Rupert Murdoch says "kiss the days of the free web goodbye!"
How many of you enjoy being able to access information for free on the web?
Yeah, me too.
Rupert Murdoch, however, is convinced that the feel-good era of free things on the Internet will soon come to a close. And because he's a proactive kind of guy, he's strongly considering a plan to institute pay-for-access on News Corp's newspaper websites.
Making the switch may not be a difficult decision, what with the horrifying 47% drop in News' profits and Wall Street Journal enjoying significant succes from online subscription services.
Murdoch told The Guardian that he hopes to fix a "malfunctioning business model."
Good luck with that. There will still be plenty of free alternatives where potential subscribers can get their news, and there's certainly no guarantee that News Corp will be able to duplicate the WSJ's success.
Although, I suppose if I had just been handed a profit sheet showing a drop from $216m to $7m year-on-year, I might think subscriptions were a pretty good idea, too.
[via Slashdot]
