Murdoch May Take Journal Online Only

News Corp. could run a paper without paper, subscriptions
By Heather McPherson,  Newser User
Posted Aug 1, 2007 4:45 PM CDT
Murdoch May Take Journal Online Only
Rupert Murdoch has sealed a deal to buy Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones & Co. for $5 billion, ending a century of family ownership and adding a crown jewel to his global media empire, News Corp. (AP Photo/Mel Evans, file)   (Associated Press)

Rupert Murdoch’s grab for the Wall Street Journal could mark the demise of hard-copy newspapers and their online subscriptions, Bernhard Warner predicts in Murdoch’s own Times Online. Warner says turning the Journal’s subscription-based website into a free, ad-supported business will be among Murdoch’s top priorities as the new owner of Dow Jones, and may mean the end of the paper edition as well.

With the easy availability of online news, 24-hour news channels, and blogs, Warner says readers no longer want to pay for news on dead trees, evidenced by falling print readership. Dow Jones, Warner argues, lost money on the Journal’s web business because of subscriptions, but Murdoch may finally usher in an era of “realism and inevitability” about the fading print industry. (More Rupert Murdoch stories.)

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