A Cup of Coffee and a Newspaper
One of my favorite taste treats is a cup of coffee and a glazed doughnut. My second favorite thing with a cup of coffee is a printed newspaper. 
So when Starbucks said it was going to remove newspaper racks from all of its stores, I was a little sad. I was happy when I opened my computer and found my newspaper was on my desktop. I’ve been a digital subscriber to the New York Times and my local paper for years. Reading my local paper in Italy was a hoot. But how will my digital paper go with my Starbucks? Bring on my latte.
Here are a few things to think about while you are enjoying your coffee:
- The New York Times reported a record circulation of 4.9 million people (combined print and digital circulations).
- The 2020 Super Bowl increased ratings and share and scored 99.9 million viewers. In fact, total NFL ratings rebounded this year.
- The Oscars had a bad night, year over year, but still was awarded nearly 24 million viewers (that’s more than “Game of Thrones”).
- And 37 million watched the State of the Union address on 12 networks. That’s lower than last year, but still a large number.
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.