The billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch suffered the indignity of seeing his global empire make a huge financial loss yesterday and promptly pledged to shake up the newspaper industry by introducing charges for access to all his news websites, including the Times, the Sun and the News of the World, by next summer.Who’s going to bother to pay, when the other news websites are all free?
Who is going to pay when all they do is re-print government press releases?
ReplyDeleteAt least if he does this, we can choose whether or not to pay for their tendentious drivel.
ReplyDeleteUnlike the BBC. We just pay for that, whether we like it - or read it - or not.
Precisely - they can go and get knotted.
ReplyDeletethe stupid will pay and the rest will just know or tell each other
ReplyDeleteThe problem is, none of the news websites are making money.
ReplyDeleteOr maybe that isn't a problem.
But the point is, it's no good saying "the telegraph will still be free" because it seems in fact free online MSM news websites just aren't a commercially viable proposition. Maybe they will be if there's a major shakeout and most of them disappear.
Not that I'd miss them if they all disappeared, personally. With any luck, we're watching The End Of Journalism As We Know It.
"Who is going to pay when all they do is re-print government press releases?"
ReplyDeleteGood point!
"Unlike the BBC. We just pay for that, whether we like it - or read it - or not."
Another good point!
"But the point is, it's no good saying "the telegraph will still be free" because it seems in fact free online MSM news websites just aren't a commercially viable proposition."
They may well do do it Murdoch tries this and it succeeds. If it doesn't...
I can't see them giving up the advertising revenue that it must bring in though?
It is too soon to laugh at a King's passing and know the worst of his successor.
ReplyDelete