Where's My Clips? Media Monitoring In the Sequestration Era

Sequestration is forcing Federal agencies and even Congressional offices to cancel subscriptions to newspapers, magazines and online media outlets.  While saving thousands of dollars, these cuts will result in decreased situational awareness for both bureaucrats and lawmakers.

 While some of the cancellations are symbolic, other cuts are genuine cost-savers.  A subscription to the Washington Post costs $160 a year, similar to the New York Times, which costs $176 annually.  Trade publications such as the dozens published by the Bureau of National Affairs can run into the thousands of dollars.  Politico's premium editions for transportation, finance, health and defense nearly $4,000 a year.  

Scissors and Cleavers

There is a foot-long pair of scissors on my office desk.  They were a gift from a former boss when she retired.  I don`t use them very much these days, but I keep them as a reminder of the pre-Internet days when media monitoring meant skimming and clipping print editions of daily and weekly newspapers.

News clips are the scorecard by which flacks measure the success of their efforts and are a vital source of information for government officials.

News clips generate strong emotions in those who read them; pleasure, excitement and even anger.  The fancy word for doing the clips is “media monitoring” and there are companies such as Cision and Vocus that will scan thousands of media outlets and provide customized reports for clients willing to pay $1,000 a month or more for the services.

Organization heads, whether they are a member of Congress or an association president eagerly anticipate each day’s clips.  News coverage creates agendas, drives government action and measures the effectiveness of media relations programs.

Perhaps the most famous government clips are the Pentagon's “Current News Early Bird” clips.m “Available by 0530, it aims to represent how the public, Congress and the press see military and defense programs and issues. The Early Bird is an internal management tool intended to serve the informational needs of senior DOD officials in the continuing assessment of defense policies, programs and actions.”

As noted above, clips are at Zero dark thirty so they can be read when senior management strolls in the door or checks his or her Blackberry.  My predecessor as vice president of public Affairs at the American Trucking Associations rose at 4 a.m. each morning to read and clip the Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal and other major newspapers so he could brief his boss, Tom Donohue (now president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce) en route to breakfast meetings.  In addition to the daily clips, ATA subscribed to a news clipping service to receive coverage of the association in regional publications and magazine.

The Internet has made preparing the clips easier in some ways as media outlets began posting content online and news clipping services began offering almost real-time monitoring.  While these services have come down in price, they can still run thousands of dollars a year.

Can Federal agencies do without subscriptions to daily newspapers such as the New York Times, Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal?   News coverage drives public opinion, which often drives public policy.  When a story hits the front page of the Post or the Times, Congress often calls upon Federal agencies for action. 

Cancelling publications may result in agencies losing situational awareness.  As more and more newspapers put up pay walls, the ability of budget-strapped Federal Flacks to maintain situational awareness will diminish.

Men in Black and Trade Publications

One of my favorite scenes in the movie “Men In Black, “ is when Tommy Lee Jones pulls up to a newsstand and buys a pile of supermarket tabloids.   “We’re gonna check out of the hot sheets,” explains Agent K (Jones) to his rookie partner, J, played by Will Smith. “These: THESE are the hot sheets?  Kay: Best investigative reporting on the planet. But go ahead, read the New York Times if you want. They get lucky sometimes.”

For Federal agencies, trade publications are the “hot sheets” that allow regulators a window into the industries they regulate, providing context and insights on the impact of the economy and regulations on industries. 

“Aviation Daily” is a must-read at the Federal Aviation Administration, the Department of Transportation and the House and Senate Aviation Subcommittees. The McGraw-Hill publication covers the Federal Aviation Administration and Congressional activity on aviation issues like a blanket.  “The Daily” is not cheap.  An online subscription to Aviation Daily costs $1,785 a year.

Many trade publications offer complimentary subscriptions to regulators and Congress in order to build awareness and to get their calls returned.  When I worked at the Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General a decade ago, a Bloomberg reporter regularly e-mailed me copies of his stories so they could appear in our daily clips. Today, Bloomberg reporters tweet their stories or post them on Facebook to ensure wider distribution.

Pay Walls: When the Internet Isn't Free

I've never been a fan of pay walls on news sites, but I understand the need for newspapers to earn revenue.  The Washington Post's recent announcement of it's planned pay wall is an attempt to split the baby.  Print subscribers will get full online access, as will government officials logging in from their offices.  That's useful, but what about the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, which are not available on media monitoring sites because of their pay walls?