“ Murdoch startled the publishing world when he uttered a few sentences that were as simple as they were revolutionary, such as: “Quality journalism isn’t cheap.” That led to his decision to start charging for online use of his many newspapers around the globe in the coming months. If Murdoch has his way, the days of free culture on the Internet will be numbered.”
I think this, and the paragraph that precedes it in the article, show more than anything that Rupert Murdoch’s days are numbered - the same goes for all of the people that think like him and don’t understand the role of “free” as the business model for this century.
Murdoch reminds me of an aging record company exec, shaking his fist at those “rapscallions” that he thinks will be the downfall of the music industry. What he doesn’t realize is that journalism, just like the music industry, is not going anywhere - it’s just transforming. The problem is that while no one knows yet what it’s transforming into, those like Murdoch are trying to hold on to the old ways, completely ignorant of what’s actually going on.
Murdoch underestimates the power of those of us who have grown up barely remembering a time before the Internet (or even the younger generation, who really don’t remember a pre-WWW existence). As this generation comes into power, these old models will be thrown out the window, no matter how hard those like Murdoch cling onto them.
