialists.
  Posted in: Compliance tools - Financial sources - News sources
  
  
• Quizzing Vendors on Compliance Tools & Future Strategies
  By Andrew Lucas on Thursday, 7th November 2013
  Andrew Lucas, the series producer for the FreePint Topic Series: Compliance in Context looks at some of the themes that have emerged from the Q&A sessions conducted with a number of the leading compliance solutions vendors: Alacra, Bureau van Dijk, LexisNexis, Perfect Information and Thomson Reuters. He also highlights some of the latest articles in this series, including the move towards European banking union and a two part series on understanding Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) and their associated risks.
  Posted in: Regulatory compliance - Compliance tools - FreePint News
  
  
• What's Your Budget Priority?
  By Robin Neidorf on Thursday, 7th November 2013
  For many organisations it's budget planning season. Researching, evaluating and selecting which products and technologies to include and deciding when to make the leap to the next generation technology make this a challenging time. FreePint's product reviews, vendor commentary, technology analysis and Communities of Practice help support budget planning and return on investment decisions throughout the year.
  Posted in: FreePint News
  
  
• ... More ...

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• From Content Cost to Value: the Rise of the Content Adviser
  By Jantinus Meints on Monday, 18th November 2013
  Jantinus Meints of EY explains how the company's content procurement process aims to meet the dual requirements of negotiating a good price on content licences and identifying the content that aligns with the professional services firm's strategy. He also explores the impact of the move from tangible to intangible content and the importance of optimising content purchases through a portfolio approach.
  Posted in: Information services management - Information purchasing - News sources
  
  
• Product Review of Nexis: Search & Output Options
  By Anne Lonergan on Monday, 18th November 2013
  Continuing her review of global news and business resource Nexis (known as Nexis.com in the US), Anne Lonergan looks at the search and output options available. She covers the classic results page and the new search results page, which offers features such as the ability to view information in column format, to make it easier to scan through the results. You can also preview articles from the new results page.
  Posted in: Information purchasing - Financial sources - News sources - People sources - Regional sources
  
  
• FreePint News Survey 2013. Results: Purchase Criteria
  By Robin Neidorf on Monday, 18th November 2013
  We asked respondents to FreePint's Sixth Annual News Needs & Preferences Survey what importance they placed on different variables when purchasing premium news content. The variables range from advanced searching capabilities and customisation options to integration with internal tools and workflow. This year we added three new variables to reflect the changing landscape: ability to distribute or reuse results, inclusion of specific source, and coverage of specific geographic regions.
  Posted in: Information purchasing - News sources - Subscription management
  
  
• Prepare for the Continued Rise of Social Media in the Workplace
  By Sophie Alexander on Monday, 18th November 2013
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  Posted in: Collaborative and social tools - Social media sources
  
  
• FreePint News Survey 2013. Results: Premium News Content & Preferences
  By Robin Neidorf on Friday, 15th November 2013
  Drilling down into the detail of FreePint's Sixth Annual News Needs & Preferences Survey shows the importance of a range of variables when using premium news content products, from abstracts and alerts to native (non-English) language sources and availability of news in a mobile format. We also polled respondents about the frequency of their activities relating to news content, such as searching for current news text and advising colleagues on news resources. Results illustrate the importance information managers place on exploring new products and resources, mobile access and alerts.
  Posted in: Information purchasing - News sources - Subscription management
  
  
• FreePint Report: Product Review of Eureka.cc & Eureka.cc Analytik
  Published on Friday, 15th November 2013
  Anne Jordan's review of Eureka.cc and the Analytik module explains how the services allow users to search, monitor, share and analyse content. Since FreePint last reviewed Eureka.cc in 2010, there have been a wide range of new sources, new functionality and the launch of the new Analytik module for media analysis which marks a repositioning of the product, expanding its scope from a media database to an end-to-end media monitoring and analysis tool.
  Posted in: Information purchasing - Media monitoring - News sources - Regional sources - Social media sources - FreePint Reports: Product Reviews
  
  
• Product Review of Nexis: Sources, Content & Coverage
  By Anne Lonergan on Thursday, 14th November 2013
  The second part of Anne Lonergan's review of Nexis (known as Nexis.com in the US) looks at the sources, content and coverage available in this comprehensive global business information research tool. Content includes over 5 billion documents and records; 800 global newswires and blogs; coverage of over 200 million companies worldwide; and 28,000 news and business sources.
  Posted in: Information purchasing - Company sources - News sources - People sources - Regional sources
  
  
• What's the Best Way to Manage Your Intranet?
  By James Mullan on Thursday, 14th November 2013
  James Mullan looks into five key areas which are essential when managing your intranet and making it a success. These include creating a site that's visually appealing, giving users the ability to credit or endorse co-workers, providing well organised content, minimising clicks, and offering information and photos on co-workers.
  Posted in: Collaborative and social tools - Intranets
  
  
• Journey to DJX had "Customers' Needs in Mind"
  By Tim Buckley Owen on Wednesday, 13th November 2013
  Following FreePint reporting and commentary last summer on Dow Jones' plans to subsume Factiva into its new DJX product, Tim Buckley Owen has been back to users, asking them whether they now feel more reassured and putting their continuing concerns to DJ's Georgene Huang. New means of communication with customers, risk of migration to competitors such as LexisNexis or Acquire Media/NewsEdge, product pricing and licensing, and the "Bloomberg factor", are among the topics covered.
  Posted in: Information purchasing - Company sources - News sources - Subscription management
  
  
• Product Review of Nexis: Introduction, Value and FreePint's View
  By Anne Lonergan on Wednesday, 13th November 2013
  Nexis® is a comprehensive global business information research tool, providing access to thousands of sources all via one interface. Its key strengths are breadth of content; ease of use; authoritative, licensed content; strong archive; advanced search and alerting functionality; and training and support. In the first part of her review Anne Lonergan introduces the tool, known as Nexis in Europe and Nexis.com in the US, and gives feedback on the value the product offers its users who range from professional researchers to marketing specialists.
  Posted in: Information purchasing - Financial sources - News sources - People sources - Regional sources
  
  
• Product Review of Eureka.cc & Eureka.cc Analytik: Executive Summary
  By Anne Jordan on Wednesday, 13th November 2013
  Anne Jordan's executive summary of Eureka.cc and the Analytik module explains how the services allow users to search, monitor, share and analyse content. Since FreePint last reviewed Eureka.cc in 2010, there have been a wide range of new sources, new functionality and the launch of the new Analytik module for media analysis which marks a repositioning of the product, expanding its scope from a media database to an end-to-end media monitoring and analysis tool.
  Posted in: Information purchasing - Media monitoring - News sources - Regional sources - Social media sources - FreePint Reports: Product Reviews
  
  
• Keeping Up To Date with Regulatory Changes
  By Chris Porter on Tuesday, 12th November 2013
  With the volume of compliance regulation increasing, how do you ensure that your organisation is keeping abreast of changes? What are the product and other options for tracking changes, e.g. Thomson Reuters Compliance Complete, WSJ's risk & compliance blog or open access sites? This article aims to help you understand the kinds of options available in areas such as Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Know Your Customer (KYC), Anti-Bribery and Corruption (ABC) and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT).
  Posted in: Regulatory compliance - Compliance tools
  
  
• Product Review of Eureka.cc & Eureka.cc Analytik: Help, Pricing & Contact Details
  By Anne Jordan on Tuesday, 12th November 2013
  In the final part of Anne Jordan's review she looks into the help, training & support and pricing for media monitoring and online sources directory Eureka.cc and its media analysis module Analytik. She finds the navigation for Eureka.cc to be clear and intuitive with WebEx training available if required. In Europe Eureka.cc is known as Europresse.com.
  Posted in: Media monitoring - News sources - Regional sources - Social media sources
  
  
• Source Update November 2013: What's Happening with Nexis?
  By Anne Jordan on Monday, 11th November 2013
  This month's additions and takedowns in Nexis, researched and compiled by Anne Jordan.
  Posted in: News sources - Regional sources
  
  
• Thomson Reuters: News Is Fundamental
  By Robin Neidorf on Friday, 8th November 2013
  Robin Neidorf interviews Steve Priem and Amy Stevens of Thomson Reuters (TR) to find out more about the company's creation and aggregation of news content and its future plans. Users of TR products range from legal users relying on Westlaw to financial professionals who find Eikon invaluable when making decisions. Compliance professionals use the company's Governance, Risk & Compliance suite to keep them informed on a proactive basis about changes in entities and people.
  Posted in: Compliance tools - Financial sources - News sources
  
  
• Gartner Predictions for Sensitive Government data
  By Sarah Dillingham on Thursday, 7th November 2013
  Gartner has predicted that 75% of government data will be declassified by 2020. How likely is this, and what does this and moves such as the Open Government Partnership mean for information professionals?
  Posted in: Information strategy - Government sources
  
  
• A Banking Utility Belt - a Brief Guide to Tools Available to Mitigate Risk
  By Neil Marshall on Wednesday, 6th November 2013
  Anti-Money Laundering and Know Your Customer/Customer Due Diligence expert Neil Marshall discusses the types of compliance tools available to entities allowing them to mitigate risks or exercise a degree of comfort on the underlying customer. These include individual profiling, business profiling tools, risk intelligence, country rating, transaction monitoring and payment filtering.
  Posted in: Regulatory compliance - Compliance tools
  
  
• ... More ...

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