"Rapid Issue Tracking" of Media and Public Opinion

An example of the type of research that is both of my interest area and within the reaches of my developing skill set is also one that I had never heard of until today. And, AND, it is part of a U.S. Forest Service initiative out of the Northern Research Station (NRS) outpost in Evanston, IL. Happy to see some USFS innovation! This endeavor has both a potential multi-region focus as well as, seemingly, an ability to tease out geographic intricacies of the give-and-take between media reporting and public discussion.

Rapid Issue Tracking: Taking the Pulse of Media Attention and Public Discussion is the long title. As the USFS is wont to do, it will no doubt be acronymized to RIT or TPMAPD or something worse.  No, acronymized was not a real word until today, either.

But I think the folks at NRS are on to something. In an age of engagement rather than top-down governmental "expert driven" heavy-handedness, this is both an inventive and timely endeavor. It triangulates data from a variety of sources, including social media, to make sure station leadership is aware of the "pulse" of public opinion on various issues. As the NRS describes it, there are five basic steps in Rapid Issue Tracking:

1. Define the problem or issue including timing, geographic focus, interested parties, and types of messages that are relevant.  In addition, identify any budget issues or constraints related to carrying out the data analysis.
2. Identify appropriate online news sources.  For some issues, specialized news sources may be included.
3. Develop search terms and download stories.  In identifying search terms, it is especially important to use non-technical language when appropriate in order to capture articles or references that use plain language.
4. Analyze the textual data.  This is the most labor-intensive step even when commercial software is used to facilitate the process.
5. Present the findings.  In most cases, a presentation or short report that summarizes the findings is expected.

One can only hope (as futile as it might be) that leadership at USDA ** criticism alert ** would get on the ball join the 21st Century, too, instead of hamstringing USFS innovation in the extended use of social media as **gasp** an actual communications tool. Kudos to the NRS folks heading this project up.