We wear many different hats as public relations professionals, but at the end of the day, our job is to tell our clients’ stories. To do that successfully, we must stay on top of the ever-changing 24-hour news cycle.
Thanks to social media and mobile devices, there are several tools available to aggregate and simplify the countless media sources that we rely on each day. Our Voce colleagues recently discussed their favorites, and we asked around our office for some tips, too.
Whether you’re looking to make your morning commute more productive or take advantage of downtime in between client meetings, these six tools will help you incorporate news consumption into your daily life:
“CIO Journal is a business technology must-read to start each day. It discusses what’s on the agenda for IT leaders as well as captures the top biz tech industry news. I also like the ‘Everything Else You Need to Know’ section that pulls in business briefs from around world.” – Albie Jarvis, Managing Director
“I check my AP news app every morning during my commute to stay on top of breaking stories from my clients, their competitors and the tech industry at large. This allows me to get a jump-start on my day, identify new opportunities, and stay entertained during the tedious commute.” – Kristen Kmetetz, Vice President
“theSkimm is a daily e-newsletter that breaks down the top headlines of the day into quick summaries that are easy to understand and laced with the perfect amount of humor and wit. Within minutes, you’ll have the CliffsNotes version of the most important stories in politics, business, entertainment – you name it. I know what you’re thinking: ‘Another email for my poor, overflowing inbox?’ But I promise that this read is any PR pro’s secret weapon for staying informed and getting even smarter. Sign up and skim along with us here.” – Leonora Fleming, Account Executive
“Like a stereotypical millennial, I rely on Twitter to keep me up to date on the latest news. I follow newswires and business publications so I can stay current on top of national and international headlines, but I also make sure to follow reporters and vertical publications that are relevant to my clients. This helps me get a sense of industry trends and conversations where I could potentially insert my clients as thought leaders, and it also helps deepen my understanding of how different journalists like to report their stories.” – Kirsten Tullis, Senior Account Executive
“feedly is a unique news app that allows you to aggregate the news you really care about in a streamlined space. Forget about opening 100 different apps and webpages in order to educate yourself on the buzz of the day; with feedly you can select your favorite newspapers, magazines, and blogs to be displayed in one place. My favorite part about feedly is that the interface is completely customizable- from the order of the stories to the color of the pages. You can order your news by topic (e.g. politics, business, humor), number of likes or shares, or even by a friend’s recommendations. feedly allows you to simplify your daily news routine without sacrificing any of the topics you are passionate about, check it out here.” – Molly Robertson, Assistant Account Executive
“One of the first things I do when I wake up (after turning the coffee pot on of course) is check my phone. I read any national/local news notifications and groggily scroll some of my social media feeds. When I use social media, I’m usually cognizant of my clicks, likes, amount of time spent on a post – keeping in mind the invisible algorithm that is working behind the scenes to filter the content I’m seeing. This awareness ultimately allows me to have some control curating the content I see over time, by allowing me to follow news, companies, thought leaders, industry updates, and topics that I want to surface on my feeds.” – Katharine Sipio, Intern
Do you swear by another e-newsletter, RSS feed or other news aggregator? Share your tip in the comments below!