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I have always liked Jon Meacham, Editor of Newsweek. Now I have another reason to like him. He doesn't duck when he has incoming bombs.

Newsweek's parent company, The Washington Post, announced last week they want to sell Newsweek. Meacham, who was making the rounds talking about his new program on PBS, didn't cut and run from the media circuit. Instead he used the promotional pulpit to begin to lay out what Newsweek might have to do. In short, he said flip the business model to on-line only with a print version that is based solely on what were the most read articles on-line.

Meacham has had his critics like the Post's own Howard Kurtz. His decision to move from a digest of the week's news to a more focused publication on a single issue each week, cutting circulation and raising the price has raised more than one eyebrow. But as one supporter of the move said, the move may not be a sure bet, but it is likely the best bet for success.

But Meacham also drew a line in the sand for all of us who consume the news: If we are not willing to pay for news as we always have, then it will be a different kind of "news" that we receive. In other words, it really won't be news at all. We already see it happening.

Perhaps driving home this message, Meacham delivered the challenge on The Daily Show. A nice twist of irony me thinks.

There has been quite a debate raging among marketers in general and cause marketers specifically about the KFC pink bucket of chicken program to fight breast cancer and the White Castle hamburger scented candle program to fight autism.

Just trying to say all that with a straight face is difficult. Pink buckets of chicken and hamburger scented candles. Sounds crazy doesn't it? What a great country.

The fact is that I have always maintained that if a company is raising money for a good cause and that money is being truly used to help that cause, then it is a good thing. We are very involved in the breast cancer fight through a number of different programs at Barkley and we can tell everyone with great specificity where those dollars are going in that fight. So two important keys to good cause marketing are that enough money is being raised to really help the cause and we all know specifically what that money is going to do.

There is another side of cause marketing that the KFC/White Castle programs shine a light on and that is creating cause programs that make strategic sense to the brand and to the cause. This is where these programs miss the mark. Simply put, should restaurant chains that have some offerings not always considered to be among the healthiest choices and health related causes become partners? To paraphrase a new ad campaign, probably not.

There is an argument I have heard during this debate which is interesting. If certain food options are known to be less healthy, then at least those companies offering them can offset the problems caused by supporting a health related cause. Strategically, I think this is defensive marketing and does not create the foundation for a long term cause program that builds both the corporate and nonprofit brands. It might be fine for a one off cause promotion, but not for the long haul.

Obviously,restaurant chains are in the business of selling food. It is natural to assume that their food would play a part in a cause program. (Or in White Castle's case, the scent of their food.)  But many of them also have very distinct brand cores and values that could lead them in many different directions for cause programs, not just health related ones. And there are so many non health causes that need support, it would not be difficult to find one that is the right fit for a company.

Sometimes, these debates are what I call "inside baseball." Those of us closest to the firing lines get worked up while consumers at large could care less about strategic cause marketing. I experienced some of that this weekend when I had a handful of friends and family ask me if I had seen that KFC was doing a big promotion supporting breast cancer. Their initial reactions had nothing to do with whether or not it is a strategic fit or even wondering how the money was going to be used.

All they know is that KFC is trying to raise more money than has ever been raised before in one program to fight breast cancer. They will leave the strategic and ethical debate to us. Could be a lesson there somewhere. 

We had a scare with a pet in the family the past 24 hours. One of my step-daughter's 12 year old Yorkies wandered off and was missing for more than a day. Fortunately, the story ended happily as Libby was found and returned to her twin, Maggie and the rest of the family.

Unfortunately, there are pets who don't live in happy homes like Libby and end up being abandoned. Pedigree is pushing a pet adoption program to find happy homes. This on-line campaign in the UK is telling the story of Charlie. And every time there are 25,000 views, the next installment will launch.

Genius social media combined with a great cause.

Glad you are back home Libby.