The rise of the internet, smartphones and social media has fueled a tremendous explosion of #content in the past two decades. The average consumer is consuming it constantly, no longer just by watching TV or listening to the radio, but via podcasts, blogs, games, YouTube, Twitter, TikTok, Reddit, Netflix and countless other channels.
All that demand has produced a new generation of content creators, each focused on feeding the beast with the most engaging stories—and fast. Unfortunately, this insatiable need for new content often leads to creators spending more time focused on speed and volume, and less on accuracy and due diligence. This fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants model can reap short-term benefits, but for budding media mavens interested in a sustainable, long-term career, prioritizing research should be a must.
In this post, we’ll explore three research best practices for different facets of the media business, as well as how Nexis® can be used to tackle them more efficiently.
Checking the facts before they hit the web
Fact-checking is an art that takes time—something that, as we’ve already established, is in short supply for most content creators. And while traditional mainstream media outlets like the New York Times or NPR still prioritize securing multiple sources and fact-checking before they run stories, many emerging online publications, podcasts or influencers are a bit more lax in the practice.
Unfortunately, all it takes is one major misstep to lose the trust of your audience, which can hurt your follower count and your bottom line. And while researching with free-to-use resources like Google is a good start for avoiding these hiccups, the single best way to ensure your content is consistently accurate is by focusing on outlets that you know you can trust.
That’s where Nexis® comes in. Our platform allows you to intuitively search through more than 45,000 sources, including historical news archives, legal data and global newswires, as well as niche trade publications.
Finding Tantalizing Topics
Another major challenge that has arrived thanks to the increasingly saturated media landscape is simple—finding an exciting topic that hasn’t already been covered, discussed or highlighted in dozens of other places. Nowhere is this challenge more prominent than in the world of podcasting, where new shows are popping up every single day. In 2021 there were more than two million podcasts widely available around the globe—more than four times more than in 2018.
Again, investing in a research tool like Nexis can offer you a leg up. Not only does our interface allow you to keep tabs on industry-specific insights, breaking news stories and major trends like international sanctions or new patents, it also can power deep dives into specific areas. Thinking about starting a podcast on clean energy? A quick search in Nexis can highlight who the major players are, what new legislations have recently passed and where investors are placing their bets. That’s three episodes right off the bat!
Vetting Talent & Guests
In recent years reality television has become big business, with shows tailored to everyone from cooking fans and fashionistas to fitness junkies and gossip aficionados. Despite the word “reality” in the title, there’s actually a ton of work that goes into producing these shows, none of which is more important than casting and lining up guests.
Vetting prospective contestants, stars or guests on these shows is a crucial step in the production process, and Nexis can make the work exponentially easier. We offer biographical information, including business affiliations, news coverage and watch-outs like previous lawsuits on millions of individuals—which means you could catch a problem before someone goes in front of the camera.
Are you ready to take your content creation to new, more accurate heights? Sign up today for a Nexis demo!