What does measuring media coverage primarily assess?

Measuring media coverage primarily assesses the visibility and reach of a campaign, making it an essential tool for evaluating the effectiveness of public relations efforts. This measurement focuses on how many people were exposed to the campaign's messages through various media channels, including newspapers, television, online platforms, and social media.

Visibility is crucial for understanding the overall impact of a campaign, as it determines how well the messages resonate with the target audience. Additionally, reach helps identify the extent to which a campaign has succeeded in generating interest and awareness among the public or specific stakeholder groups. By analyzing media coverage, PR professionals can gauge whether their communications strategies are effectively informing the audience and shaping public perception, ultimately guiding future PR activities.

The other options, while relevant to different aspects of an organization’s operations or stakeholder engagement, do not directly pertain to the evaluation of media coverage's impact on public awareness of a campaign. For instance, finances focus on the organization's economic health, personal relationships relate to networking and trust-building within the PR field, and the number of advertisements run pertains more to advertising rather than measuring earned media coverage and its effectiveness.