Michael Bush of AdAge took yet another  look yesterday at the shift towards directly communicating with consumers, versus communicating through the media, as outlets grow increasingly scarce and social media continues to proliferate.

Of course the idea ties back to the view we’ve expressed here numerous times: All companies are media companies and communicators are on their way to becoming chief editorial officers, charged with creating and distributing original content it in new ways.

In dissecting the piece, the guys from PRNewser tied the story to some recent data from King Fish Media, which noted 86% of  companies are currently creating or planning to create original content.

It will be interesting to see how the shift accelerates in the upcoming months with marketing budgets being boosted by the current economic rebound. In most cases corporations have focused on cutting back on traditional television and print advertising during the downturn. Instead they’ve focused on online programs that can be scaled down and measured in real time. If these have been effective through the downturn and illustrated return, don’t be surprised if marketers double-down on these programs and look for additional ways to allocate money on consumer relations – as part of integrated media campaigns moving forward.