[LINK] Shirky: Murdoch's Times paywall is pretty much like all the other paywalls

[David Goldstein]

Whether Murdoch said "newspapers are 'entertainment, not news'" seems 
immaterial, but given the trend the world over to provide more "entertainment", 
no matter what the newspaper, it can't be that "untrue".

Rather, one should look at his portfolio - The Times, Sunday Times, Wall Street 
Journal and Australian. All of these are leading news newspapers in their 
markets. And he's probably the only person willing to invest in newspapers. It 
doesn't mean you have to like what he does, but he is spending money on them.

And none of the abovementioned newspapers are entertainment sheets. Indeed, 
recent articles in both The Guardian and The Observer say he saved one of The 
Times and Sunday Times from closure and probably saved the other - I can't 
recall which way round it was.

David


----- Original Message ----
> From: "Birch, Jim" <Jim.Birch at dhhs.tas.gov.au>
> To: link Institute <link at anu.edu.au>
> Sent: Thu, 11 November, 2010 9:29:23 AM
> Subject: Re: [LINK] Shirky: Murdoch's Times paywall is pretty much like all the 
>other paywalls
> 
> David Goldstein wrote:
> 
> >The AFR's sales have been on a downwards spiral in recent years and
> could it be 
> a case of out of sight out of mind when newspapers are completely behind
> a 
> paywall.
> 
> OTOH the AFR probably has a reasonable chance of making it as an online
> subscription service.  The subscription includes a 25 years archive of
> business and finance stories so is quite a valuable resource for some
> people.  Unlike your average daily: 25 years of trash.
> 
> It's ironic that Murdoch's great "insight" that newspapers are
> "entertainment, not news" will be his undoing.  After converting them
> from actual news-papers to entertainment sheets they're having to
> compete more entertaining things on the internet and so now he he's
> having to sell subscriptions to news nuts.
> 
> -- Jim
> 
> 
> 
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