Steve Lord

Why Murdoch’s plan just might work

It’s not often I write about “meeja” (comedy double-quotes intended). As we all know the dead tree newspapers are dying, spectacularly. They’re having particular trouble fighting the Internet, where any idiot can spark up a tumblelog and start… erm… posting… erm… crap… Never mind. I had a point somewhere. Oh yeah, that was it.

Rupert Murdoch has had enough of this Internet freeloading and is planning on charging for access to his media on the Interwebs. Of course, many have laughed with derision but Rupert Murdoch is not your average tumbler. He’s a multi-millionaire media mogul who has shaped the media and is probably up there with Berlusconi in terms of it’s manipulation, just on a much bigger scale.

Here’s the kicker: Murdoch’s plan will probably work. If you’re reading this, you’re probably used to the Internet being free, but you’re not his target demographic. Murdoch runs Fox News, major newspapers in most of the developed world, TV Networks and MySpace amongst other indulgences. If anyone has the capacity to convince Joe Fox News viewer to pay for Glenn Beck’s blog posts, it’s Murdoch. If anyone has the ability to make your average Sun reader pay for thesun.co.uk, it’s Murdoch.

What you may well see is premium media promoted on TV, Radio and newspapers owned by News Corporation and of course the only way you’ll get to see it is by paying for it (unless you’re one of those copyright infringing downloader types).

I for one welcome it. A Murdoch free Internet is a happy Internet.