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Sarah Eck

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Neutralizing Media Bias: How The Media Research Center Uses SnapStream

September 02 2021 by Sarah Eck
MRC logo

The Media Research Center (MRC) is a Conservative media watchdog group on a mission to neutralize media bias. Formed in 1987, the organization monitors dozens of hours of news every single day across 10-12 channels. In this blog, we will take a brief look at how SnapStream helped the MRC reimagine its archiving and workflows, make the transition to digital, and finally say goodbye to the VCR.

The Challenges

The MRC started as a monthly newsletter reporting on liberal media bias. To create the the newsletter, MRC staff recorded hours of TV news on videotapes - remember those? - and watched the broadcasts to provide analysis and a more balanced view. This process eventually gave way to video cards and DVDs, but still left the MRC with the challenge of effectively managing and storing archived footage.

The old process also meant that each show or segment could only be watched by one staffer at a time. Collaboration was a challenge and the only way to access recorded footage was to be on site. It simply became too much to manage.

The Solution

The MRC initially implemented SnapStream's news and media video workspace for its ability to be a "super-sized DVR system" and remove the need for a physical archive. As the MRC transitioned from a paper newsletter to a blog, Twitter, and Facebook as its primary channels, SnapStream became an even more valuable asset for the team. MRC users routinely fill their Twitter feed with commentary about key moments as they are happening.

 


"Virtually all of our blog posts include video. And we're able to live tweet questions and answers from White House press conferences."

-Brent Baker, Vice President
Media Research Center

 



Using SnapStream, the MRC team has been able to deepen its bench of those monitoring and analyzing the news because multiple people can watch the same content at the same time. And, because the platform is so easy to use, the MRC even gets its interns onto the system to start monitoring media and pulling clips right out of the gate.

Control and flexibility also increased for the MRC through its use of SnapStream. The MRC's deep archive is now easily searchable and can be accessed by its team members from any location. 

 

The Result

With SnapStream, the Media Research Center is able to more quickly and effectively fulfill its mission of neutralizing media bias. The team is able to analyze and provide commentary on coverage of pivotal events such as The State of the Union or political primaries within minutes. 

The MRC has also been able to broaden its programs to monitor more types of news and video content and provide comprehensive analysis. The watchdog now has eight specific programs, more than 217,000 Twitter followers, and nearly 1.8 million followers on Facebook. Through all of its channels, the MRC generated an average of 449.6 million impressions each week last year.


"SnapStream is critical [to our workflow]. It's become the backbone of our ability to record all the video we need and have it organized and structured, whether we're looking for it a minute later, a day later, or a year later."


-Brent Baker, Vice President
Media Research Center


 

In Their Own Words

Want to hear the full story? Hear the MRC's Brent Baker in his own words by checking out the video below.



 

ABOUT THE MEDIA RESEARCH CENTER

The MRC’s commitment to neutralizing leftist bias in the news media and popular culture has had a critical impact on the way Americans view the liberal media. The MRC is able to effectively educate the public about left-wing media bias by integrating cutting-edge news monitoring capabilities with a sophisticated marketing operation. 

The Media Research Center is a research and education organization operating under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions are tax-deductible to the maximum extent of the law. The MRC receives no government grants or contracts nor does it have an endowment. The MRC raises its funds each year from individuals, foundations, and corporations.


Interested in more info about media bias?

Check out our article on how source bias impacts online media engagement and answer the question - was Marshall McLuhan right? Is the medium really the message?

 

 

Creating Clips with a Screen Recorder? Consider These 3 Things First.

August 11 2021 by Sarah Eck

Most of us find ourselves in the role of content creator these days, whether we're trying to build a brand, disseminate news, provide commentary on current events, or figure out why we've been sucked in to using both IG Reels AND TikTok. (Okay - that last one is probably just me). 

As a result, we now have more tools at our disposal to create and edit video than ever before. Many of them don't require any video editing skills to use them effectively and a ton of them are free to use. 

Sounds great, right? 

I thought I'd try out a couple of screen recording tools to create some video content leveraging some third-party sources to augment one of my recent blogs. I figured, if a video content tool is truly easy to use, even my geriatric millennial self will be successful. A quick Google search turned up dozens of options.


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The short version?  I got the job done, but the whole experience was cumbersome, time-consuming, and the end result was just okay. Here are my three big takeaways if you're considering using a screen recorder for creating and editing clips of key video moments.

You Have to Know Your Source Content Inside & Out

For the purposes of my test, I was looking to grab some key moments from a virtual event I'd attended the week prior. There were a number of sessions with awesome content and I wanted to snag a few of the best quotes. I could generally recall what I was looking for but didn't know when in each session the key moment had happened. 

In this case, some of the sessions had provided transcripts which allowed me to find the correct timestamps to at least begin my search and start the edit. Without those, I'd have been stuck rewatching hours of content to find the moments I was seeking, making the effort take even longer than it would have. 

When going back to clip content that has happened previously, a better alternative would be a tool that provides a level of search capability or built-in transcription to find the exact moment you're looking for.

 

Be Prepared to Compromise on Precision

Starting and ending clips at the right spot can be tough, especially if you're aiming for a smooth end product devoid of "ums", "ahs" and other verbal transitions. I found this to be the trickiest part of the edit for two main reasons.

First - the screen recorders I tried are all built to accommodate recording new content. Meaning, they start with a countdown - which varies from 3 to 5 seconds, depending on the tool - before actually starting to record. This would be helpful if I were trying to record something new using my built-in webcam and microphone. Less so for clipping existing content. This feature meant that I either needed to have the reflexes of a cat (which I don't) or that I'd have to make sure I recorded more than I needed so I didn't miss the beginning of the moment I wanted.

Which leads to the second point on precision. When it came to editing out the extra seconds up front or at the end, I almost always had to leverage a fade in or fade out to cover the bits I couldn't edit out. This is because the mechanism to select portions to cut was limited to a slider bar. So the precision of getting to the right point was limited to my ability to get that bar lined up with the correct second. Spoiler: It took multiple tries and even a couple of re-records to get it right.

 

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What I found myself wanting was an option to advance or back up either by the second or by the frame to make sure I got the exact cut I needed so each clip would be as clean and precise as possible.


You'll Get What You Pay for When it Comes to Quality

I love a good free resource. Who doesn't? Content teams can't thrive without a few good ones in their arsenal. When it comes to clipping and editing video, however, I'd argue free isn't always the way to go if you're aiming for a high-quality end product. 

Among the free screen recorders I tried, the quality of my source content dictated the quality of the final clip. Meaning, there weren't options for maximizing resolution and, with a couple, there actually appeared to be some slight degradation as far as the overall clarity of the video. 

Additionally, there weren't options for exporting other formats beyond a straightforward clip. To really make the most of the moments, I'd have preferred being able to loop some of them or even create a GIF or two. Particularly for the time invested to find the moments and pull/edit the clips, I'd have liked to walk away from the whole experience with a number of variations on the output to feed all my different digital channels. 


Will I use a free screen recorder again?  For instances where I need to record my own VO or video over a presentation I probably will.  They make a ton of sense for this type of use and are easy enough to figure out. For clipping and editing video content, however, there are better options out there that result in a higher-quality end product and work more intuitively and quickly.

 

SnapStream Search Spotlight - July 2021

August 06 2021 by Sarah Eck

July Search Terms ColorEach customer uses our news media video workspace in their own way, but it's always easy to see when trending moments command universal attention (you know, like billionaires heading to space).

As usual, July 2021 was packed with big news stories and our customers were all over them. Content producers were relentless in their quest to curate powerful video moments.

 

For the month of July, SnapStream users conducted 31,687 searches about people and events around the globe. Let's check out some of the biggest search topics.

 

 

Tokyo Olympics - After an extra year of waiting, the Summer Olympics finally returned, albeit with adjustments for health and safety. Gone were the roaring crowds of fans from around the globe, but that didn't stop folks from watching and delivering commentary. From hot takes on Simone Biles' decision to opt out of the team competition to Snoop Dogg and Kevin Hart's comedic takes on every event, gold-medal-worthy moments were everywhere.

 

Climate Change, Floods and Wildfires - listing the places NOT experiencing floods, wildfires, and other climate change-driven events might take less time than enumerating the ones that are. Oh, and let's not forget that July was the month that a burst pipe literally set the ocean on fire.

 

Billionaires, Bezos and Branson - This century's space race is being driven by billionaires. While things were heating up in July here on the ground, Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos set their sights on the sky. Branson became the first person to ride into space on a rocket he helped fund. Bezos took flight just over a week later. 

 

 

And That’s Not All

Other big searches this month included:

  • All-Star Game - The American League won its eighth-straight MLB All-Star Game and NY Mets first baseman Pete Alonso won the Home Run Derby for his second time.
  • Haiti - Haitian President Jovenel Moise was killed on July 7. More than 30 individuals were initially implicated in the assassination plot. The Haitian government recently requested a UN commission to lead a probe into the killing. 
  • Abbott - Texas Governor Greg Abbott committed to calling "special session after special session" until Republican-backed voting rights legislation passes in his state. Texas House Democrats left the state in an effort to break quorum and block the legislation.
  • Delta - The Delta variant of COVID-19 hit the US in full force in July, with Missouri at the epicenter of the surge. By the end of July, the Delta variant accounted for the vast majority of new COVID-19 cases.

Lots to see in July, with powerful video moments to capture all over the world.  So, keep searching, keep snapping, and we look forward to seeing what captures everyone's attention next month.

How MailOnline Maximizes Speed & Access for its Video & Picture Desks

July 27 2021 by Sarah Eck

Like many media organizations, MailOnline's video and picture desk teams were using a variety of screen recorders and other grabbing tools to capture video-based news content. An encounter with the team from SnapStream at an event showed the world’s largest English-language newspaper website that there was a more efficient, effective way to equip and empower its global team.

 

DailyMail

 

The Challenges

In addition to the challenges and lower clip quality associated with using screen grab/screen recording tools, MailOnline also struggled with providing US-based broadcasts to its teams in other geographies. Getting this type of video content to the video desk in other markets took time and caused the team's overall workflow to move too slowly in a fast-paced news cycle. 

And, like the rest of us, MailOnline had to grapple with transitioning all of its workflows to function remotely in 2020. Having a solution that didn't require its content production staff to be on the network was paramount to keeping things moving amid the global pandemic.

 

The Solution

MailOnline implemented SnapStream's cloud-based news and media video workspace primarily to enable its video and picture desk personnel. The team primarily relies on the platform's watch, search, and clipping features to monitor major broadcasts, find key moments as they happen, and create high-quality clips that can be exported and edited into larger packages.

SnapStream also made the transition to working remotely much easier for the MailOnline team when everyone had to start producing content from their home offices. 


"Without SnapStream, working from home would have become a huge problem. Moving to cloud helped when COVID struck because it removed the element of needing to be on our own network."

-Alex Benitez, Technology Operations Manager, US
MailOnline


And with SnapStream, the MailOnline's global team can watch major TV events - like Oprah's interview with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry - at the same time, in real time, no matter where they are located.

 

The Result

With SnapStream, MailOnline's video and picture desk teams are able to quickly and easily watch, search, and clip US-based broadcast content from anywhere in the world. Use of the platform has become so ubiquitous throughout the organization that it has become part of the organization's standard editorial toolset. 

MailOnline has seen the speed and performance of its teams increase exponentially with SnapStream in their arsenal. And the best part?  The team is able to onboard new users with minimal lift, even if they don't have prior video or photo editing experience.

 


"Generally speaking, I don't even train people anymore. I just send them the invite and they figure it out right away."

-Alex Benitez, Technology Operations Manager, US
MailOnline



In Their Own Words

Don't just take our word for it. Get the full scoop directly from Alex at MailOnline simply by clicking on the video below.

 

 

ABOUT MAILONLINE

UK-born MailOnline (www.dailymail.co.uk) is the world’s largest English-language newspaper website reaching over 225 million unique monthly visitors globally, 75 million of those coming from the United States. MailOnline is known for its unique blend of world news, entertainment/celebrity buzz, pop culture editorial, female lifestyle editorial, and phenomenal images.

MailOnline has one of the web's most advanced advertising programs incorporating nearly every form of advertising from mobile, social and video, to native and e-commerce, with plans for more. Its robust analytics assure a brand-friendly environment currently enjoyed by some of today's top global advertising brands. In candid video interviews, visitors call the site "addictive, revealing, funny, honest, and probing."​

MailOnline is a division of UK-based DMGT, an international portfolio of digital, information, media and events businesses, which employs over 12,000 people and is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE:DMGT.L).

 

SnapStream & Small Biz Insider Discuss the Power of Video Storytelling

July 26 2021 by Sarah Eck

Origin stories aren't just for superheroes and comic books. And we always love an opportunity to talk about how SnapStream went from a consumer DVR product to the news and media video workspace it is today. 

On a recent episode of Small Biz Insider podcast our own Rakesh Agrawal joined Maggie Martin to talk about SnapStream's continued evolution and the importance of video-based storytelling. Here are a few key moments and takeaways you won't want to miss.

 

The Duality of Video Proof and Need for Context

We believe what we see and hear. And in the era of "fake news," being able to see events in real-time with our own eyes takes on new relevance. But if seeing is believing, then we also need to be more vigilant than ever about the potential for video manipulation.

This is where context becomes so important. Just as video can be used to clarify, it can also be used to obfuscate or play into confirmation bias. Narratives and details that accompany videos - particularly when it comes to video clips - are often as vital as the video proof itself. The way narratives and video work together are key to deepening understanding.

 

Video Content Sources are More Numerous than Ever

The nature of broadcast television and video content has changed significantly in the 20+ years SnapStream has been in business. Part of our charge has been to evolve right along with the rapid proliferation of video content sources.

With roots still planted in broadcast TV, SnapStream continues make our news and media video workspace compatible with a number of sources - from press feeds like CNN Newsource to live events and Twitch streams. Enabling content creators and storytellers of all kinds to easily harness video moments regardless of where they appear is at the heart of what we do.

 

 

Doing More with Less is the Name of the Game

As the news cycle speeds up and video sources proliferate, production, news, public affairs and social media teams are asked to run leaner and meaner each year. Publish more content, never miss a moment, stay ahead of competitors - but do it with smaller teams and fewer tools. 

Therein lies SnapStream's secret sauce. We make it fast and easy for any content creator - regardless of their technical or editing ability - to create frame-accurate, social-media-ready video content.

 

To hear about SnapStream's long relationship with late night TV as well as more of Rakesh's insights on building a successful Houston-based business, check out the full episode via the Greater Houston Partnership site or download via your preferred podcast app.

ABOUT SMALL BIZ INSIDER

Small Biz Insider is a podcast highlighting the innovative business owners, entrepreneurs and leaders of the greater Houston area who are making a big impact in the small business community. It’s part of a digital series produced by the Greater Houston Partnership. 

Now in its third season, Small Biz Insider has featured dozens of guests who have keen insight into Houston’s small business community, from branding to financial advice and more. 

 

 

Five Things Every Digital News Team Should Learn from ONA21

June 30 2021 by Sarah Eck

 

ona21-logo@2xThe Online News Association (ONA) held its 22nd annual conference last week and we couldn’t get enough of the incredible speakers and content. More than 1,000 digital news and media pros virtually gathered to talk about innovation and the future of online journalism. 

While every session was unique and featured varied points of view, a handful of themes seemed to bubble up in many of the talks. Check out the five themes that caught our attention and are top-of-mind in the realm of digital news.

 

Making News Requires More Collaboration than Ever

Teamwork makes the (digital news) dream work. Collaboration was a hot topic on many fronts - from battling misinformation to streamlining production and maximizing monetization. With ever more news to cover and reduced staffs at major outlets, digital journalists must continue to find ways to work together across organizations to craft compelling narratives quickly and accurately.

 

 

Embrace New, Diversified Financial Models

Is the advertising model dead? Depends on who you ask. Will the future of digital news be based on independent journalists, subscriptions, and emerging platforms like Substack? Again, depends on who you ask.

One thing most ONA21 speakers could agree on, however, is that the economic model of digital news is changing.  From hybrid advertiser and subscription models to affiliate marketing, newsletters, social media, and branded content, digital media organizations have more options than ever to diversify their sources of revenue. And in this digital-driven world, ensuring equitable and ethical monetization for journalists is paramount. 

 

 

Leverage Video Proof to Reestablish Trust

Misinformation runs rampant, hyper-partisan outlets continue to proliferate, and mainstream news outlets have a long way to go to regain the trust of the communities they serve. Though journalism has long been predicated on delivering the facts and separating fact from fiction, audiences often give more credence to an information source than the information itself. This is where video proof can play a powerful role in delivering the truth, creating a shared sense of reality, and rebuilding the trust news organizations have lost over the last several years.

 

 

 

Diversity in Newsrooms is Vital to Representative Reporting

Accurate representation of the communities digital journalists serve dominated several ONA21 sessions. Topics ranged from newsroom inclusion, source diversity and web accessibility for disabled readers, to accurate language translation and coverage of traumatic events. The takeaway was clear -- long-overdue changes MUST happen inside newsrooms regarding staffing, source identification, gendered language, content accessibility, and equity in coverage. Evolving newsrooms to meet the moment is paramount to regaining trust within the communities journalists serve every single day.

 

 

 

Explore New Methods and Channels to Reach the Right Audience

News audiences have more options for information than ever, ranging from quality journalism to outright propaganda. For digital news organizations of all kinds this means looking for new ways to meaningfully connect with audiences to capture attention and maximize reach.

One approach is to experiment with new channels (such as text) and new content types (such as events and branded content) to cut through the noise. We heard from other journalists that another successful technique has been to provide even greater transparency and to directly speak with audiences. Essentially breaking the fourth wall to create a dialogue with audiences and bring them closer to the story.

 

 

With so many incredible storytellers in one place, it was inevitable that ONA21 was going to be full of thought-provoking content and a vision for the future. We'd love to hear about which moments stood out to you. Drop us a comment and let us know what got you thinking.

 

SnapStream Search Stats - May 2021

May 26 2021 by Sarah Eck

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Each customer uses our news media video workspace in their own way, but it's always easy to see when major moments get everyone's attention. And May 2021 was chock full of big news stories -- you know, just like every other month before it in recent memory.

We're back at it this month looking at the top search topics in May. From May 1 through May 27, SnapStream users ran 32,240 search queries. Below are some of the hottest search topics of the month.

Restaurants and minimum wage - several restaurants complained of worker shortages as COVID restrictions lifted. For many chains, this brought to a head a years-long battle over wages in the restaurant industry, with some - including Chipotle and McDonald's - ultimately announcing wage increases that are likely to force others in the space to follow suit.

 

Asian Americans - in addition to May being Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month,  signed the bipartisan-supported COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act into law. The legislation comes in the wake of increased violence toward Asian Americans throughout the pandemic.  

 

 

 

January 6 - Guys - did something happen on January 6 this year? Guess we'll find out, maybe. The date of the insurrection was back on everyone's radars as the House passed a bill to investigate the attack on the Capitol. 

 

 

 

Cheney and Marjorie - raise your hand if you'd thought much about Liz Cheney or Marjorie Taylor Greene prior to 2021. Yeah...us either.

Both made headlines in May, with Rep. Cheney in the spotlight for being ousted from her House leadership post by fellow GOP members. Her transgression? Refusing to perpetuate the false idea that the presidential election was rigged.

At the other end of the GOP spectrum was Rep. Greene, who continues to snag the spotlight with her fringe viewpoints. Just when we thought her statement about Jewish space lasers was peak MTG, she one-upped herself this month, making waves by comparing House floor mask mandates to the Holocaust.

 

The news is WILD, y'all.

Other big searches this month included:

  • Critical race theory - several states have recently introduced bills that would prohibit critical race theory from being taught in public schools. And House Republicans introduced a bill that would ban diversity training for federal employees and the military. 

  • Gaza and Israel - a ceasefire came after 11 days of fighting and more than 240 casualties. This decades-old conflict is far from over and has precipitated demonstrations and protests around the globe.

  • Cyber ninjas - the folks leading the charge auditing the November 2020 election results in Arizona. 

  • NFL Draft - Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence is headed to Jacksonville in hopes of helping the Jaguars do better than 1-15 this season.

  • Bill Gates - Bill and Melinda Gates announced their divorce after 27 years of marriage. Think we will see either of them on Tinder at some point?

  • Zoom dysmorphia - apparently seeing yourself in the corner of video calls all day can create a skewed self-image. Lucky for us, we were already pretty skewed to begin with.

Can't wait to see what captures everyone's attention next month!

 

How a News Media Video Workspace Can Unite Remote-First Teams

May 26 2021 by Sarah Eck

shutterstock_1563971233Remember when we all thought we would work from home for no more than two or three weeks? Ah, memories of a simpler time.

Now that two weeks has turned into more than 60 for many of us, organizations of all kinds are making the switch to hybrid or fully remote work arrangements. For those of us in news and media, we need a lot more than Zoom to work efficiently and effectively in this new world. 

One of the largest challenges news, production, and public affairs teams have faced is being able to create, edit, and publish video content remotely. Issues with bandwidth, storage, reliability, and access add unnecessary speed bumps into processes where time is of the essence.

This is where a video workspace can be a game changer for unifying news-making and news-using teams.  These platforms enable teams to bring together several video content sources to make them easier to capture, manage, search, edit, & publish. And they can be used by a variety of departments, from production and news to creative services, ad sales, and PR/public affairs.

Considering a video workflow platform for your news organization? Be sure to look for these three things:


Cloud-Based Video News Access & Distribution

It's likely your organization gets news video content from a variety of sources - broadcast, OTT, streams - in addition to what you create in house. Historically, capturing all these different sources might have required different pieces of hardware, and monitoring them all simultaneously would have been cumbersome, if not impossible.

The first thing your news organization should look for in a video workspace is whether there is an appliance-free option. This can take many forms, from managed TV and hosting to content licensing. Regardless of how it works, the goal for your team should be a cloud-based user experience with no hardware for your team to manage and equal access to content across your organization.

 


 

What is Managed TV?
In most cases, accessing broadcast content still requires a cable or satellite subscription. Which means you'd need a cable box in your office. Platforms - like SnapStream - that include managed TV alleviate this burden by hosting the cable box for you, managing the service install and configuration, and handling troubleshooting and support. This means less IT and engineering support is required from your organization, you get better system reliability, and your focus can stay on creating content.

 


 

Easy-to-Use Video Editing Interface

We are all content creators now. Staying current and relevant in social media channels requires a tremendous amount of timely content. And we all know the social media platform algorithms are currently tuned to favor video-based content. The only way to keep up with the  content velocity required to grow followers and engagement  is to enable more people in your organization to create and publish quality content, wherever they are

In evaluating a news media video workspace, look at how intuitive the controls are and how easy it is to teach your team to use them. The idea is to give video editor-style capabilities to folks without them needing to be video editors. Make sure frame-specific editing is a breeze, transcripts are easy to reference to find specific moments, and there are a variety of branded  formats that can be output specifically for social media. 

 

Alert Everyone to Major Moments

What's important on any given day can vary from team to team. But when big events happen, your brand is mentioned, or your candidate makes a statement, your entire organization needs to take notice. Major moments hit everyone from the newsroom and production to creative services, public affairs, and advertising. And when the news moves fast, it can be a challenge to get the right content to everyone simultaneously. 

As you look at news media video workspaces, ensure the platform does 24/7 monitoring and allows you and your team to set up alerts for the topics that matter to you most. This capability ensures your organization can seamlessly stay aligned on everything from the progression of major news stories and statements and commentary about your candidate or brand to confirming advertising adjacencies and placement. 


Organizations of all sizes will continue looking for better ways to enable teams in a way that maximizes connection and collaboration in our remote and hybrid work world. The right video workspace can alleviate many of the common challenges news, media, and public affairs teams like yours grapple with as you work to get your arms around the news cycle and create compelling video content.



Want to try the original news media video workspace for yourself? Try us free for 7 days to search and clip the biggest news moments as they happen.

 

SnapStream Search Stats - April 2021

April 29 2021 by Sarah Eck
April Search TermsBecause every SnapStream customer creates their own curated searchable video archive, we find that search trends can be as unique as the organizations we serve. Yet it’s always easy to see the biggest moments each month, because they get all our users searching.

This month, from April 1 through April 28, SnapStream users ran 38,956 search queries. Below are some of the hottest search topics of the month.

Fauci, India, and Vaccines -  SnapStream users are still searching for COVID-related terms, as the pandemic enters a new phase. Dr. Fauci appeared in more than 440 searches in April, as new COVID guidance emerged and vaccine availability ramped up. Searches for India rose sharply in the second half of the month as the country faces a heavy surge and new variants.


 

George Floyd - various search terms focused on George Floyd, Minneapolis Police, and Derek Chauvin were prevalent this month as the Chauvin trial resulted in guilty verdicts on all counts. 

 

Oscars - searches for The Oscars/The Academy Awards topped more than 300. It was exciting to see The Oscars come back this year. An incredible list of winners. Thank yous to parents for procreating. And Glenn Close doing Da Butt. It was a weird, wild event.

 

Other big searches this month included:

  • Georgia & Stacey Abrams - many searches focused on the new Georgia voting law and restrictions around providing water to voters waiting in line

  • Matt Gaetz - the term Venmo was often attached to these searches

  • DMX - Ruff Ryder's Anthem will always be our favorite

  • Marijuana & weed - it was 4/20, after all

  • Biden (both Joe and Hunter) - infrastructure was also a hot term as the President shared his $4 Trillion economic plan

  • Amazon - related to the union vote in Alabama

We are excited to see what the next month of searches will bring. 

 

Who Really Watches the News?

April 29 2021 by Sarah Eck

 

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Audience measurement and attribution is tougher than ever, with neither surveys nor browser data telling the full story. Fortunately, the Pew Research Center embarked upon a year-long study to better understand news consumption habits, technology usage, and how research methodologies are trying to keep up.

With the rise of digital media and the diversification of channels used by traditional news sources, not only do researchers have a tougher time measuring readership/viewership, but even audiences themselves are confused. While the Measuring News Consumption in a Digital Era study in its entirety covers ways to improve news attribution surveys and data-gathering, this blog will focus on the findings related to who is watching the news, how they're watching it, and their overall understanding of the news media landscape.

 

News Consumption is Relatively High,About a quarter of Americans could not correctly identify any original reporting sources Media Literacy is Low

While most Americans claim to consume news on a regular or semi-regular basis, confusion exists around how news organizations actually work. 

According to the study, a little over half of respondents are at least fairly confident they can distinguish between news organizations that do their own reporting versus those that do not. 

When asked about specific outlets, including news aggregators like Google News and Apple News, more than two-thirds of respondents either thought these outlets did original reporting or weren't sure. 

 

 

Paying for News is Uncommon and Not Well Understood

Most Americans say they have not paid for news in past year… but when asked more specifically, some who initially said no indicate their household had subscribed or donated

What connotes 'paying for news' has changed drastically over the past decade. Historically, directly paying for news meant subscribing to a publication or purchasing one at the newsstand. With the rise of cable and the internet, more indirect forms emerged. 

Today, Americans get news from a vast set of sources but tend to think of buying access to news in specific terms. When broadly asked if they'd paid for news in the past year, 83% of respondents said they had not. 

However, when researchers asked respondents more specific questions as to whether they had subscribed to print or online news, or donated to a public broadcaster, the data shifted. Of the initial respondents who said they hadn't paid for news in the past year, 19% claimed to subscribe to print or online news when asked in those specific terms.

Overall, the vast majority of Americans are not directly paying to access news sources via subscription or donation, which puts greater pressure on news outlets to secure ad revenue, indirect revenue via licensing, and reimagine their financial models.

Streaming Services and Digital Devices Not Seen as News Sources

Audiences are broadly familiar with streaming devices and services, but a relatively small portion turn to these sources for news content. Less than 20% of study respondents said they get news at least sometimes from streaming devices or services, including Roku, Firestick, Netflix, and Hulu. These same respondents also responded as getting news from TV and digital devices. At the same time 85% of total survey respondents said they get news from mobile devices or PCs. 

Something doesn't quite add up, right?

The real answers emerged in the cognitive interviews with survey respondents. It turns out,  rather than seeing streaming devices or services as news sources, audiences think of them as tools that enable them to access a variety of content - entertainment, information, and possibly news - whenever they want. Put more simply, many respondents think of streaming services as either TV or internet content.


What is SnapStream? There's an unlimited amount of video content out there: 24/7 news channels, breaking news events, sports, talk shows, awards galas, entertainment shows, and so much more.

SnapStream makes a real-time news and media search engine that makes it fast and easy to find the video moments that support our customers telling great stories.

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