All the News That’s Fit to Print
This has been the year of news. Or should I say fake news? It’s hard to separate the fake from the truth. If you’ve had children, I do believe you can separate fake news from sourced and vetted news–you can hear it in the tone and read the eyes. 
Fake or not, news is changing. As you can see in this chart, there is a generational divide in where consumers get their news. Print has taken the largest hit, and the future readership looks a bit bleak.
The chart is from a study done by Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. It has some other interesting findings on our news consumption. Here are some highlights:
- 29% of people avoid news completely, saying it negatively impacts their mood
- Nearly 40% of people trust news media
- However, 53% trust the media they use
- Half of Amazon Echo users use the device to source news
- 46% of smartphone users read news in bed; 32% read news in the bathroom; 42% in public transit
- 16% pay for online news
The news world is shifting. I hope democracy can survive. Democracy needs a free and independent press. It is part of the First Amendment–a good reminder to us all as we contemplate what news is true and what news is fake. And what is news anyway?
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Mark Mathis
Mark wrote his first direct-mail fundraising letter in 1981 for the University of Iowa Center for Advancement. The effort raised a few million dollars in undiscovered wills and legacy gifts. From that day forward Mark discovered a love of the big idea that moves the needle. After 12 years at KWWL, Mark became a business owner as a co-founder of ME&V — rebranded as AMPERAGE in 2015. After 25 years of leading creative teams in video production, graphic design, PR, writing and web development, Mark transitioned out of ownership in 2021. Today he serves in an employee role as special projects consultant. He is creatively ambidextrous — son of an artist and engineer — and famous for distilling complex ideas down to a few words and a few visuals. Mark is a writer. When he found that many nonprofits struggled with complex branding puzzles, he wrote the book, “NonProfit-NonMarketing .” He also wrote a novel called “Reenactment.” Mark is an active blogger OneMinuteMarketer® with nearly 1,000 readers each week on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter. One of his most popular YouTube videos is on “How to Look Good on Zoom.” One of Mark’s fondest business memories was being named to INC 500 two times and attending the INC 500 conference with other winners. Mark is considered by some a Civil War expert (and that explains his novel). Mark also served as an adjunct professor in the business and in the communications departments at Wartburg College. Mark is a graduate of the University of Iowa and is currently vice president of the University of Iowa Journalism and Mass Communications Advisory Board. Mark is married to state Sen. Liz Mathis, and the two love to travel, even when it means being trapped by a volcano in the Czech Republic for three weeks.
