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Murdoch Axing Journal's Website Fees

Business daily's free site expected to attract more advertisers

By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff

Posted Nov 13, 2007 2:45 PM CST

(Newser) – Rupert Murdoch announced today that he intends to remove the Wall Street Journal's subscription-based system, making the entirety of the site free in a bid to attract enhanced ad revenues, the AP reports. WSJ.com is currently one of the few news sites successfully running a subscription model, with about 1 million subscribers generating $50 million in fees.

"We are studying it and expect to make that free [so] instead of having one million (subscribers), having at least 10 million-15 million in every corner of the earth," the News Corp. mogul said today. Murdoch's deal to acquire Dow Jones, which owns the Journal along with Barron's, MarketWatch and the Dow Jones Newswires, is scheduled to close in the fourth quarter.

The front page of the Jan. 2, 2007 issue of the Wall Street Journal, center, is seen in New York in this Jan. 2, 2007 file photo. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, file)
The front page of the Jan. 2, 2007 issue of the Wall Street Journal, center, is seen in New York in this Jan. 2, 2007 file photo. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, file)   (Associated Press)
News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch smiles during a talk at Web 2.0 conference in San Francisco in this Oct. 17, 2007 file photo.  Murdoch on Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2007 said he intends to make access to The Wall Street Journal's Web site free, trading subscription fees for anticipated ad...
News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch smiles during a talk at Web 2.0 conference in San Francisco in this Oct. 17, 2007 file photo. Murdoch on Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2007 said he intends to make access to The...   (Associated Press)
News Corp. Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch, left, and  President and Chief Operating Officer Peter Chernin are seen during a news conference following the News Corp. annual meeting in New York in this Oct. 19, 2007 file photo. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, file)
News Corp. Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch, left, and President and Chief Operating Officer Peter Chernin are seen during a news conference following the News Corp. annual meeting in New York in this...   (Associated Press)
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