December 18, 2025
These are the top 10 media monitoring tools for PR, communications, and public affairs professionals.
In today's fragmented media landscape, the ability to monitor and analyze conversations across a plethora of platforms is a necessity. For PR and public affairs professionals, media monitoring is the bedrock of a successful communications strategy, providing the insights needed to navigate complex narratives, engage with stakeholders, and protect brand reputation.
This guide will highlight the 10 best media monitoring tools for 2026, delve into how to choose the right one for your needs, and examine specific use cases of media intelligence for both PR and public affairs teams.
Why Media Monitoring Is Essential
Media monitoring tools are the eyes and ears of modern communications teams. They automate the tedious, painstaking process of having to manually sift through news articles, social media posts, and broadcast clips.
By providing real-time media alerts and in-depth analytics, these platforms empower teams to track brand coverage, measure the effectiveness of their PR campaigns, and gain a competitive edge. In an era of rapid-fire news cycles and social media-fueled crises, media monitoring is an essential tool for reputation management, allowing teams to identify and respond to negative sentiment before it escalates. For those working in PR, communications, and public affairs, media monitoring tools are indispensable.
How to Choose the Right Media Monitoring Tool
With a plethora of platforms promising media intelligence, selecting the right tool can be a daunting task. To make an informed decision, it's crucial to consider a range of factors beyond just price.
Coverage breadth and depth are paramount, as it ensures that the platform actually monitors any and all of the sources that matter most to your organization, whether it's niche trade publications, local broadcast news, or international social media platforms.
AI-driven filtering and relevance are also critical for surfacing the most accurate and relevant insights for your work. Look for a platform that offers advanced filtering capabilities and customizable alerts.
Make sure to also confirm the platform's integration capabilities with your existing workflows, its reporting and analytics features, and its scalability to meet your future needs. For public affairs and policy teams, it's especially important to choose a tool that offers specialized features for legislative and regulatory tracking.
10 Best Media Monitoring Tools for 2026
1. Clipbook
Clipbook is the leading AI research and analysis platform purpose-built for communications and public affairs teams. Unlike legacy tools, Clipbook is designed specifically for PR, communications, and public affairs professionals who need to track media, policy, and social conversations in one unified platform. Its AI-native platform delivers enterprise-grade media intelligence, automating hours of manual monitoring and providing a searchable archive of actionable insights.
Key Features: Tracks over 1 million sources across news, broadcast, podcasts, social media, and legislation, AI-driven relevance filtering, automated briefs tailored to your team, and a searchable intelligence archive.
Best for: PR, communications, and government affairs teams.
Pricing: Custom enterprise pricing.
2. Onclusive
Onclusive is a media monitoring platform that offers a suite of tools for PR and communications professionals. It provides a global reach, monitoring online, print, and broadcast media in multiple languages.
Key Features: Global media monitoring, advanced analytics, and a media contact database.
Best for: PR teams and corporate communications departments.
Pricing: Custom enterprise pricing.
3. TVEyes
TVEyes is a specialized media monitoring service that focuses on broadcast media and provides real-time monitoring of television and radio news in multiple countries. TVEyes offers keyword-based alerts, transcripts, and video clips, allowing users to quickly find and analyze their broadcast mentions.
Key Features: Real-time broadcast monitoring, keyword alerts, and video clips.
Best for: Organizations with a strong focus on broadcast media.
Pricing: Subscription-based pricing.
4. Muck Rack
Muck Rack combines a media database with media monitoring and reporting tools. It's known for its comprehensive database of journalists that PR professionals can use to conduct media outreach. Muck Rack's monitoring capabilities cover online news, blogs, and social media.
Key Features: Media database, media monitoring, and reporting tools.
Best for: PR professionals focused on media relations.
Pricing: Custom pricing.
5. Mention
Mention is a media monitoring and social listening tool that tracks brand mentions across news, blogs, forums, and social media platforms. It provides instant alerts and analytics, making it ideal for teams that need to respond quickly to emerging conversations and monitor their online reputation.
Key Features: Media monitoring of news, blogs, and social media Instant alerts and sentiment analysis, competitor tracking and trend reports
Best for: Marketing teams and agencies focused on brand reputation and rapid response.
Pricing: Subscription-based pricing.
6. Prowly
Prowly is a PR software platform that offers a range of tools for media relations, including a media database, press release creator, and media monitoring. Prowly's media monitoring features cover online news and blogs, and it offers a user-friendly interface for tracking media coverage.
Key Features: Media database, press release creator, and media monitoring.
Best for: Small to mid-sized PR teams and agencies.
Pricing: Subscription-based pricing.
7. Google Alerts
Google Alerts is a free and easy-to-use tool for monitoring the web for mentions of specific keywords. While it's not as comprehensive or feature-rich as paid media monitoring platforms, it can be a useful starting point for small businesses or individuals who want to track their online presence but are unable to invest in a specialized AI tool. Google Alerts sends email notifications when new results for your keywords are found in Google Search.
Key Features: Free keyword monitoring, email alerts, and simple setup.
Best for: Small businesses, individuals, and those with basic monitoring needs.
Pricing: Free.
8. Hootsuite
Hootsuite is a social media management platform that offers social listening and monitoring features. It allows users to track mentions of their brand, competitors, and industry keywords across several social media platforms.
Key Features: Social media management, social listening, and analytics.
Best for: Social media managers and marketing teams.
Pricing: Subscription-based pricing.
9. Brandwatch
Brandwatch is a social listening and consumer intelligence platform. It offers in-depth analysis of social media conversations, helping brands understand consumer sentiment, identify trends, and gain a competitive edge. Brandwatch's powerful analytics and data visualization features make it a valuable tool for market research and consumer insights.
Key Features: Social listening, consumer intelligence, and advanced analytics.
Best for: Market researchers, consumer insights teams, and large brands.
Pricing: Custom pricing.
10. Agility PR Solutions
Agility PR Solutions offers a comprehensive suite of tools for PR and communications professionals, including a media database, media monitoring, and press release distribution. It provides a global reach, monitoring online, print, and broadcast media in multiple languages.
Key Features: Media database, media monitoring, and press release distribution.
Best for: PR teams of all sizes.
Pricing: Custom pricing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Conclusion
In the ever-evolving media landscape of 2026, a robust media monitoring strategy is no longer optional — it's essential for the success of your communications function. The tools we've highlighted in this guide offer a range of features and capabilities to meet the diverse needs of PR and public affairs professionals. When choosing a tool, it's crucial to look beyond the basics and consider factors like coverage breadth, AI-driven filtering, and specialized features for your industry.
Clipbook is the leading research and analysis platform for modern PR and public affairs teams. We monitor, aggregate, and analyze data from over 1 million media and policy sources, surfacing only the most actionable intelligence to help your team stay ahead in an increasingly complex media, policy and regulatory environment. To learn more about how Clipbook can help your team, schedule a call with our team.
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