• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, June 20, 2007

Kevin McClatchy, a director at newspaper publisher the McClatchy Company, acquired a minority stake in Gather.com, a social network for adults focused on niche interests and activities. Although Tom Gerace, the founder and CEO of Gather.com emphasized that McClatchy's stake is a personal investment, it may herald strategic cooperation between the companies in the future.

While Gerace said the deal represents "Kevin's personal initiative right now," Gather.com expects to "benefit from Kevin's experience in the traditional media world." While no connections are currently planned between Gather.com and the McClatchy Company properties, Gerace will be reaching out to see if there are areas of collaboration to pursue.

Gather.com will benefit from McClatchy's expertise in other areas, including the development of the sports business. In addition to his role at his family's company, McClatchy is the CEO and part-owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team.

Cooperation with social networks may prove fruitful for newspapers. A recent study from the World Association of Newspapers noted that "the importance of the social network as a disseminator of news and information is on the rise." The survey found that participants listed "discussion with friends" as a top source for news and information, sometimes ranking higher than TV or newspapers.

In this context, the best strategy for newspapers may be inserting their content into the social networks, where it will appear alongside--and perhaps become absorbed into--the online discussion and debate.

In mid-April, MySpace launched a news aggregator that draws on content from newspapers as well as other sources. It allows MySpace users to vote for the best stories.