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For decades, the world of media was fairly static.  There were 3 television networks.  A few major newspapers like the NYTimes, the WSJ, the Washington Post and LA Times, etc.  Scores of mid-tier newspapers like the Detroit Free Press.  A few major radio outlets.  Simple stuff.

Then the web wave hit.  And then the blogosphere was born.  And now the web 2.0 world is dawning.  Moreso than ever before, every single news outlet is scrambling to figure out its strategy.  Change is happening fast.

In the past few weeks alone:

News Corp. set to buy the Wall Street Journal.  Can “fair & balanced” coverage, a la FOX News, be far behind?  One could argue that the WSJ is every bit as conservative as Rupert Murdoch, but as for me, I worry as much about the quality and tone (with good reason) as I do about the overt political leanings.

The Washington Post is experimenting with “hyperlocal” news.  The experimental site, LoudonExtra (Loudon is a Virginia suburb), will include:

“‘…stories about things that normally would not make it into the pages of The Washington Post, like mailboxes being knocked down,’ said Rob Curley, vice president of product development for Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive. ‘It has every Rotary meeting, every Bible study group. It is very local.’ …

“Readers will be able to download restaurant guides and other content from the site onto their iPods, phones and even video-game consoles. In late August, a new feature will let readers click on a street address and see all the closest events and news nearby.”

Can a site like LoudonExtra survive, where the forerunner of hyperlocal news, Backfence.com, failed?  Perhaps WaPo’s resources will help, but, will the paper’s management have the patience to see it through?

Business 2.0, one of the survivors of the first dot-com bust, is likely about to go bust itself.  Interestingly, the reason is probably because TIME, Inc., mishandled ad sales.  From today’s NYTimes coverage of Business 2.0’s demise:

“Consolidated under a single banner, Time Inc.’s … sales representatives stopped pitching the distinct appeal and audience of Business 2.0 to focus on the larger titles like Fortune.”

Pick up a copy of Fast Company and compare its heft to Business 2.0.  I’d argue that Business 2.0 is every bit as good as Fast Company, and that its audiences are similar.  The disparity in ad sales is clearly an advertising strategy bungle, not a fault of the editors or a lack of reader interest (paid subscriptions are holding steady).  What a shame.

Lastly, and most telling of the mishmash of media matters, I’ll recommend you all to add “rahodeb” to your list of Twitter friends.  “Rahodeb” was the pseudonym taken by Whole Foods CEO John Mackey as he posted as a tireless defender of the company on various online financial message boards.  Now you can find a delicious mockery of “Rahodeb” on Twitter (as Jeff Jaffe also noted).  Some representative posts:

“The 365 Organic label has great packaging & great products in my personal experience. Have you had the Miso dressing? It's my personal fave.”

“My positions are very well thought out. They are based on years of life experience, encyclopedic reading, and clear, honest thinking.”

“If you don't believe I'm Mackey (admittedly the idea seems pretty far fetched) then you should still pay attention to what I have to say.”

Forget about the cheeky monkey who came up with the idea to do this … My point is that within days of the Mackey episode, we’re being treated to a full-on parody that I am consuming as eagerly as any news article.  I wouldn’t go so far as to predict that this “Rahodeb” poseur is the Silence Dogood of our new media age, but, we now live in an era in which a “Silence Dogood” can materialize and make an impact within minutes.

Wild, woolly, whacky.