Products that integrate data from news APIs need to be able to sift through the overwhelming volume of online content and ensure its accuracy.
That’s why we introduced a new filter into our News API: Top News. With our top news filter, you can make sure that the news data your product provides is reliable and accurate for the local population you want to gain insights about. By leveraging the top news filter over your datasets, you not only guarantee the reliability and credibility of the news data powering your product, but also gain targeted insights specific to the chosen region translating to more accurate and highly valuable insights..
Without the top news filter, your queries retrieve data from the same global news sources, usually in English. You end up with holes in your coverage, not seeing articles from sources written in that country’s native language or sources more popular with the local population. Essentially, without Top News, your data provides a partial and inaccurate picture..
Top news sites: defined by site traffic
The site_category:top_news filter enables users to focus their searches on these high-traffic news sources, ensuring results from highly trusted and widely read platforms.
Top news sites in a country
When searching for top news sites in a country, you’re filtering for sites that are popular within that specific country, regardless of the site’s origin.
How to use it:
- Using the filter site_category:top_news_il will search for news from sites that are popular in Israel.
- This might include international sites like cnn.com or bbc.co.uk if they receive significant traffic from Israeli audiences.
This type of search is especially useful if you are interested in news that resonates most with a country’s population, regardless of whether the site itself originates from that country. Using the filter to track coverage of global events (e.g., elections, environmental disasters) by seeing which sources a local population reads. Brands and organizations can anticipate public reactions to these events by monitoring how media outlets are framing them.
Top news sites of a country
In contrast, top news sites of a country refer to sites that originate from or belong to a specific country. These are typically local sites that produce news relevant to their home audience.
To search for these, you can use a combination of the site_category:top_news filter and the country parameter.
How to use it:
- To find top news sites that are from the UK, you would use:
site_category:top_news country:UK
This filter ensures that your results are limited to UK-origin sites like theguardian.com or bbc.co.uk, rather than including international sites popular in the UK.
By analyzing top news stories about your brand from news outlets originating in the target country, you can evaluate how different messaging resonates locally. This insight can guide A/B testing of marketing messaging, enabling your team to optimize campaigns based on what the population each market responds to.
Using Filters to Access High-Quality News through our News API
Webz.io’s top news filters are powerful tools to ensure your search results come from reliable, high-quality sources. Here’s how to use them effectively:
General search for top news sites
- Use site_category:top_news to search globally for news articles from the most popular sites across all countries.
- This is ideal if you’re looking for articles from globally trusted platforms like cnn.com, bbc.co.uk, or nytimes.com.
Search for top news sites in a specific country
- Use site_category:top_news_<country code> (e.g., site_category:top_news_us for the United States).
Ensures that your news data comes from sites that are popular among a specific country’s audience, even if the sites themselves are international. Gain insight into what the audience responds to and how.
Search for top news sites of a country
- Use site_category:top_news country:<country code> (e.g., site_category:top_news country:US for U.S.-origin sites).
This ensures your results are limited to news sites that are actually based in the specified country, offering more localized perspectives. Understand how the sphere of influence for each publisher can extend beyond the country their office is located in.
Why focus on top news sites?
Top news sites, by definition, attract the highest traffic and attention within their respective regions. This often translates to higher-quality journalism, broader coverage, and more reliable reporting. Filtering for top news sites ensures:
- Access to widely trusted and credible content.
- Elimination of low-quality or fringe sources.
- Faster access to information that matters most to your target audience.
Whether you’re a marketer looking for insights, a researcher analyzing trends, or a business tracking global events, leveraging these filters can save time while improving the quality of your results.
Real-world applications of top news filters
Media intelligence
- Brand reputation management
- Monitor brand sentiment across various media outlets to identify potential crises or opportunities.
- Competitive analysis
- Track competitors’ news coverage, product launches, and market strategies to stay ahead of the curve.
- Crisis communication
- Quickly identify and respond to potential crises, minimizing damage to your brand’s reputation.
- Measuring local impact of marketing campaigns.
Risk intelligence
- Geopolitical risk assessment
- Analyze regional news that is written to update the local audience, businesses can grasp a more thorough understanding of precarious situations. Specific stories with a regional impact may not get picked up by global news outlets.
- Assess the likelihood and potential impact of various risks and prioritize mitigation efforts.
- Supply chain risk management
- Regional news outlets often provide real-time updates on natural disasters like hurricanes, earthquakes, or floods that could disrupt supply chains.
- Local language news reports alert businesses to potential political unrest, strikes, or policy changes that might impact resources, transportation routes or customs procedures.
Financial Monitoring
- Market sentiment analysis
- Gauge market sentiment towards specific companies, industries, or economic indicators to make informed investment decisions.
- Regulatory compliance
- Stay up-to-date with regulatory changes and industry news that could impact your financial operations.
- Fraud detection
- Identify potential fraudulent activities by tracking news related to scams and cybercrime.
Understanding the difference between top news sites in a country and of a country is key to tailoring your search for the most relevant and reliable news data. Specific filters like the ones mentioned above provide the flexibility to refine your queries and access content that best meets your needs. By focusing on the right news sites for your needs, you ensure that your searches yield articles from well-regarded sources, giving you confidence in the quality of your data.
Make sure you get all of the data your product needs. Talk to an expert to learn more about our News API.
