Would you buy Internet News from this guy

[flecktimus]

Murdoch signals end of free news

 

 

Mr Murdoch has warned of possible job losses

News Corp is set to start charging online customers for news content across all its websites.

The media giant is looking for additional revenue streams after announcing big losses.

The company lost $3.4bn (?2bn) in the year to the end of June, which chief executive Rupert Murdoch said had been "the most difficult in recent history".

News Corp owns the Times and Sun newspapers in the UK and the New York Post and Wall Street Journal in the US.

'Revolution'

 

We intend to charge for all our news websites. I believe that if we are successful, we will be followed by other media

Rupert Murdoch, chief executive, News Corp

Mr Murdoch said he was "satisfied" that the company could produce "significant revenues from the sale of digital delivery of newspaper content".

"The digital revolution has opened many new and inexpensive methods of distribution," he added.

"But it has not made content free. Accordingly, we intend to charge for all our news websites. I believe that if we are successful, we will be followed by other media.

"Quality journalism is not cheap, and an industry that gives away its content is simply cannibalising its ability to produce good reporting," he said.

In order to stop readers from moving to the huge number of free news websites, Mr Murdoch said News Corp would simply make its content "better and differentiate it from other people".http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8186701.stm

 

I will be the first to say Murdoch stick your news where the Sun don't shine.

 

Feel better for that.

[upthehill]

eh - no

[flecktimus]

eh - no

 

Good man

[Fat Bob]

Won't buy his papers, so theres no chance I'll pay over the internet.

[Hickups]

Rupert Murdoch is up there with the worst humans in history, I'd never put money in his pocket.

 

[milky_26]

no way, he can stick that idea where one of his papers doesn't shine

[flecktimus]

Although news organisations are fierce competitors, there was an almost audible sigh of relief from most of them when Rupert Murdoch said that News Corporation would start charging for access to its online news sites.

 

It's not just that the worst advertising recession in living memory means that many newspaper groups are incurring losses.

 

It's that even after a fall for most of them of between 20% and 30% in their income this year from advertising, and even if the recession may be drawing to a close, they fear that there could be a further fall in revenue from that source over the next three years - simply because technological change is giving new options to advertisers for promoting their goods and services.

 

So if the costs of gathering news are to be met, a new source of income has to be found.

 

That said, no media group was desperately keen to be first to start charging for online news.

 

But once one media group charges, the chances are they all will.

 

The implications are significant, though not completely clear.

 

In particular, there are many different ways of charging: on a per day basis via micropayment; or on a subscription; or payment for one service or for a bundle of services, along the lines of Sky Television

 

Rival media organisations may club together to form online consortia of news services: so, for example, the websites of competing newspapers would be available behind a single subscription wall, in the way that - right now - it's possible to subscribe to bundles of TV channels from competing providers.

 

Of course there are also implications for how commercial news groups will see the free online news service provided by the BBC.

 

It's probably no coincidence that last weekend the Sunday Times - owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation - published an editorial claiming that the BBC News website represents unfair competition for news groups facing profound economic and technological pressures.

Could be the end of all that lovely free info we take for granted