I don't mean hiring private eyes to follow around reporters and tap their phones.
It's smart to see what the press and public are saying about you -- or your organization.
Here are five reasons to monitor your media.
1) Find out whether your message is working
You do have a message and a plan, right?
Only by monitoring your media clips will you find out whether that message is getting out there.
2) Plug holes in your coverage
Maybe you're going gangbusters in blogs and newspapers, but getting zero airtime on TV and radio. That's important to know, so you can adjust your focus to plug those holes. And you won't know that unless you're monitoring all channels.
3) Know who covers you
Do you have a list of beat reporters who regularly cover you or your organization? You should. Sending an email to three people who write about your field all day is much, much smarter than blasting out an email to 300 reporters who don't cover that beat at all.
Every time somebody does a story mentioning you, don't just clip the story. Clip the name of the reporter who wrote it.
4) Respond to bad coverage
Whether a story is bad because the facts are wrong -- or bad because it's simply unflattering -- you should know about it, and respond to it. The worst thing is to have a bad story festering out there, and doing damage, without you knowing it.
5) Use good coverage
Whenever there's a good media clip, don't just forward it around inside your organization or send it to mom so she can put it on the fridge.
Put it up on your web page. Use the best quotes from the piece in other material. Put every good story to work.