Murdoch May Eliminate WSJ Online Fees

Rupert Murdoch said today he would probably eliminate the Wall Street Journal's online subscription fee when News Corp. completes its purchase of the paper in a few months. The media mogul believes that dropping the subscription fee will attract more readers to the site, thereby increasing advertising revenues, the LA Times reports.

WSJ is the most successful news site running on the subscription model; fees under the current system generate an estimated $30 million annually. But models based on access fees may be a thing of the past: few papers have them, and the New York Times recently eliminated TimesSelect, which granted access to op-ed and archived pieces for a fee. (More Rupert Murdoch stories.)