With a live mic and an audience of dozens of established and emerging business leaders from a variety of sectors, a few questions helped get the conversation started while providing some insight for you.
“Who has listened to a podcast this week?”
All of the hands went up.
“Who has read an article online in a business-oriented news outlet or one that covers your business sector.”
Just about every hand went up.
“Who has read something, heard something or seen something created by a nonprofit news outlet like public media or an outlet funded by philanthropy?”
Just about every hand went up.
Anyone trying to understand “The Media” heading into 2026 should understand what was shared in a panel I moderated among a media entrepreneur who hosts a news-oriented podcast, an editor at a “Blue Blood” business publication that has been transformed for the digital era and the leader of a nonprofit journalism organization: Everything you thought you knew about how news was made and consumed continues to change.
Just a few days earlier, I was honored to be asked to do live local mainstream radio and TV interviews about media mergers, all of a sudden of consumer interest because of the widespread adoption of streaming video for entertainment.
But when it comes to change, don’t just believe the panelists, the attendees or the anecdotes. Market research backs it up. We’re long past just “traditional media” and “social media” because it’s splintered so much more than that.
A Pew Research report declares “Fewer Americans Follow The News As Much As They Used To.” What we don’t know is what respondents consider “following the news.” Many consumers I talk to say they don’t do that because they won’t watch Fox News, CNN MS NOW (formerly MSNBC). Or they say they can’t bear to follow the day-to-day you-can’t-make-this-stuff-up news about the actions and behaviors of the sitting President of the United States. Others don’t read print newspapers or watch 6:30 national newscasts, so they say they don’t “follow the news” even though they hit refresh on their social media scrolls all day long. But let’s ignore all that for a moment.
The Pew numbers show just 36% of Americans consider themselves regular news followers. That’s down from 51% in 2016. Regardless of the numbers or the reasons, it’s a trend worth keeping top of mind: You can’t reach mass numbers of an audience through any one way anymore, in this case, active, rather than passive, news habits.
Another Pew survey is worth noting too, about social media. Unless something changes, social media use is now post-peak. Facebook is the only social platform used by more than half of all adults, at 74%. Instagram is at 50%. X (I still call it “Twitter”), still a favorite of journalists, is only “ever” used by 21% of adults.
YouTube, by the way, is used by 84% of adults. While the audience there is split millions of different ways, that’s the platform now closest to “mass media.”
There are many factors now that influence media trends: Economics, federal policy, Presidential preferences (see the Warner Brothers Discovery sale), the list goes on. But the most influential factor is you. How we consume media – from podcasts to websites to streaming to donations to nonprofit media organizations to clicking stories in our feeds and sharing videos with friends over text – are all driving the change.