The introduction of the 24-hour news cycle has created a fast-paced environment where a story is only as good as it is long.

Wild competition across media organisations and the speed of social media mean some stories can drag ad nauseam while others disappear in the blink of an eye.

So with continual news with constant updating, how do you, bright young PR, keep track of it all. 

Keeping Track 

The first thing is to understand what you need from a story first. Is it in-the-moment updates or a deeper analysis of what’s going on? Despite Twitter’s extension of character count, you’re unlikely to find long-form think-pieces there. But you will find breaking news before any journalist can open up a new draft.

Speaking of Twitter, turning on notifications for accounts that break news will help your reaction times. Cybersecurity buffs will want to turn to Hacker News, while economics buffs want to follow reporters at Reuters who have the typing speed of a wild-west gunman.

The last tip is to subscribe to as many morning-focused newsletters as possible. Written by incredible journalists so early in the day they must have a coffee drip in their arms, they prepare you for the biggest stories by 9 am. Some recommendations include The Times morning briefing, The Guardian’s First Edition & TechMarketView’s UKHotViews.

With these tips, you should be better placed to find the most essential stories and crucially, stay on top of them.