Four years ago, most of us wouldn’t have predicted award-winning TV series would stream their debuts on websites like Netflix and Hulu, never to be aired on cable or network television.

Likewise, most of us wouldn’t have imagined we would get news updates on our watches.

During my four years as the Newspaper Association of America's CEO, I have watched nearly every media industry shift dramatically in response to ever-changing technology and our audiences' consumption habits.

The newspaper industry has been around far longer than radio, television or telecommunications, and some critics have questioned how we will stay relevant in today’s digital world.

But the numbers speak for themselves: In the United States, the newspaper digital audience is skyrocketing, reaching 176 million unique visitors across all platforms in March, according to comScore (a technology company that measures analytics). Circulation revenue is also rising, both in the United States and around the world. According to the 2015 World Press Trends Survey, global newspaper circulation revenue exceeded advertising revenue for the first time ever.

Newspapers are leveraging technology and audience data to create new content, products and services that attract audiences and advertisers. The appetite for quality content and information is insatiable, and over the last few years, we have transformed into an industry that adopts the latest developments in social, mobile, print and video to better reach consumers with interesting and engaging content.

Here's how the news industry has evolved:

Social media. Newspapers are successfully tapping into our desire to remain “plugged in," up to date on the latest happenings. USA Today, for example, uses Snapchat to cover live sporting events through instantly delivered photos and captions. Periscope, Twitter’s live-streaming service that debuted in the spring, is being leveraged by reporters and media outlets to give viewers the inside look at breaking news, sports events, and even political press conferences. The New York Times even used WhatsApp, a messaging app incredibly popular outside the United States, to broadcast information about the Pope’s visit to South America to its international audience.

Apps. Newspapers have developed niche apps with customized content — such as the New York Times Cooking App and the Denver Post’s Colorado Ski Guide — to build on popular features and further engage specific audiences looking to more deeply explore their areas of interest.

Print special features. In response to readers’ desires for quality leisure-reading, newspapers have begun offering expanded Sunday sections, such as the Philadelphia Inquirer’s new lifestyle section, “Live, Life, Love.” Similarly, the Chicago Tribune has doubled its opinion pages, following growing reader interest in local commentary.

New revenue streams. Advertisers still take notice of the growing audience and continued demand for newsworthy, useful content. This has inspired recent interest in native advertising, or sponsored content, as a way to provide advertisements that don’t disrupt the reader experience and still provide valuable information. And today, advertising is just one part of a fully diversified revenue stream, which includes event marketing, digital marketing services and increasing circulation content.

Much has changed in four years, and I can say with confidence that the newspaper industry is poised to continue evolving with new technologies and engaging content in the years to come.

Caroline Little is the Newspaper Association of America's president and CEO.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: LITTLE: Newspapers evolve with audiences' needs

Did you know that hitting “like” on your Facebook page could land you in jail? A Pennsylvania man may soon find out.

Justin Bellanco was recently charged with indirect criminal contempt. Police allege that he violated a restraining order filed against him by his ex-girlfriend. The violation occurred on Facebook.

According to Wilkes-Barre Time Leader, Bellanco was arrested after his victim told police that he “liked” 22 of her photographs and videos on her Facebook page.

He isn’t the first person to be charged for such conduct. An Arkansas man and a New York man have also been charged for similar conduct.

This is not the first, nor most heralded, court intervention into criminal conduct that is allegedly manifested through Facebook. Earlier this year, the United States Supreme Court decided that statements posted on Facebook that may be perceived as threats are protected by the First Amendment.

Domestic violence is a serious problem in this country. Violence and abuse can happen to anyone, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or economic status. One in four women are victimized. Domestic violence is most often perpetrated behind closed doors, but in this case the conduct is on a public forum for all the world to see.

Bellanco told police that he didn’t know “liking” Facebook photos constituted a violation of the protective order. That defense won’t fly. No contact means no contact. Any effort to overtly make contact with the subject of a protective order is guilty of criminal contempt.

However, Bellanco posted a subsequent message on — what else — Facebook, telling a different story. His post, according to the website arstechnica.com, included, “they were actually posts on my facebook (sic) wall… nothing I liked appeared on her Facebook … I was not aware that she would receive any notification due to the fact we were no longer friends… and I was not able to remove her tag from posts.”

This case, and others like it, may be more about how social media works, than whether an order of court has been violated or a crime committed.

The breadth of social media is ever expanding. A cursory review of the internet turned up more than 150 social media sites including Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, Pinterest, Vox, Zoopa, Twitter, Vine and Snapchat.

How does a participant interact with other members of a social network? For instance, a Facebook member “tags” another member in a post and a third member “likes” that post but also happens to have a protective order prohibiting contact with the person tagged. Her “like” has been communicated to the person tagged, albeit unintentionally, is she in violation of the no contact order?

On Twitter, a guy tweets something about his ex who is not following him, but his friend retweets it and the guy’s ex is the friend’s follower and as a result she sees the tweet.

What if you are on Instagram and you double tap on a photograph thinking you might enlarge the photograph but you actually send a “like” to your ex who has a no contact order. Is that a violation?

When an abuser intentionally posts statements on social media, knowing the likelihood of exposure to the victim, that conduct is criminal contempt. The controversy arises when intent is less clear.

Until the courts figure this out, all protective orders should include language to “unfriend” the victim and remove all potential contact with the victim on social media. This may help to prevent traumatic, unwanted contact between an abuser and his victim.

 Matthew T. Mangino is of counsel with Luxenberg, Garbett, Kelly & George P.C. You can reach him at www.mattmangino.com and follow him on Twitter at @MatthewTMangino.

What's your view? Write a letter to the editor or tweet @cnbeditor.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: GUEST COLUMN: Facebook — a venue for abuse