A measurement of media diversity must itself use multiple criteria. Media Tenor has chosen ten criteria, such as style, sources used, share of coverage of small and medium-size companies, or share of coverage by geographical area, which provide a general overview of the editorial content in order to evaluate the diversity of news coverage in the nominated media. Media Tenor will also take into account whether editors have created variety in the range of issues and protagonists that are quoted and described as well as the level of detail with which facts were presented. In addition, Media Tenor will analyze how often female protagonists were presented and how often financial analysts were quoted.

Globalization is not only affecting business, but also journalism – the media’s strength in providing original national and regional coverage seems to diminish, while more and more syndicated “global” news appear in daily newscasts. Media Tenor will compare TV news from Africa, America and Europe to determine which broadcasts offer the most diverse reporting, that is, which media cover a breadth of political issues as well as a wide range of international events without reducing their coverage to catastrophes, wars or terror attacks. The share of coverage of female protagonists as well as the geographical focus will also be used to evaluate the media nominated for this award.

Business reporting does not only matter to business people – what entrepreneurs and politicians decide to do can affect everyone. In a period of growing global interdependence, comprehensive information is essential. Therefore the Global Business Media Award stresses diversity in the coverage of foreign countries as well as key issues. Media Tenor will also consider how much information about non-members of the exclusive club of blue-chip companies the nominated media outlets deliver; another mark of excellence for a business medium. In addition, a balanced approach to quoting analysts is an essential quality measured by Media Tenor on a day-to-day basis. Other criteria used to evaluate the nominees include opinion-leadership and other aspects regarding the diversity of reporting.

The Media Tenor Web Benchmark does not measure the economic potential of the analyzed websites. Instead, this tool enables the evaluation of websites according to their benefit to journalist. Media Tenor analyses the online versions of 15 print and TV news media according to 100 different criteria. These comprise three areas: The Usability Index focuses on criteria like the number and clarity of links, ease of navigation, (un)necessary scrolling, download times and international accessibility, while the Interactivity Index focuses on criteria such as the presence of online applications, e-mail contacts, guest books and newsletters. However, the Information Index, comprised of criteria tied to users’ ability to attain information regarding management, directors, location, company stock, annual reports, and personnel topics also plays an important role in the final assessment.

This special award was presented for the first time two year ago. In this category, Media Tenor honors, based on content analysis data, the Agenda Setter of the Year. Media Tenor assesses which media or individual journalist delivered extraordinary value to the public by virtue of a medium’s breadth and depth of news coverage.

In order to evaluate the quality of a company’s communications, it would hardly be sufficient to simply measure its media presence and the tone in which it has been covered. This is why Media Tenor, in cooperation with the business magazine Capital, defined ten transparent and verifiable criteria by which to analyze a company’s media performance in all national opinion-leading media over a period of 12 months each year. One of the most crucial questions in the analysis is whether or not companies even receive a minimum amount of coverage. Many companies are delighted just to receive an occasional clipping, but do not succeed in generating continuous media coverage. Companies that remained below the awareness threshold are thus not included in the final tally. The threshold, of course, needs to be defined by a broad sample of news stories rather than the news coverage of a single industry. Negative coverage should also not significantly outweigh positive coverage (that is, by more than a 5% share of the coverage) in order to avoid giving an unfair advantage to scandal-stricken companies. Additional criteria concern the extent to which the top management was present in the media and how many stories on value drivers such as innovation, products and employees were published in the previous twelve months. Finally, only those companies are included in the tally that managed to receive coverage across a wider range of media outlets – companies that not only found a platform for their messages in business media, but also in TV news, weekly magazines, and regional and national daily newspapers.

More than ever, reporting on financial markets is turning into the question of how to deal with the impact of quoted analysts. Media Tenor will look at the extent to which journalists are quoting investment experts that rank among the top ten most accurate analysts in their respective sector, according to quarterly rankings, assessing both the frequency of quotes as well as the variety of financial media that quote them, and honor those whose media presence most successfully underlines their credibility. Among the analyzed financial media for this award are Börsenzeitung, Financial Times, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Handelsblatt, Wall Street Journal, Welt and Wirtschaftswoche. Aside from thematic variety, Media Tenor also looks at a balanced financial advice pattern: For instance, banks whose analysts are primarily quoted with buy recommendations rank lower. Likewise, banks whose analysts are mostly quoted with bearish advice lose points compared to banks that deliver more balanced assessments of businesses.

Understanding politics does not only depend on what media offer to their readers and audiences. It also depends on what national and regional governments offer the media. Over the past few years, the principle of federalism in general and the role of the Bundesrat (the upper house of German parliament) in particular have increasingly been put into question. The 16 German states would thus do well to closely examine the fruits of their communication efforts. Naturally, state governments with a consistent media presence can more easily justify the role states play in the political system. This is why Media Tenor will not only measures the media presence of individual German states and their governments, but also look at the extent to which they succeed in surpassing the awareness threshold in communicating to the public on subjects which – according to the constitution – are their responsibility: Education, culture and science. Another criterion will be how strongly they manage to communicate on economic subjects such as new industrial investments and innovation in the 39 German national media.

Sports are not only one of the greatest diversions in life; they also have an ever-increasing influence on politics and the economy. If the national soccer team reaches the World Cup finals, it does wonders for the collective national mood, indirectly working to the advantage of incumbents in elections. If it fares poorly, the general political climate will remain unchanged and the incumbent may have to worry about his re-election. This dynamic can be witnessed during election cycles all over the world. Similarly, companies, who spend more and more of their marketing budgets on sports teams and celebrity athletes, are primarily interested in two questions: What sports are covered the most by the media at any given time and which teams and individuals have managed to dissociate their media image at least partly from their transient success or failure in competition? This is why Media Tenor has developed an indicator which measures the media presence of selected sports, but also, e.g., how each of the German Federal Football League teams generates attention for itself and its sponsors in media coverage that is not directly related to the game.

Media Tenor presents its special award to an institution whose work represents a great contribution to society and public life, but which was not reported on as much as it deserved in opinion-leading media. The first award was presented to AIDS Orphans, followed by Transparency International and Amnesty International. To the winner, Media Tenor offers one year of our consulting services in order to help build media awareness and communicate effectively on relevant issues.