Sounds like it. He initially went into the deal talking about making the WSJ online free but those days are long gone. He continues to charge and now thinks others should charge as well for online news. Somebody sounds a bit nervous about their empire that is struggling thanks to the right wing economics that he helped usher in.
Murdoch, who bought The Wall Street Journal and its parent company Dow Jones & Co in 2007, said online advertising, which most U.S. publishers hope will offset ad revenue declines at their print divisions, will not cover their costs.Surely this is a problem for the media everywhere though this will remain a very tough sell. At least Murdoch is thinking about the future and has plans to invest in a portable device for readers to read their online newspapers. There's an idea that will save him and the industry.
"People reading news for free on the Web, that's got to change," said Murdoch speaking at The Cable Show, an annual cable television industry event, in Washington, D.C.
Murdoch pointed to the Journal's main rival in the United States, The New York Times, as an example. The Times has one of the most popular U.S. newspaper websites, but still cannot cover its costs with online ads, he said.
