Bill Gates Buys A Newspaper

News of this odd donation by the "world's largest philanthropic organisation" is available from the internet news site Dudge:

"The GATES FOUNDATION loaned an unspecified amount to MEDIANEWS, along with GENERAL ELECTRIC."

"In April, MEDIANEWS agreed to buy four newspapers, including the SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS and CONTRA COSTA TIMES, from MCCLATCHY CO. for $1 billion. MEDIANEWS also bought California's MONTEREY COUNTY HERALD and the ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS in Minnesota. It also own the DENVER POST."

Why not? The UK has the Scott Trust. New York has the New York Times.

He's probably read articles like this:

"While marketing prognosticators and technophiles rush into the future, raving about the next big content delivery system or ad model, the fact is most Americans -- notably adults with steady incomes -- still get their content the old-fashioned way.

The article quotes a typical American guy with no axe to grind whatsoever:

Or Barry Rosenberg, also 26, manager of publicity for A&E in New York. He surfs entertainment blogs ("they're well beyond fad phase," he said) and while he'll watch the occasional YouTube video, he prefers his TV on TV. He owns a video iPod, upgraded not for the video screen but for the additional memory. He thinks podcasts are "a buzzword that companies are using it to sell more virtual space." He considers reading the paper on the bus ride into Manhattan from New Jersey "a luxury."

This article in the Sunday Times is a wise signpost to the future of newspapers:

"Young people are a fickle bunch, but on one thing they agree: terrestrial television and commercial radio are about as cool as trendy dads getting down with the kids on MySpace. The “wired generation” of 16- to 24-year-olds is spurning the old media in favour of shinier pastures. Mobile phones, home computers and high-speed internet connections are the key to the virtual universe where the young hang out, entertain themselves and exercise their new-found media clout, 24/7."

I believe the future's bright, not especially orange, and blogs will continue to raise awareness that the MSM is not an objective source of information, but rather propaganda run by elitist do-gooders who think we're stupid if we don't think like them.

There is no guarantee that anyone's got the right answer. Free speech and the debate is all.