The Politics of MySpace

There’s no mystery about it anymore — the wisdom of Web 2.0 tells us that the modes of packaging news are changing. People, particularly those who flock around the social networks, increasingly expect to be able to interact with the people who deliver their news — or any other type of information, for that matter.

So, across the board, traditional news outlets are integrating social features into their Web sites, and most have formulated a strategy to give them a branded presence on the major social networks. For some, that simply means a profile page; for others, it’s a real content deal.

NBC News is rolling out its *Decision 08* page on MySpace, offering links to the profile pages of luminaries such as Brian Williams, Tim Russert and Chris Matthews. The section will also feature news blogs, RSS feeds delivering updated news items and other interactive features.

The deal is very similar to the one ABC News [struck](/xSP/article.php/3712921/ABC+News+Picks+Facebook+As+Its+Running+Mate.htm) with Facebook last fall, before election fatigue set in for so many and they just stopped paying attention.

Of course, it is curious that News Corp would look outside the family for a news partner for its social media property. Cynically, perhaps, I would have expected a MySpace news partner to carry a Fox brand, but maybe the Fox News voice was determined not to be the best match for such a youthful community — one smitten by the promise of change, hope and a wholesale overturning of the status quo that will never be.