Menextra: Designing a professional service for media alert management and distribution

Abstract

The aim of this investigation is to design and to implement a media alert management and distribution service, called Menextra. Its goal is to establish a more effective communication between the media and corporate communication departments, organising information around three main axes: time, interests and content. As part of this platform’s design process we have consulted previous studies of the use of the internet as a distribution tool for corporate information and an analysis of the services currently on offer. The interface and platform have been designed and implemented, and their performance observed, with the information gathered in mind. Menextra is not just a theoretical study. It is a real and operative service that is intended to serve as a test to investigate the extent to which it satisfies the information needs of the media and communication departments. This first version of Menextra will be tested with real users (journalists and communication officers) who can identify its benefits and drawbacks in their daily work, and a second version can then be developed better adjusted to their needs.