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Searching for news is a task both information professionals and the users we train are doing all of the time using one of many news search databases.
One powerful news search database I like a lot gets very little attention, and I think that needs to change.
The resource I’m talking about is Silobreaker. It’s been online for several years and aggregates content from more than 10,000 news sites, blogs, and multimedia sources.
Best of all, access to this London- and Stockholm-based news search tool is free. While not perfect (what is?), it’s a search tool you will want to know about.
Silobreaker is powerful due to its advanced search interface located next to the primary search box, which enables you to limit in a number of ways including by source, content type, date, etc. Even more important are the many additional resources not found on most other news search engines, providing options that can help make sense of the news. They provide not only links to news results but also useful intelligence.
Take a look on the charts and tables located on the right side of the homepage and you’ll see what I’m talking about. All of these features are also searchable via the links found directly above the main search box.
Notice the drop-down menu from the search box that appears as you enter your search terms. If the term(what Silobreaker calls an 'entity') is in the database, you’ll see it here. It can help you focus your search even before you click.
Just because a search topic doesn’t have a drop down option does not mean it isn’t searchable on Silobreaker. However, results -- like on any news search tool -- may vary. Here’s an example of a search results page for an entity not in the database.
With that understood, Silobreaker is most powerful with entities in their database. They even ask for help in identifying new entities and sources. Look for the link at the very top of any page. At the top of the homepage, you’ll spot a hyperlink labeled '360° search'. This is the default search option. Here’s the resulting 360 search on General Motors.
Note the brief company information available at the top left of the page including a link to a Silobreaker fact sheet about GM. This service also works for searches about people. For example, Barack Obama. Again, you’ll see brief bio info along with other information. Click the bio link and you’ll receive a full bio about the President gleaned from Silobreaker sources. Very useful. All of this is in addition to the news stories that the database provides.
The next search option at the top of the search box is called 'Network' and it graphically displays how people or topics in the database relate to other people and/or topics in the full database. This is an interactive tool. Cursor over any of the boxes and you’ll see what the relationship is via a text snippet. Here’s the 'Network' page for Global Warming.
Option number three is labeled 'Hot Spots'. Here you’ll find a map that gives an idea of where the underlying stories are about. Again using Barack Obama as the search topic, take a look at this Hot Spot map.
You'll notice lots of content about the Middle East. Obama is heading their today (6/3/2009).
The 'Trends' option gives you a graphical look at how much attention topic or person is getting in the press over a period of time. Here’s the trends page for U.S. Supreme Court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor.
OK, that was a lot to take in. Let’s review using a 360° degree search for Gordon Brown.
Note the main search results like you would find with any news search tool. The entities located below each article are clickable. On the right side of the page take note of the following:
- Video search results (if available)
- 'In focus' (people, places, events related to Brown (clickable)
- 'Content volume' for searches about Gordon Brown broken down by source type
- A 'Network' graph that identifies and shows relationships
- 'Hot Spots' that illustrate where the news is coming from (clickable)
- A 'Trends' graph that illustrates the amount of content about Prime Minister Brown versus other people in the news.
Finally, while Silobreaker offers many options the learning curve does not take a long time. It’s actually quite fun. You’ll be up and running in no time. Pages on the site also provide more help if needed.
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