Time waits on no man`

I find myself enjoying Time Magazine. Ain't that quaint. OK, so it isn't Wired. Or Monocle. Or any one of dozens of seriously hip magazines on the racks. But as a weekly read I always find something of value. If you can read the article about Rupert Murdoch (July 9 cover date - read the article online). It contains a number of insights and clues about media in the near future.

One phrase caught my eye: "He has always said that craving respectability is the beginning of the end for a journalist. "Journalists should think of themselves as outside the Establishment, and owners can't be too worried about what they're told at their country clubs,""Rang bells for me - I've noticed that many journalists get a little starstruck and imagine that having access to their subjects makes them a part of the inner circle. Before you know they're wearing pinstripes, stop reporting the hard news and start becoming 'commentators'.

The article discusses Murdoch's vast empire but I found the conversation about the future of the Internet in the mix quite telling - there is a certain ambivalence and pragmatic acceptance. If you publish on paper and ink or TV you have a dependence and will find it hard to quit. I hope.

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