Rupert Murdoch, the media tycoon, announced that he plans to charge anyone visiting his online newspapers.
“The era of free news websites is over, quality journalism cannot be offered for free so people must get used to paying for online content” declared Mr Murdoch.
What the Australian media tycoon means when he talks about quality journalism is not clear. What is clear is that this move can only help the BNP website and other party’s blogs to increase hugely their number of visitors.
Already the main BNP website is the most popular political website in the UK, partly because it has news stories ignored or distorted by mainstream media posted on a daily basis.
If all the newspapers start charging for their online services this can only increase the traffic on the main BNP website as well as all the other unofficial support blogs.
The number of news items posted may increase from the 3-4 a day to 30, 40 or maybe 50 a day and all available for free so that anyone unwilling to subscribe to those online services can look the BNP website and support blogs to get informed.
However the biggest advantage may be in the long term.
Mainstream media will resume smear campaigns against the BNP, but, if they will charge for their online content they will witness a drop in the number of people visiting their websites and so their attack will be directed to a shrinking audience, thus undermining their efforts to stop a party that is a threat to the treacherous political elite.
This is not so far-fetched, Vladimir Putin’s United Russia Party has a website that resembles more a news agency than a political party.
Thank you Mr Murdoch.
GIUSEPPE DE SANTIS
How much is really the only question that matters at this point. Until Murdoch quantifies his plan I can't decide if it's good or bad. http://www.newsy.com/videos/rupert_s_new_rules
Excellent article Giuseppe. I think the simple fact is, as with filesharing, that few people are going to pay for a service that they can easily obtain elsewhere for free.
Nice take on Murdoch Giuseppe, nice to see greed backfire on him.
2 true .how