By Nadia Lorencz

As many are aware, the traditional medium of news has shifted from print to online/digital news outlets. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve picked up a print newspaper in the past year. However, to count the number of times I’ve clicked on a shared news article on Facebook or Twitter would be quite the challenge.

Let’s start with some numbers: Television news accounts for roughly 57% of adult news intake. Digital news comes in second with 38%, radio with 25%, and finally print newspaper trails behind with 20% of adults attaining their news from print sources. In a way these numbers didn’t surprise me. With a society whose main priority is convenience, it only makes sense that we would also prefer to consume our news in the most convenient way possible. However, what does this mean in terms of money?

Print newspapers make most of their revenue through ads. But now that many people indulge in their news digitally, that leaves them with a little problem. They must tackle the issue of how to stay afloat in a digitally dominated world. There are five companies that make up the majority of mobile display ad revenue: Yahoo, Pandora, Twitter, Google and Facebook. Newspaper ads unlike digital ads are not dominated by a few companies. It’s easy for local businesses to buy ad space in the weekly paper at a fraction of the amount it would cost for the same ad to air on television. The difference in the amount of exposure that a television vs. newspaper ad brings shows in the price of an advertisement.

The most surprising trend that I noticed in the article was the popularity of podcasts. I have only listened to one podcast in my entire life and have yet to join in on a conversation where my classmates are talking about the latest podcast that they’ve listened to. However, the increase in popularity doesn’t surprise me as convenience once again comes into play. You can listen to a podcast while you’re doing almost anything. You don’t have to be distracted by a television or reading text to get your news. The percentage of Americans who have listened to a podcast in the past month has increased steadily since 2013, which leads me to believe it’s the next big thing in terms of news consumption.

It seems that whichever medium allows for the most convenient consumption of news becomes the next big thing. The shift from paper to digital is one that cannot be ignored. It has created a platform for more individualized news consumption and has paved the way for a new era of advertising.