Imported from claude-office-skills/skills (
news-monitor/SKILL.md) via skills.sh. Install upstream withnpx skills add claude-office-skills/skills --skill news-monitor. Copyright stays with the author (MIT).
News Monitor Skill
Overview
I help you set up effective news monitoring strategies, analyze media coverage, and synthesize news into actionable intelligence. I can help with brand monitoring, industry tracking, and competitive intelligence.
What I can do:
- Design news monitoring strategies
- Recommend monitoring tools and RSS feeds
- Create news digest templates
- Analyze media coverage patterns
- Synthesize news into briefings
- Set up alert configurations
What I cannot do:
- Access real-time news feeds
- Execute actual monitoring
- Provide breaking news
- Access paywalled news sources
How to Use Me
Step 1: Define Monitoring Objectives
Tell me what you want to track:
- Company/brand mentions
- Industry news
- Competitor activity
- Specific topics or keywords
- Executive/person mentions
- Regulatory/policy changes
Step 2: Set Parameters
Specify:
- Geographic scope
- Language preferences
- Source types (news, social, blogs)
- Frequency (real-time, daily, weekly)
- Alert thresholds
Step 3: Choose Output
- Monitoring strategy document
- Alert configuration guide
- News digest template
- Media analysis framework
Monitoring Strategy Framework
1. Keyword Strategy
Primary Keywords
Brand/Company: "Company Name", CompanyName, @CompanyHandle
Products: "Product Name", product-name
Executives: "CEO Name", "CTO Name"
Boolean Combinations
Simple: "Company Name" OR "Product Name"
Filtered: "Company Name" AND (launch OR announcement OR partnership)
Exclusion: "Company Name" NOT jobs NOT careers
Competitor Monitoring
"Competitor A" OR "Competitor B" AND (funding OR acquisition OR launch)
2. Source Strategy
| Source Type | Examples | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Newswires | Reuters, AP, AFP | Breaking news |
| Business | Bloomberg, FT, WSJ | Financial/corporate |
| Tech | TechCrunch, Verge, Wired | Technology |
| Industry | Trade publications | Sector-specific |
| Social | Twitter, LinkedIn | Real-time sentiment |
| Blogs | Medium, Substack | Thought leadership |
| Forums | Reddit, HN | Community sentiment |
3. Tool Recommendations
| Tool | Type | Best For | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Alerts | Basic monitoring | Simple tracking | Free |
| Feedly | RSS aggregation | News aggregation | Freemium |
| Mention | Social + web | Brand monitoring | Paid |
| Meltwater | Enterprise | Comprehensive | Enterprise |
| Brandwatch | Social listening | Social analysis | Enterprise |
| NewsAPI | API access | Custom builds | Freemium |
| Curation | Personal digest | Free |
News Digest Template
# [Company/Topic] News Digest
**Period**: [Date range]
**Prepared by**: [Name/Team]
**Distribution**: [Internal/External]
---
## Headlines Summary
### Top Stories This Period
1. **[Headline 1]** - [Source], [Date]
- Key point: [Summary]
- Impact: [High/Medium/Low]
2. **[Headline 2]** - [Source], [Date]
- Key point: [Summary]
- Impact: [High/Medium/Low]
3. **[Headline 3]** - [Source], [Date]
- Key point: [Summary]
- Impact: [High/Medium/Low]
---
## Coverage by Category
### Company News
| Date | Headline | Source | Sentiment |
|------|----------|--------|-----------|
| | | | Positive/Neutral/Negative |
### Industry News
| Date | Headline | Source | Relevance |
|------|----------|--------|-----------|
| | | | High/Medium/Low |
### Competitor News
| Date | Headline | Source | Competitor |
|------|----------|--------|------------|
| | | | |
---
## Sentiment Analysis
| Category | Positive | Neutral | Negative | Total |
|----------|----------|---------|----------|-------|
| Company | | | | |
| Products | | | | |
| Executives | | | | |
**Overall Sentiment Trend**: [Improving/Stable/Declining]
---
## Key Themes
### Theme 1: [Name]
[Description and relevant articles]
### Theme 2: [Name]
[Description and relevant articles]
---
## Action Items
1. [ ] [Action based on coverage]
2. [ ] [Action based on coverage]
3. [ ] [Action based on coverage]
---
## Upcoming Events to Watch
| Date | Event | Potential Impact |
|------|-------|-----------------|
| | | |
---
## Sources Monitored
- [List of sources]
---
*Next digest: [Date]*Media Analysis Framework
Coverage Metrics
| Metric | Description | Calculation |
|---|---|---|
| Volume | Number of mentions | Count of articles |
| Reach | Potential audience | Sum of publication reach |
| Share of Voice | Your mentions vs competitors | Your mentions / Total market mentions |
| Sentiment | Tone of coverage | Positive:Neutral:Negative ratio |
| Message Pull-Through | Key message presence | % of articles with key messages |
Sentiment Classification
| Sentiment | Indicators |
|---|---|
| Positive | Praise, success, growth, innovation |
| Neutral | Factual reporting, announcements |
| Negative | Criticism, problems, failures, concerns |
Source Authority Tiers
| Tier | Examples | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | WSJ, NYT, Reuters, FT | 10x |
| Tier 2 | Industry leaders, major outlets | 5x |
| Tier 3 | Regional, specialized | 2x |
| Tier 4 | Blogs, small outlets | 1x |
Alert Configuration Guide
Google Alerts Setup
1. Go to google.com/alerts
2. Enter search query:
"Your Company" OR "Your Product"
3. Show options:
- How often: As-it-happens / Daily / Weekly
- Sources: Automatic / News / Blogs / Web
- Language: [Select]
- Region: [Select]
- How many: All results / Best results
4. Create alert
Recommended Alert Categories
| Category | Query Example | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Brand mentions | "Company Name" | As-it-happens |
| Product mentions | "Product Name" | Daily |
| Executive mentions | "CEO Name" | Weekly |
| Competitor news | "Competitor" AND launch | Daily |
| Industry trends | [industry] AND "trends 2025" | Weekly |
| Negative monitoring | "Company Name" AND (problem OR issue OR complaint) | As-it-happens |
Output Format: Monitoring Strategy
# News Monitoring Strategy: [Topic/Brand]
**Prepared**: [Date]
**Review Cycle**: [Quarterly]
---
## Monitoring Objectives
1. [Objective 1]
2. [Objective 2]
3. [Objective 3]
---
## Keyword Strategy
### Primary Keywords[keyword 1] [keyword 2] "[exact phrase]"
### Boolean Queries
**Brand Monitoring**:
"Company Name" OR "Product Name" OR @handle
**Competitor Tracking**:
("Competitor A" OR "Competitor B") AND (funding OR launch OR partnership)
**Industry News**:
[industry] AND (trends OR innovation OR market)
### Exclusion Terms
NOT (jobs OR careers OR hiring)
---
## Source Matrix
| Category | Sources | Priority |
|----------|---------|----------|
| Tier 1 News | [List] | High |
| Industry | [List] | High |
| Tech | [List] | Medium |
| Social | [List] | Medium |
| Blogs | [List] | Low |
---
## Tool Configuration
### Primary Tool: [Tool Name]
- Setup instructions
- Query configuration
- Alert settings
### Secondary Tools
- [Tool 2]: [Purpose]
- [Tool 3]: [Purpose]
---
## Workflow
### Daily
1. Review real-time alerts
2. Triage by priority
3. Flag for action
### Weekly
1. Compile digest
2. Analyze trends
3. Share with stakeholders
### Monthly
1. Full analysis report
2. Strategy review
3. Keyword refinement
---
## Distribution
| Stakeholder | Content | Frequency |
|-------------|---------|-----------|
| Executives | Summary | Weekly |
| PR Team | Full digest | Daily |
| Marketing | Competitor intel | Weekly |
| Sales | Battle card updates | As needed |
---
## Success Metrics
1. Coverage volume vs baseline
2. Share of voice vs competitors
3. Sentiment ratio improvement
4. Response time to mentions
Tips for Better Results
- Be specific about what you want to monitor
- Prioritize sources based on relevance
- Use Boolean operators to reduce noise
- Set appropriate frequency - not everything needs real-time
- Review and refine keywords regularly
- Establish escalation criteria for urgent mentions
Limitations
- Cannot execute actual monitoring
- Cannot access real-time news
- Cannot access paywalled sources
- Cannot provide breaking news
- Strategy needs manual implementation
Built by the Claude Office Skills community. Contributions welcome!