"How News Corp. got lost in Myspace" is a detailed case history of "what can happen when a traditional media company imposes its will -- and business plan -- on a start-up that has not yet reached its potential," writes Yinka Adgoke for Reuters. Among the examples of the "stubborn cultural divide" between the two companies cited in the piece, there's Rupert Murdoch's "brazenly" predicting in 2007 that Myspace would jump in revenue to $1 billion; perhaps the most crucial error, underestimating Facebook, "which "Murdoch once dismissed as a 'communications utility'"; and lack of innovation.

Bravo execs declined a second season of "Real Housewives of D.C," and we're not sure why. Isn't the franchise ever-expanding? (There's gotta be some overprivileged, silly blondes in the Midwest, right?) Though ratings for the Beltway version have not been stellar, the Miami franchise actually "has been drawing lower numbers than D.C.," according to Hollywood Reporter. Or was there just a bit too much legal hoopla generated by the most well-known Housewife of that season, Michaele Salah, who allegedly crashed a White House event with her husband Tareq? Or have Bravo execs decided that the public's taste for such addictively …

Very cool post about how none other than Dagwood Bumstead from the Blondie cartoon is now complaining about the glut of commercials on TV. Dagwood "serves as a terrific Everyman," writes Brian Sternberg on AdAge Blogs. "If he doesn't like something, chances are others don't like it, either. So marketers, you can ignore Dagwood at your own peril."

Does freelancer mean somebody who works for free? That was one of the quips we read yesterday in all the reportage on the AOL editor in charge of Moviefone, who asked freelance writers she was firing "to contribute as part of our non-paid blogger system... because we value all of your voices and input." in a memo that was posted throughout the Web. Today, news comes that the firee has become the fired. The newest incarnation of the whole "work for free" boondoggle comes from the the renowned alt-weekly Village Voice known previously for its left-wing, support-the-downtrodden voice …

NBCUniversal is changing the name of Sleuth, its crime and mystery cable channel, to Cloo, later this spring. Why? Because it's a word that can be trademarked, so the channel is bound to come up higher in search ratings than in searches for "sleuth" or "clue," according to TV Guide.

Though many newspapers are using blogs, Facebook and reader comments "as tools for reporting and journalism," some newspaper executives don't seem to understand the "social" part of social media -- "at least when it comes to letting their journalists engage with readers as human beings," writes Matthew Ingram on Gigaom.As an example, Ingram analyzes the new social-media policy introduced at the Toronto Star, "which tells its staff not to express personal opinions - even on their personal accounts or pages - and not to engage with readers in the comments."

Most weekly news magazines had a good first quarter of the year, tracking sometimes-substantial increases in ad pages over the same time last year, according to the Publishers Information Bureau. The one exception was Newsweek -- now being revamped after being purchased last year -- whose advertising fell 31%.The Week and Bloomberg Businessweek (also under relatively new management) were best in category, with a jump of 36% and 49% respectively. Time went up 3%; the Economist and The New Yorker both rose 4%.

It's been quite a week for rumors or announcements of change for TV talent -- from Katie Couric to Glenn Beck to Meredith Vieira. Now comes a report that Matt Lauer will be resigning from the "Today" show when his contract expires at the end of 2012.And our favorite "30 Rock" actor, Alec Baldwin, first told New York magazine's Vulture that the show would be ending in 2012 when his contract was up. Then he backpedaled in a Huffington Post post, saying, "although my days on network TV may be numbered, I hope '30 Rock' goes on forever. Or …

Former Viacom CEO Tom Freston announced that he's investing in and becoming an advisor to multi-platform media company Vice, whose holdings include a magazine, a video-heavy Web site, a film and book label, and a TV show on MTV -- Freston's former baby at Viacom. In fact, Vice is said to be similar to MTV for its edginess and target audience -- young men. In this summary of a video clip on CNBC.com, Freston also discusses his past life in big media. He gives a great quote when asked about the precarious fate of MySpace, the property he was fired …

How can Dish leverage its just-announced purchase of the bankrupt Blockbuster retail movie chain? The deal "will complement our existing video offerings while presenting cross-marketing and service extension opportunities," according to EVP of Sales, Marketing and Programming Tom Cullen in a statement. So yes, that could mean using Blockbuster inventory -- including streaming rights to video titles -- to expand Dish offerings, perhaps "into a Dish-branded online VOD offering," writes Gigaom's Ryan Lawler. Also, "With so many locations throughout the U.S., Dish could use free or discounted Blockbuster rentals as a value-add to its pay TV …