David Carr latest "Media Equation" column looks at Rupert Murdoch's recent statement that News Corp. will charge readers for all its news Web sites. I plan on watching Murdoch navigate his attempt to gain revenue from people not accustomed or trained to pay for something that has been given away for free. It might work depending on how he goes about it. Or it could be a colossal failure that drives away readers.

In its Monday business section that focuses on media The New York Times had a story about The Seattle Times. The story tells a much different tale than the common belief that newspapers are dead. I knew the other Times was working on a piece about us so I was pleased when it came out Monday the day after my column, which says that there is a future for newspapers.

The Senate has confirmed two more commissioners for the Federal Communications Commission. The appointments bring the commission up to full strength under the leadership of Julius Genachowski.

The two newbies are Democrat Mignon Clyburn and Republican Meredith Attwell Baker. Baker comes from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration where she was the acting assistant secretary and Clyburn was a telecommunications regulator in South Carolina. Her father is Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C.

Broadcasting & Cable magazine has a nice little story about the FCC taking suggestions from employees and eventually the public on how the agency needs to be overhauled. The need for change is strong enough that the lone hold over Republican, Robert McDowell, notified Genachowski in a letter about the parts of the agency he believes are in need of fine tuning.

Media consolidation is also a hotly contested issue in South Korea. Check out this video of South Korean lawmakers going to blows because of a measure to ease cross-ownership laws. I guess this is one way to settle the debate.

A lot has changed in the world of journalism since Walter Cronkite retired in 1981. That was evident while watching the coverage of his death on Friday. Seeing the faded footage of Cronkite covering the nominating conventions gavel to gavel puts into perspective how different the CBS of today is compared to the network in 1980.

Wired has a couple interesting pieces about the future of journalism. Glenn Fleishman touches on the possibility of expensive forms of journalism like investigative reporting disappearing if newspapers fail. He also gets into some of the new business models that many others, including me, have written about. Worth the read.

There haven't been many postings at the Democracy Papers because I have been on vacation and buried underneath primary election coverage. This op-ed from Victor Pickard and Joseph Torres of Free Press appeared a couple Sundays ago in The Seattle Times. Here it is in case you missed it.

Here is a link to my Sunday column. I explain why Julius Genachowski is the right pick to be the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. I would like to hear what issues readers believe Genachowski should address at the FCC.