Innovations

Media Tenor, the first media research institute in Germany, was founded 1993 by journalists, scientists from various disciplines, and representatives from NGOs and the corporate world. Over the years we have expanded internationally. As 70 percent of Media Tenor’s work is focused on fundamental research, it has been a key driver in development and innovation within media science.

High quality assurance

Media Tenor founded its research institute in cooperation with universities and experts in media science, whose standards for analyst data stood at 70 percent in inter-coder reliability testing. Few of their studies ever reach the 70 percent mark, however, and furthermore only Media Tenor regularly publishes its inter-coder reliability test results.

Media Tenor learned quickly that in order to predict people’s perception and reputation risk, analysis of much higher quality is required. Media Tenor thus implemented 87 percent as a minimum for analyst performance. In order to reach and maintain these levels, Media Tenor uses only human analysts and has implemented daily training in content analysis. No software that currently exists can reach comparable results to those needed for media content analysis and media impacts research - Agenda Setting research.

1994 – The 100 Percent Approach

With the founding of Media Tenor, for the first time in the history of media content analysis ALL reports in TV news were analyzed on an up-to-date basis. Previous to this innovation, media analysis had been a narrowly focused process, explicitly approaching only the topic of interest while leaving the rest of news coverage aside. 

1994 - Prediction of Election Campaigning

Since 1994 Media Tenor has been analyzing major elections in the USA, Germany, South Africa, and the Czech Republic, providing significant insights into the election process. In 2002 Media Tenor introduced a new tool for measuring live TV debates. By analyzing candidate performances in real time, Media Tenor was able to develop a platform that clearly captured the content of candidate platforms, providing an objective benchmark for comparison with pundit analyses and media reporting.
In the United States presidential elections of 2000 and 2004 Media Tenor was able to predict the election results — one week beforehand in the case of the 2004 election, in an interview on Bloomberg TV.

1995 –  Analyst Alert

Thanks to Media Tenor’s approach of providing content analysis on a very detailed level in which each unit of information and its source are made transparent, our institute was able to develop an early warning system that showed when listed companies were at risk. When quoted analysts have a higher share than 10% of the company’s overall media coverage, our early warning system alerts the media team to act, before the company’s reputation is too dependent on financial issues.

1995 - Issue Monitoring

Since 1995 Media Tenor has monitored more then 700 issues, offering its clients the latest trends in the fields of business, politics, society, and environment. With this valuable database, Media Tenor can predict on a weekly basis those issues that are to become important on the media agenda - one week before it actually happens.

1997 - Prediction of Consumer Confidence

Since January 1997 Media Tenor has been researching the correlation between the Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) and economic media reporting on German TV networks. Beginning in 2000 Media Tenor transferred this approach to the United States. Agenda Setting Effects show that the CCI follows the media’s ratings of the economy. See example

1997 - Public Service Monitoring

On behalf of the Czech Parliament, Media Tenor Ostrava developed a system to enable everyone to judge whether or not public TV is following TV standards.

1998 – Merger & Acquisition Index

After the Daimler Chrysler merger in 1998, Media Tenor established a daily Merger Alert System to monitor internet newsgroups, blogs, print, TV, and radio in order  to implement a rapid response tool through all phases of the merger process: pre-phase, announcement, quiet period, and share exchange.

1998 - 10 Golden Rules of Media Analysis

In 1998 Media Tenor implemented the 10 fundamental aspects of professional media analysis. Monitoring that implements these 10 Golden Rules in Business Communication ensures that important reputation aspects are tracked, providing the basis for an early warning system.

1998 - Analyst Quotation vs. Share Price

In 1998 Media Tenor began monitoring and analyzing analyst quotes in opinion-leading business media around the globe. Further study of the impacts of analyst ratings on share prices shows that analysts’ recommendations influence the movement of share prices. Media Tenor thus strengthened the importance of Investor Relations in corporate media communication strategies. In 2001 Media Tenor produced its own weekly TV program Fridays on N-24 to present the impact of the Media Tenor Analysts Quotation Results on the Share price.

2000 - ICA=CH Model

At the 2nd International Agenda Setting Conference in Bonn, participants of the Agenda Setting theory workshop further adapted the traditional Stimulus-Response Model into the ICA=CH Model, in accordance with the Agenda Setting theory.

2000 - Communication Diamond

In 2000 Media Tenor developed the Communication Diamond, which helps to ensure balanced coverage of value drivers in corporate communication – the fundamental criteria for reputation management.

2002 - IPO Media Climate

Since 2002 Media Tenor has been analyzing the success of IPOs internationally. Ignorance of the importance of effective communication has affected the success of many IPOs in Europe and elsewhere. In response and on the basis of its research, Media Tenor developed the 8 Key Risks and Opportunities in strategic communication that is associated with successful IPOs.

2002 - AwarenessThreshold

In 2002 Media Tenor developed the AwarenessThreshold Analysis, which enables organisations to determine whether their communication activities are relevant enough to have influence on public perception and behaviour. This analysis is unique to Media Tenor and is possible thanks to the methodology of analysing every single article in opinion leading media (section news, politic, business) and long-term Agenda Setting Research experience.

2002 - Real Time General Election TV Debate

While monitoring the United States presidential election campaign in 2000, Media Tenor researchers in New York measured the huge impact of media reporting on the three TV debates between George W. Bush and Al Gore. In response to this experience, Media Tenor invented a real-time analysis methodology for the 1st German TV debate of the general elections, enabling journalists to get access to relevant data immediately after the TV debate and before polls were published. This continued in the United States Presidential Election of 2004.

2004 - MAX- the Media Awareness Index

MAX- the Media Awareness Index was developed to help corporate communicators to know whether or not their Media Relations activities have been relevant – the breaking point for Awareness Threshold analysis.

2004 - PAX- the Politics Awareness Index

PAX- The Politics Awareness Index was developed to provide media relations departments in government and political parties with a clear indicator of the political institutions and politicians that are communicating above the awareness threshold with positive responses in the polls.

2004 - Prediction of Business Confidence Index

Together with Prof. Jan Egbert Sturm, today the head scientist of KOF Zurich, Media Tenor developed a system enabling the prediction of the German Business Confidence Index IFO. Since August 2004, Media Tenor has announced its prognosis several days before the IFO institute, with an accuracy rate of 74 percent.

2004 - D&O Insurance and Media Reputation of CEOs

After years of joint research with experts from PWC and Accenture, Media Tenor developed a system enabling clients to identify companies that are communicating at risk. This Indicator is now being tested to become a tool for helping Insurance companies to price their D&O insurance.

2005 - Reputation Risk analysis

In 2005 Media Tenor Implemented Risk Management analysis in order to provide crisis prevention tools that give clients the opportunity to change coverage before reputation damage occurs. Companies communicating at Reputation Risk are advised by our Early Warning System to change their communication strategy before serious damage can be caused.

 

Media Tenor presents its findings regularly at a number of scientific conferences.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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