Real-time news is the continuous stream of updates that follow a story as it breaks. Social media sites, search engines and other websites use this type of news feed to deliver the latest developments on topics that matter most to their audience. The goal of real-time news is to provide users with the most accurate and up-to-date information possible in order to keep them engaged.
While this style of reporting is a positive development for audiences, it poses challenges for journalists as they strive to balance speed with responsible journalism. Dubbed the ‘tyranny of real time’, it can de-contextualize events and make it difficult for journalists to meet ethical standards.
As a result, new tools that prioritize real-time media monitoring are emerging to help organizations track breaking news as it happens. With real-time news tracking, brands can receive notifications of new mentions across the entire internet – from social media channels to blogs, articles and reviews. This allows them to stay ahead of their competition and respond to negative or positive news coverage in a timely manner.
Live blogging is a popular format for real-time news that features a chronological stream of updates. It offers more depth than social media snippets and can build trust with readers by providing them with context to understand an event as it unfolds. This approach is especially effective for elections, sporting events and other high-impact stories.
A customizable, brand-integrated live blog can also support subscription strategies by delivering high-value content to loyal audiences and driving reader engagement. As a case study, a regional German newspaper used a soccer live blog to boost subscriber reach during the 2018 World Cup and achieved 7.3% subscription growth as a result.
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