Good Riddance

Simple equation:free, open uncontrollable Internet versus shackled newspapers equals no newspapers. Let’s get real.

— Rupert Murdoch(@rupertmurdoch) August 26, 2012

A beautiful post from Murdoch disclosing fully and unashamedly the big media agenda; the use of state power to shut down more efficient and better competition.

A quick reminder of the facts; newspaper advertising revenue is falling off a cliff:

This is creative destruction; and creative destruction is a wonderful force for growth and development. Times change, societies change, fortunes will be made and fortunes will be lost.

It’s in the immediate interests of the entrenched big media elite to harness the power of the state to create draconian laws to snub out the copy and paste new media culture that has developed, because that opens up a whole new revenue stream: litigation. If you can’t earn your millions, you might as well litigate your way to them.

But big media could be spending their money on creating and monetising compelling products and content delivery systems that make people want to buy, rather than trying to legislate and litigate their way to success. Look at Steam, look at Spotify, look at iTunes and the App Store. For all of the draconian measures that might be put in place to “control” the internet, if big media’s product sucks, people will still not buy it.

Newspapers can survive by being creative and compelling, Murdoch. Just because your revenues are nosediving doesn’t mean that we should all lose our freedom to pay for your success.

16 thoughts on “Good Riddance”

I got a feeling Murdoch had a nice conversation with Buffet before posting his ‘thoughts’. And it’s likely that Buffet has had many talks with US lawmakers regarding this ‘issue’.

Murdoch gave up Australian citizenship to become an American citizen. Good riddance, and I feel sorry for him. Not. His Holy Grail has vanished in his time!

Hahahahah

P.S. My family member has worked in Media for 25 years taking phone calls for Advertisements in a major opposition paper. The writing is on the wall. Ad revenue is faling off a cliff. Only broadsheet 1 page ads are being booked. But eyeball numbers are dropping so people are not prepared to pay the prices anymore. Tangible newspapers are finished. Perhaps the weekend breakfast read might survive, but why should I pay when I can Google online news and get a richer experience from news sources all over the world.

http://www.theage.com.au/business/increase-in-digital-sales-allays-decline-in-newspapers-20120809-23x2y.html

Pingback: Good Riddance « Hawks5999

I think big media should pay us to view their mind-numbing drivel.

Aziz | August 26, 2012 at 11:20 pm

Excellent point.

Reply

I think you’ve perhaps misunderstood this twit. If you know what’s happening to the farce of threatening to bann publication of Prince Harry’s naked photos in Vegas in the UK and eventually his Sun was the only one who did it, you might have taken a different view. I think the emphasis of his twit is about ‘shackled newspapers’. He said that he ordered Sun’s editor to go ahead to publish the photos because there is no ‘free press’ in the UK.

Aziz | August 27, 2012 at 12:45 am

Yeah, I know he wanted to be able to print the picture.

But let’s not forget Murdoch is absolutely for a “regulated” internet:

http://www.thejanedough.com/rupert-murdoch-eric-schmidt-eg8/

Reply

This is why the newspapers are finished.

http://www.shoebat.com/2012/08/21/leaked-explosive-videos-reveal-that-the-syrian-revolution-is-plain-evil/

Aziz | August 27, 2012 at 2:17 am

I wish more people in the alternative media grasped the concept that the Syrian rebels are infiltrated with al-Qaeda.

Reply
nikon | September 7, 2012 at 8:18 am

CNN suppresses its own award-winning doc on human rights abuses in Bahrain

http://boingboing.net/2012/09/05/cnn-suppresses-its-own-award-w.html

Reply