Pink's Bottom Line on Media, Money and Sports
Social media and news, retail sales and a top NFL quarterback
In today’s newsletter, I discuss consumer perception of social media and news, declining retail sales and Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
MEDIA: Social Media and News
With the emergence of Facebook, Twitter and the like in the past decade, more people are turning to social media to get some of their news, according to a survey from the Pew Research Center.
More than half of those surveyed — 53% — say that they get their news either often or sometimes from a social media source.
Among those surveyed, Facebook led the way as the social media outlet they turned to most often as a regular news source — 36% of those surveyed cite Facebook as a regular source of news followed by YouTube (23%) and Twitter (15%).
Pink's Bottom Line
However, for those who do consume news via social media, more than half of those surveyed — 59% — say that they don’t expect that news to necessarily be accurate.
Additionally, in 2018 and 2019, according to this survey, the percentage of consumers who expected the news to be inaccurate was roughly the same as 2020.
That suggests that while consumers do use social media for news, they appear skeptical about its accuracy, and that skepticism hasn’t changed much in the past couple of years even as social media has become more prevalent.
MONEY: Retail Sales
Retail sales slumped in December compared to November, according to a government report released Friday.
Sales fell 0.7% in last month compared to November, though sales in December 2020 were up 2.9% compared to December 2019, according to that report.
Still, it marked the second month-over-month decline in retail sales, and those declines occurred during the crucial holiday shopping season.
Pink's Bottom Line
Not surprisingly and due largely to the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic, sales at bars and restaurants suffered a steep monthly decline, down 4.5% in December compared to November, according to the report.
Notably, e-commerce sales — referred to as “non-store retailers” in this report — fell a sharper 5.8% in December compared to November.
If e-commerce sales, which have been a bright spot in retail during the pandemic, continue to struggle in the next few months, that does not bode well for the country’s economic recovery.
SPORTS: Top NFL Quarterback
While many of the top young NFL quarterbacks like Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes and Buffalos’s Josh Allen receive — deservedly so — much national attention, veteran Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers is rather quietly having perhaps one of the best seasons of his career.
Rodgers, who just led the Packers in to the NFC Championship game next week with a 32-18 win over the Los Angeles Rams Saturday in a Divisional Round playoff game, threw 48 touchdowns and only five interceptions during the regular season.
He led Green Bay to the best record in the NFC during the regular season, and he is the likely winner of the league MVP this year.
Pink's Bottom Line
It’s a far cry from last April’s NFL Draft when Green Bay selected quarterback Jordan Love in the first round, essentially signaling to Rodgers that he suddenly, at the very least, had some competition for his job.
Rodgers currently has a strong supporting cast around him on both the offensive and defensive sides of the football.
If he continues to play at such a high level and if his teammates play as well as they have recently, then the Packers look like as strong of an all-around team as any remaining in the playoffs.
Jeremy Pink is COO of Geniecast, a leading virtual content and experience company, and he is also currently an advisor to companies in the media and financial tech sectors. Jeremy is the former CEO of private-equity backed Broadcast Sports International where he helped lead the company to a successful sale and exit during his tenure there, and he is also a former CNBC television executive in New York, London and Singapore.
The information contained in this communication is strictly for general informational and entertainment purposes and is not meant to be construed as financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. This communication is not a solicitation to buy or sell any securities. I am not a financial advisor or offering professional advice of any kind. Users should not act upon the content or information found within this communication without first seeking professional advice appropriate for their individual situation. Decisions based on information contained in this communication are the sole responsibility of the user, and use of this communication and its contents constitutes an explicit understanding and acceptance of the foregoing disclaimers.
(Newsletter Editor: Karina Pink)