Dashboard Analytics
Understand the powerful analytics widgets available in the Dashboard view. Learn how to interpret charts, track trends, and gain actionable insights from your entity data.
Track Trends
Monitor sentiment and volume over time
Analyze Events
Understand event distribution and impact
Discover Topics
Identify key themes and buzz words
Dashboard Overview
The Dashboard view provides comprehensive analytics for a selected entity. When you click on an entity from the navigation menu (such as IJBAR, USDZAR, or any other tracked entity), you'll see a dedicated analytics page with multiple visualization widgets.
Each widget offers unique insights into different aspects of the news data, from sentiment trends to event patterns and content themes.
Key Feature: All dashboard widgets automatically update based on your selected date range and any active filters, ensuring you always see relevant, up-to-date analytics.
News Summary Widget
The News Summary widget is the primary timeline visualization that shows news activity, sentiment, and events over your selected date range.
Understanding the Chart
Timeline Area
The blue shaded area shows news volume over time. Peaks indicate periods of high news activity, while valleys show quieter periods.
Sentiment Indicators
Colored dots on the timeline represent sentiment: green for positive, red for negative, and gray for neutral. The size and position indicate the intensity and timing of sentiment shifts.
Event Markers
Vertical gray bars indicate when significant events occurred. These markers help you correlate news volume spikes with specific events.
Filter Controls
The News Summary widget includes two powerful filter controls:
- Sentiment Filter: Choose different sentiment calculation methods (e.g., "20-DMA Mid-term") to adjust how sentiment is analyzed and displayed
- Events Filter: Select which events to display (e.g., "Top 3") to focus on the most significant events or show all events
Volume Widget
The Volume widget provides a clean, focused view of news article volume over time without the overlay of sentiment or event data.
What It Shows
This area chart displays the total number of news articles published about your selected entity across your chosen date range. The smooth curve helps you identify:
- Periods of increased media attention or coverage
- Quiet periods with minimal news activity
- Overall trends in coverage volume (increasing, decreasing, or stable)
- Cyclical patterns or recurring spikes in coverage
Analysis Tip: Compare the Volume widget with the News Summary widget to understand whether volume spikes correlate with specific events or sentiment changes.
Tonality Widget
The Tonality widget provides detailed sentiment analysis over time, helping you understand how the tone of news coverage evolves.
Chart Components
Sentiment Timeline
The area chart shows sentiment scores over time. The Y-axis represents sentiment intensity, while the X-axis shows the date range. Peaks above the baseline indicate positive sentiment, while dips below suggest negative sentiment.
Sentiment Breakdown
The donut chart on the right shows the overall sentiment distribution as percentages. This gives you an at-a-glance view of whether coverage is predominantly positive, negative, or neutral.
Interpreting Sentiment
- Positive Sentiment: Favorable coverage, good news, or optimistic reporting
- Neutral Sentiment: Factual reporting without strong positive or negative tone
- Negative Sentiment: Critical coverage, bad news, or pessimistic reporting
Top Events Widget
The Top Events widget categorizes and visualizes the types of events mentioned in news coverage about your entity.
Understanding Event Categories
Events are classified into categories such as:
- Product Launch: New product announcements or releases
- Expansion: Business growth, new markets, or facility openings
- Economic Indicators: Financial metrics, market data, or economic reports
- Adverse Media: Negative events, controversies, or challenges
- Earnings: Financial results, profit reports, or revenue announcements
Chart Visualization
Timeline Bars
Colored vertical bars show when events occurred and their relative frequency. Different colors represent different event types (purple for Product Launch, pink for Expansion, orange for Economic Indicators).
Distribution Donut
The donut chart shows the percentage breakdown of event types, helping you understand which categories dominate the news coverage.
Strategic Insight: Use the Top Events widget to identify patterns in news coverage. For example, frequent "Product Launch" events might indicate an innovative company, while "Adverse Media" spikes could signal reputational challenges.
Top Publishers Widget
The Top Publishers widget shows which news sources are publishing the most content about your selected entity, along with the sentiment breakdown of their coverage.
What It Reveals
This bar chart displays:
- Publication Volume: The height of each bar shows how many articles each publisher has written
- Sentiment Distribution: Each bar is color-coded to show the proportion of positive (green), negative (red), and neutral (gray) coverage from that source
- Source Influence: Identify which publishers have the most coverage and therefore the most influence on public perception
Using This Information
Understanding your top publishers helps you identify key media relationships, track which outlets favor positive or negative coverage, and prioritize media monitoring efforts on the most active sources.
Buzz Words Widget
The Buzz Words widget uses a word cloud visualization to highlight the most frequently mentioned terms and themes in news coverage about your entity.
Reading the Word Cloud
Word Size
Larger words appear more frequently in the news coverage. The most prominent terms represent the dominant themes and topics being discussed.
Color Coding
Different colors may indicate different categories or sentiment associations. For example, red might highlight negative terms, while green shows positive themes.
Insights from Buzz Words
The word cloud helps you quickly identify:
- Key topics and themes dominating the conversation
- Emerging trends or new topics gaining attention
- Associated concepts and terms frequently mentioned alongside your entity
- Potential areas of concern or opportunity based on prominent negative or positive terms
Content Strategy Tip: Use buzz words to inform your content strategy, identify topics to address in communications, or discover new angles for media engagement.
Dashboard Controls
The Dashboard view includes several controls that affect all widgets simultaneously.
Date Range Selector
Located in the top-right corner, the date range selector allows you to choose the time period for your analysis. Common options include:
- Last 3 days
- Last week
- Last month
- Last 3 months
- Custom date range
Download Button
Click the Download button to export your dashboard data and visualizations for offline analysis, reporting, or sharing with stakeholders.
Search Bar
Use the search bar at the top to quickly switch between different entities or search for specific entities to analyze. Simply type the entity name and press Enter or click Search.
Dashboard Best Practices
Compare Time Periods
Analyze the same entity across different date ranges to identify trends, seasonal patterns, or the impact of specific events on coverage.
Cross-Reference Widgets
Look for correlations between widgets. For example, do volume spikes coincide with specific events? Does sentiment shift when certain publishers increase coverage?
Monitor Sentiment Shifts
Pay attention to sudden changes in the Tonality widget. Sharp sentiment shifts often indicate significant events or developing stories that require attention.
Track Buzz Word Evolution
Regularly check the Buzz Words widget to see how the conversation around your entity evolves. New prominent terms can signal emerging issues or opportunities.
Export for Reporting
Use the Download feature to create regular reports for stakeholders. Dashboard visualizations provide compelling evidence for strategic decisions and communications planning.
Combine with News View
Use the Dashboard for high-level insights, then switch to the News view to read specific articles and understand the details behind the trends you've identified.
Need More Help?
If you have questions about dashboard analytics or need assistance interpreting your data, our support team is here to help.