In today's digital era, thousands of news stories are published daily across various media outlets. However, analysing how different news agencies present the same event, the varying degrees of importance tasked to specific stories, and the evolving nature of news diffusion is no easy task.
To address this challenge, a student has developed an innovative research project named ‘Drishti News’. Built using Artificial Intelligence (AI), Data Science, and Natural Language Processing (NLP) technologies, this platform is capable of analysing news coverage patterns and extracting significant insights.
Drishti News is a student-led research project created by Nirvan Malhotra. The project's primary objective is to analyse news coverage across various media outlets, compare reports on the same events, understand patterns of news dissemination, and gather data-driven information. However, this platform was not designed to judge the political stance or favour of any media outlet.
Drishti News currently analyses information from 30 Indian news organisations, including national newspapers, digital news portals, television news outlets, and international news agencies. The platform gathers news from various sources via RSS feeds and after updates the information regularly.
The strongest aspect of this project is the use of Artificial Intelligence and Natural Language Processing (NLP). The platform analyses news headlines, evaluates summaries, identifies various reports on the same event, and groups related news together. So, it becomes possible to identify news stories concerning the same event, even when different languages or wording are used.
Drishti News employs a specialised machine learning method. In this process, news items are converted into digital data, content similarities are identified, and reports concerning the same event are grouped into a single cluster. This provides a comprehensive overview of the news flow.
After creating news clusters, the platform analyses which types of media outlets are prioritising a specific event, where the event is receiving the most coverage, and the density of news coverage regarding the subject. If a particular event receives unusually high coverage from a specific type of media outlet, it is flagged for analysis.
At one time, journalism and technology were viewed as two distinct fields. However, AI is now being used in journalism, data analysis plays a crucial role in news research, and machine learning is simplifying information analysis. Drishti News is a tangible example of this transformation.
Drishti News has confirmed how a student's creative thinking and technical skills can be effectively applied to real-world research. This initiative, simplifying complex tasks like news coverage analysis through AI and data science, could open up new horizons for media research in the future. At the same time, it explains that technology can play a vital role not only in business or software development but also in social and communication research.
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