From Wendy Boswell,
Your Guide to Web Search.
FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now!

There's no lack of news sources on the Web, or for that matter news search sites. However, the Internet is growing at a furious rate and it's difficult for one person to keep up with all the vast information that's out there. That's where news clipping services come in.

What is a News Clipping Service?

Bascially, a news clipping service is a service you pay to sift through the Internet pile of information and only come up with specifc, accurate, delivered right to you content.

Clipping services are nothing new, they've existed in the non-computer world for decades, pretty much since newspapers were invented. But now that nearly every newspaper and periodical on the face of the earth is online, and with the capabilities of modern search technology, the potential of the news clipping service has been transformed into something even more useful. It's a way to monitor a specific topic, research a particular area, or keep track of what is being said on the Web about your business.

Online news clipping services come in many flavors and price ranges. There are extremely narrow services, such as the Missouri Clipping Service, and general services that draw on thousands of sources, such as Index Robot. There are free offerings like Yahoo! News Alerts, and packages that cost as much as $15,000 per year, like PR Newswire's eWatch. The pricier you get, the more personalized service and better search results you should expect.

General News Clipping Services

One news clipping service that does require a fee is LexisNexis AlaCarte. Whatever topic you might be looking for, they will search more than 6,000 of the world's leading news sources for the last two years; or you can search additional sources (20,000!) dating back to 1968. You can see your charges mount up as you search on the right hand side. In order to use this service you must register and log-in. Here are a few more news clipping services:

• CustomScoop: Provides you with a customized daily news briefing.
• Yahoo Alerts: Personalized by topic; includes access to auctions, health news, even FIFA World Cup match scores.
• Market Watch: Requires free registration; excellent newsletters and alerts customized to your preferences available.
• BurrellesLuce: Covers the entire spectrum of US newspapers; also clips news from magazines, television, and radio.

Business News Clipping Services

Online clipping services aimed at businesses take a different angle, positioning themselves as business intelligence gatherers. The idea here is to monitor the Internet for any mention of your business, or of your competitors. These services cover news sources and news items, but they are also able to monitor newsgroups, investor forums and consumer review sites.

WebClipping.com is the most affordable of the business intelligence packages, priced at $100 (US) per month no matter how many stories they find related to your search terms. Fancier and pricier offerings are available from eWatch (PR Newswire - $4000 per year per service) and CyberAlert ($295 per month).

Google News

Luckily for you and me (and our wallets), one of the very best general purpose news clippers is Google News, and it's completely free (free is always good). This is a good, general purpose Google feature that you can set up to send you information on whatever topic you specify. However, as I've already stated, the pricier clippers will also deliver the more personalized service. For more information on how to set up your own personal Google News alerts, check out my article titled How To Create Google News Alerts.

News Clipping Services - It's Up To You

The bottom line with choosing one or the other news clipping services is YOUR bottom line; how much you can afford and the needs of your particular business will greatly affect which service you eventually go with. Most of these services will give you at least a 30-day trial, so you can give it a test run and if it doesn't work out, you're not out any money. Be sure to shop around, do your research, and don't just settle - it's your business and your business's reputation that is at stake.