According to its new owner at least.
ADELAIDE, Australia -- News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch said Tuesday the company has seen a strong start to its fiscal second quarter and is currently tracking ahead of guidance.
Mr. Murdoch also said he expects to scrap subscription fees for The Wall Street Journal's Web site, WSJ.com. The Web site is one of the few news sites globally to successfully introduce a subscription model. News Corp. has agreed to acquire Dow Jones & Co., publisher of the Journal. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter.
On WSJ.com, Mr. Murdoch said, "We are studying it and we expect to make [the site] free and, instead of having one million [subscribers], having at least 10 million-15 million in every corner of the earth." He said he believes that a free model, with its increased readership, will attract "large numbers" of big-spending advertisers.
[From Murdoch Sees End to WSJ.com Fees]
Cool, there is a lot of interesting content at the WSJ that I don't link to because only paying subscribers have access. If only Murdoch keeps his promise to let the WSJ news department maintain its journalistic integrity, we'll all be happier. Perhaps the editorial pages could be subscriber only, I'd like that since I never, ever read more than a sentence of those fact-free rants.
