Informing decision makers: development of online news media monitoring and visualisation

As information continues to be generated online, the volume of ‘big data’ is rapidly increasing, offering potential for strategic decision-making across industries, including public administration. The online news media, as a source of real-time information, have transformed the way policymakers access and respond to public sentiment and emerging issues. In this context, the need for advanced tools to monitor and analyse vast streams of online news has become crucial. This paper introduces Unitrend, a platform designed to facilitate data-driven decision-making by offering real-time insights through advanced data processing, data analysis, and visualisation technologies. Unitrend aggregates news data, conducts sentiment analysis, and tracks key entities, providing policymakers with a comprehensive understanding of trends and public reactions. This research explores Unitrend’s system architecture and methodologies, highlighting its potential benefits and limitations in fostering responsive and informed policy development.