That's right. Earlier this year, when Mercury News parent Knight Ridder, the nation's second largest newspaper company, was on the block, we began hearing names of people who were interested.

McClatchy eventually prevailed in the deal, and MediaNews subsequently has bought the Mercury News from McClatchy.

But at one point, word got to us little folk in the trenches: Big Silicon Valley buyout firm Elevation Partners, led by Roger McNamee and U2's Bono, among others, had considered buying the Mercury News from KR, to turn it into a "tech central" of news.

They didn't want the rest of the chain, though. Needless to say, they passed on the deal. So we aren't surprised that Elevation has just made a major investment in Forbes. They will pursue their vision there instead. McNamee wouldn't comment on the original Merc plans. But here's what McNamee did say about Forbes, when he talked with our colleague Michelle Quinn recently. Comparing Forbes with other possibilities, yet not singling out KR, he said: "They [Forbes] didn't hold the web property hostage to the mothership." McNamee is thinking big on this one. Reuters, Dow Jones & al -- be warned.

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