Rupert Murdoch to Internet: It’s War!

[Pharaoh]

http://www.vanityfair.com/business/features/2009/11/michael-wolff-200911?printable=true

Rupert Murdoch is going to battle against the Internet, bent on making readers actually pay for online newspaper journalism–begi​ nning with his London Sunday Times. History suggests he won’t back down; the experts suggest he’s crazy. Is he also ignoring his industry’s biggest problem?

Vanity Fair
By Michael Wolff
November 06 2009

War is Rupert Murdoch’s natural state. When he launched the Fox Broadcasting Company, in October 1986, he went to war against the hegemony of CBS, ABC, and NBC. With Fox News he crossed swords with CNN’s Ted Turner. At Sky, his satellite-TV system in the U.K., he went up against the BBC. He’s battled China, the F.C.C., the print unions in Great Britain, and, recently, most of the journalism community in his takeover of The Wall Street Journal. He relishes conflict and doesn’t back down—one reason why he’s won so many of his fights and so profoundly changed the nature of his industry.

Now he’s going to war with the Internet.

It hasn’t been a good year for Murdoch—the largest publisher of newspapers in the worst year in newspaper history. His purchase of The Wall Street Journal is widely seen as one of the worst moves of his career—News Corp. has already taken a $3 billion write-down on the purchase. His beloved New York Post, always a money loser for him, is now suffering such great losses that Murdoch is considering a partnership with or even sale to the Daily News, the Post’s arch-enemy. His once highly profitable newspaper groups in the U.K. and Australia are faltering. News Corp.’s share price has been among the hardest hit of any major media company.: :rofl:

[silverweb]

1. Good.

May it destroy him.

[Dogmudgeon]

2. One word for Mr. Murdoch: Scientology

All he has to do is to plug that word into Google and he will see his future writ large: crippling losses of money and reputation, hundreds of lost lawsuits (as complainant and respondent both), and the ridicule of not just 50% of the world, but 95% of it.

--d!

[DeSwiss]

3. Bring it on!!!!!

K&R

[cynatnite]

4. Is it too much to ask to see the man begging for change with tin cup in hand? n/t

[Rosa Luxemburg]

5. Bye Mr Murdoch

[Swamp Rat]

6. Indy media will kick your slimy ass, Murdoch.

[Are_grits_groceries]

7. Internet to Murdoch:

Who are you again?

PS /b/ will be by soon.

[Leftist Agitator]

13. Ah, /b/...

It might be the asshole of teh series of tubes, but every now and again it steps up and does something worthwhile.

[Cirque du So-What]

8. Good on ye, Sir Ruprecht Morlock!

Don't take no shit off nobody! Make everyone pay through the NOSE for your tabloid-worthy content!

Put FAUX News on the pay-as-you-go plan ASAP. Let the freepi finance your repug house organ.

[Cha]

9. He NEEDS MONEY

so he's going Chinzy.

[mrbarber]

10. Bad idea.

We are anonymous. We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect us.

[juno jones]

11. We own this....

:)

[whoneedstickets]

12. Fox news: for pay only! Do it! Soon!

[w4rma]

14. I relish the coming war with that scumbag's media empire. (nt)

[intaglio]

15. Nice publicity and faked outrage

Now Either nobody has explained to Rupe that he is getting free advertising or he is jealous that Google could probably buy News International or Fox out of petty cash.

Googlebot can be blocked and Google tells you how:

1) http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en-uk&answer=156449

Block or remove pages using a robots.txt file

2) http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=93710

Using meta tags to block access to your site via http://www.robotstxt.org/meta.html

META NAME="ROBOTS" CONTENT="NOINDEX, FOLLOW"
META NAME="ROBOTS" CONTENT="INDEX, NOFOLLOW"
META NAME="ROBOTS" CONTENT="NOINDEX, NOFOLLOW"

Personally I go with the jealousy theory

[samsingh]

16. maybe he could sell the WSJ back to a decent group