Can we now expect to read the online Wall Street Journal for
free? I am jumping the gun, but it’s a fair question to ask now that the Dow
Jones board has voted to sell the company to Rupert Murdoch. His $5 billion takeover bid still has to be
approved by the Bancroft family, which controls 64 percent of the voting stock. But if they do accept the offer, will the Journal continue to be a subscription-only site? The
Murdoch websites tend to be free.
Yes, there was a time when one had to pay to read The Times
online. But that was years ago: it’s free now. Murdoch may not give his editors
a free hand, but he knows free sites get more traffic — and he has always
wanted the biggest share of the pie.
The Journal no doubt makes money by charging subscription
fees. But I won’t be surprised if Murdoch finds other ways of making money. In
any case, he will be less dependent on revenue from the Journal because he has lots
of other assets.
A Murdoch takeover of the Wall Street Journal may be bad
news for my favourite newspaper, the New York Times. He will be a more formidable competitor than Dow Jones.
Business rules his life. First
he became an American citizen to own US television stations. Then he pulled BBC
News from his Star TV satellite channel in China to placate Beijing and get more business. And he knows what sells. One may or may not like the Sun and Fox News, but they are popular.
He also owns The Times. There can be no question about its quality. I read it for the writing. For the
writing and the views, I turn to the
Guardian.
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