* Kerry To Save Newspapers
* MySpace Execs Out
* U.S. Capitol Police Bad Behavior

__________

Here is my take on the stories that interest me this morning, and why I think they may be interesting to nonprofits, foundations, and community organizations:

• Kerry to save newspapers.

  

  Alarmed that his money losing hometown newspaper, The Boston Globe, may shutter if it does not get union labor concessions, Senator John Kerry has called for Senate hearings on “the future of journalism” to begin May 6. According to a Washington Times article: “Washington once hosted 71 newspaper bureaus; now there are 25. Policy-influencing, special-interest publications and foreign newspapers, however, have multiplied. For example, in 1968, there were 160 foreign journalists in Washington. Now there are nearly 800.”

  • My take: The death of newspapers is not the same thing as the death of journalism. Some metro areas may be able to support a paper news source. Others won’t be able to. With the demise of some newspapers, local groups will gain new ways to reach local audience, sometime more effectively. (Also: the WashTimes piece is one of the better thumbnail recaps of the pressures facing newspapers I’ve read.)
• MySpace executives out. Credible rumors are circulating that the “core” executive team at MySpace are out. That includes co-founders Chris DeWolfe, Tom Anderson, and Aber Whitcomb. While making money, the Fox-owned social network pioneer has been losing market share to Facebook, which is poised to overtake it in number of U.S. users shortly.
  • My take: Nothing stays the same in this space. MySpace was a pioneer but needs to regain its innovative spark, which is hard to do as part of a big company. This would not be the death of MySpace, but a shift. The new team will need to clean house, though.
• U.S. Capitol police investigators are probing whether some officers were part of groups that degraded and objectified women. According to a Washington Times piece: “An anonymous complaint addressed to the department contained the names of nine purported Capitol Police officers who were said to belong to a public group on the social networking site Facebook called the ‘Make-it-Rain Foundation for Underprivileged Hoes.’” (Group link here, not sure how long it will last.) It’s not worth going into what the group purports to be in favor of; it is just what youy think it is.
  • My take: Idiots. Some complain that this is an infringement into “private lives.” As for me, I am glad things like Facebook provide an avenue by which disgusting people can show their true colors — so they can be dealt with.

Thanks for reading,

Brad