MEDIA MONITORING

Google News
http://news.google.com
Search engine that can locate news coverage of your organization or find a specific news story with targeted searches. Results are provided from national, regional and local news outlets as well as LGBT press, news wires and international outlets. After a press release is submitted, you can track how many outlets have picked it up by conducting a Google News search with unique terms from your press release.

LexisNexis
http://www.nexis.com
An extensive database for searching news sources by specific term, date and publication. If you are looking for a transcript, you can either search the actual news source (e.g. CNN) or you can select “transcripts” which will search all available news sources. LexisNexis is a paid service, but it is available in many public libraries and all university libraries.

New America Media
http://news.newamericamedia.org
The country’s first and largest national collaboration of ethnic news organizations. Targeted searches can be modified by ethnic group to produce more specific news results.

PlanetOut
http://www.planetout.com
PlanetOut is a leading LGBT online community. The website features news, information, entertainment features, chat rooms, message boards, personals, shopping and travel. The website also includes pages targeted to families, seniors and teens, among others, as well as sections that focus on religion and spirituality, leather communities, HIV/AIDS and coming out.

Technorati
http://www.technorati.com
The most comprehensive search engine for the blogosphere, currently monitoring more than
50 million blogs. A good tool to monitor which blogs are covering your organization’s news.

Yahoo TV Listings
http://tv.yahoo.com
Yahoo will customize television listings to fit your time zone and cable or satellite listings.

365gay
http://www.365gay.com
LGBT-based news wire owned by LogoOnline.com. Covers a wide variety of LGBT news from around the world. This news wire sometimes feeds mainstream news outlets.

MEDIA TARGETING

American Journalism Review (AJR) NewsLink
http://www.newslink.org
Search for your local news outlets on the Internet using a database of more than 9,000 newspapers and magazines on the Web.

Bacon’s MediaSource
http://www.bacons.com
A database that provides access to information on reporters, editors, columnists, syndicated writers, freelancers, analysts and research firms which can help you to quickly build an accurate media list for pitching stories or sending out press releases and media advisories. Bacon’s requires a subscription, and the cost depends on your organization’s needs. You may request a trial or demonstration from the website. Note that some users feel that Bacon’s interface has functional limitations, especially since Internet Explorer is the only browser that supports Bacon’s.

BurrellesLuce
http://www.burrellesluce.com
Media contact organization that targets, monitors, manages and analyzes media information. Targeting and monitoring services are useful, as they help target stories to the right reporters and outlets. They also offer an extremely comprehensive press clippings service that includes print, broadcast and online news sources delivered to you electronically.

NewsDirectory.Com
http://www.newsdirectory.com
Search local news outlets on the Internet by entering your area code. Searches through a database of more than 12,000 newspapers, magazines and local television stations.

News Media Yellow Book
http://www.leadershipdirectories.com
The News Media Yellow Book serves as a personnel directory of national news media organizations. Fully updated quarterly editions give you complete contact information for journalists, including assignments, direct-dial telephone numbers and email. Annual subscriptions are available.

News Voyager
http://www.newspaperlinks.com/voyager.cfm
A service of the Newspaper Association of America, Voyager is a gateway to your local newspaper. It will help you find domestic daily, weekly, college and alternative newspapers, as well as international newspapers and media organizations.

Radio Station World
http://radiostationworld.com/locations/united_states_of_america/usastates.asp
An informational directory of all radio stations in the country, organized by media market.

Vocus
http://www.vocus.com
A comprehensive yet easy to use media contact database. Vocus features a functional interface, pitching profiles for both media professionals and outlets, contact lists and list management functions, customizable email campaigns with analytics, detailed editorial calendars allowing for more proactive pitching, and a news clipping service that can utilize LexisNexis and Google news searches. Vocus is an ideal tool for organizations with complex needs for managing contacts and tracking media communications internally and in comparison to other organizations.

RESEARCH & RATINGS

Arbitron Radio Ratings
http://www.arbitron.com/radio_stations/home.htm
An international media and marketing research firm serving radio broadcasters, radio networks, cable companies, advertisers, advertising agencies, outdoor advertising companies and the online radio industry.

Columbia Journalism Review (CJR)
http://www.cjr.org/tools/owners/
Outlines which corporations own which news outlets in the “Who Owns What” section. This will help guide your media targeting and monitoring by seeing which outlets are related to each other.

Google Analytics
http://analytics.google.com
Use Google Analytics to analyze traffic on your website by learning which online marketing initiatives are cost effective and how visitors actually interact with your site. Make informed site design improvements and drive targeted traffic.

Nielsen Media Research – Designated Media Markets
http://www.nielsenmedia.com/DMAs.html
Search local news outlets on the Internet by entering your area code. Searches through a database of more than 12,000 newspapers, magazines and local television stations.

The Pew Research Center
http://people-press.org/
Pew is an independent opinion research group that studies attitudes toward the press, politics and public policy issues. They are best known for regular national surveys that measure public attentiveness to major news stories and for polling that charts trends in values and fundamental political and social attitudes.

MEDIA RESOURCES

GLAAD Media Reference Guide
http://www.glaad.org/media/guide/index.php
A comprehensive guide for media that outlines acceptable, offensive, problematic and defamatory LGBT terminology. It also provides several “In Focus” sections that outline ways of covering specific LGBT issues and a complete community directory that lists contacts for LGBT advocacy organizations.

The SPIN Project
http://www.spinproject.org
The SPIN Project strengthens nonprofit social justice organizations, small and large, to communicate effectively for themselves. They are loaded with valuable publications and resources that will enlighten your communications efforts.

SOCIAL NETWORKING

Connexion
http://www.connexion.org
An online social network specifically for the LGBT community.

Facebook
http://www.facebook.com
A social networking site originally designed exclusively for college students and young alumni. While the site it now open to everyone, it is still most popular with young people.

Friendster
http://www.friendster.com
Despite the recent popularity of MySpace, Friendster still has a very loyal demographic of social networkers. This site can be a great vehicle for spreading your news and generating grassroots interest in your organization.

MySpace
http://www.myspace.com
The social networking craze is still alive and well, and MySpace could be a great way to spread your organization’s messages and news. Creating an organizational MySpace page can also aide in volunteer recruitment and creating a recognizable brand for your organization.

IMAGES

Creative Commons
http://www.creativecommons.org
A comprehensive directory that supplies reusable audio-visual media.

Getty Images
http://www.gettyimages.com/
Supplies top-notch stock photography to strengthen your press packets and marketing materials. An easy-to-use service to find the images you need at a reasonable cost.

WireImage
http://www.wireimage.com/
Digital photo agency and wire service that can be utilized for your photography needs. WireImage also licenses its photos at a reasonable cost.