[LINK] Rupert keeps up his pay model threats

[Jan Whitaker]

the hubris is breath-taking

Rupert Murdoch | iPad | Kindle (4 February 2010)
  http://www.theage.com.au/business/ipad-unloved-without-us-murdoch-20100203-ndkc.html
  http://snipurl.com/u9n8q

iPad unloved without us: Murdoch
ANDREW CLARK
February 4, 2010

Rupert Murdoch has suggested the iPad and the Kindle would be 
''unloved and unsold'' without creativity from companies like his 
News Corporation.

Tablet computers, e-readers and smartphones would be unloved ''empty 
vessels'' without quality creative content, he said in New York on 
Tuesday as News Corp opened a new front in its battle to get people 
to pay for journalism and entertainment.

Enjoying a boost from Hollywood filmmaking success and from the 
popularity of its Fox TV network, News Corp returned to financial 
health with profits of $US254 million ($287 million) for the three 
months to December, compared with a $US6.4 billion loss a year ago 
after huge asset write-downs.

Mr Murdoch said he was moving closer to imposing charges for access 
to all News Corp's newspaper websites, and he revealed the company 
was in ''advanced discussions'' with hand-held device manufacturers 
about a subscription model allowing people to access media content 
''whenever and wherever they want it''.

''Content is not just king, it is the emperor of all things 
digital,'' he said. ''We're on the cusp of a digital revolution from 
which our shareholders will profit handsomely.''

In a reference to technology such as Apple's iPad and Amazon's 
Kindle, he said such ''fabulous devices'' would be ''unloved and 
unsold'' without creativity from companies such as his own, adding 
they were powered by content - not batteries.

''Instead of the existential debate about value, now we're merely 
arguing about valuation,'' he said. ''Consumers want content 
delivered immediately and on a variety of devices. They're willing to 
pay to be entertained and informed.''

Asked about a recent speech in which the editor of The Guardian, Alan 
Rusbridger, argued that papers were ''sleep-walking into oblivion'' 
if they try to resist a trend towards free access, Mr Murdoch said: 
''I think that sounds like BS to me.''

News Corp's profits were hit by a $US500 million charge to settle 
litigation brought by a US firm, Valassis Communications, which 
accused it of anti-competitive behaviour in aggressive use of 
discount coupons for marketing.

But the company's Twentieth Century Fox film studio, which made James 
Cameron's blockbuster hit Avatar, saw its profits surge from $US112 
million to $US324 million, aided by DVD releases of movies such as 
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs and Night at the Museum.

News Corp is set to scoop a windfall in ticket receipts this year 
from Avatar, which recently passed Titanic to become the cinema box 
office draw of all time, and Mr Murdoch said there had already been 
''very early talks'' with Cameron about a sequel, although he added: 
''I wouldn't hold your breath on the timing.''

Profits of News Corp's newspapers rose 29 per cent to $US259 million, 
aided by cost cuts at British titles and a robust performance from 
The Wall Street Journal. Despite financial woes on much of Fleet 
Street, Murdoch singled out his British tabloid The Sun for praise, 
saying it had achieved record weeks of advertising revenue recently.

The group's TV stations turned in higher earnings and are the subject 
of an initiative to get cable networks to pay more to transmit Fox 
programming. But MySpace continues to struggle after losing a battle 
for dominance to Facebook.

Guardian News & Media



Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
jwhit at janwhitaker.com
blog: http://janwhitaker.com/jansblog/
business: http://www.janwhitaker.com

Our truest response to the irrationality of the world is to paint or 
sing or write, for only in such response do we find truth.
~Madeline L'Engle, writer

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