"Purchasing premium news resources for current awareness in an organisation is an investment in risk management."

This observation is contrary to the assumptions I made back in 2008, when FreePint ran its first survey on News Needs & Preferences. At the time, I would have posited that the primary objective of investing in premium news databases was to achieve efficiency. Easy access to premium news makes workers more efficient, right?

Perhaps, but it turns out that's not reason enough to keep investing, at least not for current awareness needs. 

As we near the end of the Topic Series, "News, and Other Commodities", we continue to push on the question of "why?" around news content:

• Why are you actually investing in this product or service?
• Why does it actually make a difference to the workers who interact with it, or to the business overall? 

In our recent Communities of Practice session, "The End of an Era for News Databases?", participants discussed the idea of moving the licence for a news database from the content budget to the risk management or insurance budget, because of the way they answer the question of "why".

One participant said: "We buy [this database] for the assurance it gives us on internal redistribution, but we're under no illusions that it's the primary source of news for most of our users."

As you review the results of our 8th Annual Survey on News Needs & Preferences, now being published, consider your own "why?" around news content and current awareness.

Consider your senior-level stakeholders and user groups, and how they'd answer the question of "why". I'm willing to bet all three - you, stakeholders and users - would answer this question differently.

No wonder finding workable, enterprise-wide solutions around news and current awareness is so difficult.

It will only get easier if you can align your expert opinion with the objectives of budget-holders and the perspectives of end-users. There isn't a perfect product or service out there, but there are plenty of solutions that can address your "why", if you can only agree on it first.

Robin Neidorf
Director of Research

Research Focus

FreePint Research focuses on a different area of information strategy every calendar quarter.

• The Topic Series News, and Other Commodities (Oct-Dec 2015) examines the tricky question of "value" when applied to news, basic company information, basic "people" information and the like.

• Radical Changes in the News Universe? by Chris Porter on 8th December.
  The "News, and Other Commodities" Topic Series highlights a sense of shake-up in what had seemed a static market for news, Chris Porter comments. Find out why in his blog item which also highlights recent and upcoming content in the series.

Subscription

A FreePint Subscription keeps information strategic to your organisation by providing unique and practical Content, Community and Consulting on information Sources, Technology and Value. Learn more.

• Subscription Update - What's New and What's Coming by Catherine Dhanjal on 16th December.
  The subjects of stakeholder involvement, Creative Commons licences and information sources are examined in expert articles and webinars as part of the Topic Series "News, and Other Commodities". We highlight a new in-depth review of Dun & Bradstreet's First Research as well as an upcoming Community of Practice event in London in January which promises to be informative for both buyers and sellers of information.

Latest FreePint Subscription Articles and Reports:

• Product Review of Thomson Innovation (Technology - Search & User Interface; Outputs & Alerts; Administration & Help)
  Article by Scott Vine on 16th December
  
  
• Product Review of First Research
  Report on 16th December
  
  
• Key Learning Points "What We Learned about Usage"
  Article by Sophie Alexander on 16th December
  
  
• FreePint News Survey Analysis 2015 Part 2 - Content Priorities
  Article by Robin Neidorf on 15th December
  
  
• Product Review of Thomson Innovation (Sources - Content & Coverage)
  Article by Scott Vine on 15th December
  
  
• Product Review of First Research (Competitors, Development & Pricing)
  Article by Andrew Grave on 14th December
  
  
• FreePint News Survey Analysis 2015 Part 1 - Approach, Respondents and Budgets
  Article by Robin Neidorf on 14th December
  
  
• Product Review of Thomson Innovation (Introduction; Value; Contact Details)
  Article by Scott Vine on 14th December
  
  
• Product Review of First Research (Technology - Search & User Interface; Outputs & Alerts; Administration & Help)
  Article by Andrew Grave on 11th December
  
  
• Finding and Using Macroeconomic Data
  Article by Anja Chemnitz Thygesen on 11th December
  
  
• Market Landscape - Macroeconomic Data
  Report on 11th December
  
  
• Product Review of First Research (Sources - Content & Coverage)
  Article by Andrew Grave on 10th December
  
  
• Q&A with Isentia - Monitoring Asia-Pacific Media
  Article by Sophie Alexander on 10th December
  
  
• Product Review of First Research (Introduction; Value; Contact Details)
  Article by Andrew Grave on 9th December
  
  
• Identifying and Managing Risks - Strategies for Information Practitioners
  Article by Sophie Alexander on 9th December
  
  
• Re-Using Content which Carries a Creative Commons Licence
  Article by Clare Painter on 7th December
  
  
• How to Create a Successful Newsletter
  Article by Anders Lautrup-Larsen on 7th December
  
  
• Market Landscape of Aggregation Platforms
  Article by Catherine Pask on 7th December
  
  
• Insider Knowledge - Researching China
  Article by Colin Smith on 4th December
  
  

Forthcoming Webinars and Communities of Practice:

• IS and IT Make Sense of the "Digital Workplace"
  12th January

• Step One to Alignment Between IS and IT (In-Person)
  28th January, London, UK

• Step One to Alignment Between IS and IT
  2nd or 4th February

• Successful Relationships Between IS and IT: Tips from the Pros
  9th February

• Make the Most of Your Organisation's Reporting Structure
  17th February

• Shifting the Worldview around IS/IT Relationships: A First Step to Alignment
  8th March

• Sources, Technology, Value - What You Can "Own" and What You Can Influence
  16th March

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Blog

The FreePint Blog 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.

• My Favourite Tipples from an Investigative Researcher by Penny Crossland on 16th December.
  My Favourite Tipples are shared by Penny Crossland, director of CH Business Research Ltd, an investigative research consultancy specialising in pre-transactional due diligence, individual and company profiles and Know Your Customer and trace reports.

Latest FreePint Blog items:

• Subscription Update - What's New and What's Coming
  By Catherine Dhanjal on 16th December
  
  
• News Needs & Preferences Survey 2015 - Consistencies and Changes
  By Robin Neidorf on 14th December
  
  
• Join Our Webinar - Information Services in the Digital Workplace
  By Robin Neidorf on 11th December
  
  
• Best Practice in R&D and Pharma - Complimentary Report
  By Catherine Dhanjal on 11th December
  
  
• Creative Commons Licences - Don't Fall Foul of the Restrictions
  By Catherine Dhanjal on 11th December
  
  
• FreePint Feedback - Moving from "Topic Series" to "Research Focus"
  By Robin Neidorf on 10th December
  
  
• Radical Changes in the News Universe?
  By Chris Porter on 8th December
  
  
• FreePint for Legal
  By Candace Cathey on 8th December
  
  

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