Modern media monitoring differs significantly from simple press clipping. Search for materials published in the media and delivery of cuttings or excerpts from RTV programmes to clients is insufficient given their information needs. Even for PR specialists, media monitoring as a tool used for simple confirmation that something was or was not in the media is not enough. But then again modern media monitoring is used equally by marketing and management specialists, i.e. all those who are responsible for managing brands: their own, their company, their product.

All those who know the power of information use media monitoring. Why? Becuase they realise that:

- firstly, proper information counts, i.e. valuable information, i.e. such that we really need and seek;

- secondly, delivery time is crucial, i.e. fast and before the others.

The term ‘proper information’ has been the starting point for changes in the process of monitoring and development of the field of analysis. Congestion of news carriers, competition among them, as well as acceleration of the speed of life forced time saving on managers and specialists. Such state of affairs causes often the necessity to receive compendium.

In very many cases a physical cutting of a material published in the media is not necessary. What matters is the content, mostly only a part of it – the publication. Because managers value their time highly, they focus mostly on analysis of content and they possibly read only the most crucial bits. Therefore, media monitoring at its most modern is mainly the result of media content research in the form of analyses and reports.

Companies that are striving to reach their potential are interested in obtaining knowledge from various fields. Among important issues for them are the directions that the development of the economic situation is taking, the situation on individual markets, opportunities, threats, their clients’ and contracting parties’ condition, as well as their short- and long-term plans.

All this can be acquired though economic intelligence based on materials published in the media. Thanks to information acquired using these methods, their business partners’ weak, hidden points can be identified.

According to one definition, economic intelligence is an activity that aims at satisfying needs related to acquisition, process and availability of marketing information. Present and potential rivals are in the basic circle of interest of such intelligence. Economic intelligence has, however, another face. Its second aim is to prevent strategic and crucial information that facilitates the gaining and retaining of a competitive advantage of a given entity, from spreading. This function is delivered by crisis monitoring.

Media monitoring is carried out in stages:

1. information collection from all the media within a client’s interest. The media is selected according to type: press, Internet, TV, radio and the range of monitoring is set (press titles, web sites, RTV channels). The search and collection process is automated and is done with the use of state of the art tools designed at PRESS-SERVICE Monitoring Mediów.

2. preliminary analysis focusing on usefulness and reliability. This stage is carried out by specially trained experts. They analyze all the collected information and classify it as either crucial or not from the point of view of client needs. Those needs are always set by the recipient of the monitoring, in cooperation with an advisor at PRESS-SERVICE Monitoring Mediów. It is a very important stage as not all data about, for example, an organization of interest to us, will be significant for the issues.

3. analysis proper – as a result of it a report is prepared (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or yearly). It facilitates the drawing of relevant conclusions. It is used by decision-makers to plan and control, as well as adjust current and strategic plans.

Media monitoring as a tool plays a few crucial roles that depend on the field it is used in. And thus:

•              in the PR aspect the most important are:

o              prevention,

o              supervision,

o              prevention of crises,

o              control of PR activities

o              image analysis and synopsis reports

•              in the marketing aspect the key elements are:

o              market analysis

o              benchmarking analysis

o              information about positioning of brands in the media

o              product placement

o              advertising monitoring

•              in the managerial aspect media monitoring is mostly used as:

o              overview of most significant information

o              decision-making support/knowledge database, strategic data from reports/

o              knowledge archive

Modern media monitoring, defined as media intelligence, exhibits a very thorough approach to information. It is best illustrated by the following diagram: