The world's biggest press baron has contributed an essay to his most prominent print resource on the future of journalism, and it pronounces the advertising-supported model dead.
Rupert Murdoch's work, reproduced in the Wall Street Journal and adapted from his remarks last week to a Federal Trade Commission panel on journalism, makes clear he feels subscription revenue is the route ahead. Only by giving people what they want will they pay for it, but Murdoch is clear: They must pay.
He views the bloggers who except snippets from original work as thieves.
"Right now content creators bear all the costs, while aggregators enjoy many of the benefits. In the long term, this is untenable," he writes.
He believes the right-minded consumer will contribute if there is something worth it, so he is pinning his hopes on the model.
Murdoch has made clear in recent months his enterprise is going to proceed with a micropayment or subscription model for many of its assets.
Rupert Murdoch's work, reproduced in the Wall Street Journal and adapted from his remarks last week to a Federal Trade Commission panel on journalism, makes clear he feels subscription revenue is the route ahead. Only by giving people what they want will they pay for it, but Murdoch is clear: They must pay.
He views the bloggers who except snippets from original work as thieves.
"Right now content creators bear all the costs, while aggregators enjoy many of the benefits. In the long term, this is untenable," he writes.
He believes the right-minded consumer will contribute if there is something worth it, so he is pinning his hopes on the model.
Murdoch has made clear in recent months his enterprise is going to proceed with a micropayment or subscription model for many of its assets.
