Rupert Murdoch is a Moron

[MetalMusicMan]

People reading news for free on the Web, that's got to change.

WHAT?!

Murdoch is championing the idea that a large part of our economic troubles has come from... wait for it... wait for it... the lack of subscription fees and payed advertising in newspapers!  Hooray, let's blame Google!  Yeah, this guy is actually making the argument that free-news is a bad thing, and that it is somehow crippling our economy. 

Accordingly, Rupert claims that news papers should charge people to read their websites.  Do free-to-the-public news sites not gain sufficient revenue from payed advertisements already?  How is this less acceptable, or less helpful to the economy, than payed print advertisement?

Free content with payed advertisement is the future of information marketing.  This is not the stagnation of our economy from the dismissal of old methods; it is the evolution of our economy from the creation and adoption of new methods.

First of all, the free spreading of news and knowledge is the BEST THING EVER.  Intellectual advancements as a race help us immensely, and the internet is solely responsible for the largest intellectual movement in centuries.  No one can argue that. 

It is ridiculous to think that printed news is somehow a key factor in our yearly earnings and spendings...

Yeah, a dying medium is the linchpin of our nation's economic success.  Riiiiiiiiigghhttt.

So why would someone make such a ridiculous argument?  Murdoch owns the New York Post and Times of London.  Biased, much?  Only a substantial amount of greed for ones own sake combined with a preposterous desire to cling to all things old could explain such a ridiculous argument, and his motives are as transparent as his proposals.

Another fantastically ridiculous quote:

Murdoch also says that by linking to newspaper content and making the stories easier for readers to find, Google is taking ad dollars out of its pockets. Murdoch said, "The question is, should we be allowing Google to steal all our copyright... not steal, but take. Not just them but Yahoo."

You can read the full article here, try not to let your eyes bleed too profusely. 


As a side note, I am not arguing that print in itself is entirely obsolete--i.e. books--merely that printed news is.  Content that is not time-sensitive is not hindered by print in any way.

What are your thoughts on this?

[spidey]

agreed. i believe this is the guy that was on The Daily Show or Colbert Report a while back (can you tell where i get my "news") Frankly im surprised newspaper survived after televised news much less the internet.

[Uneven Pavement]

Rupert Murdoch is an old man who has made his fortune from newspapers.  Of course he would say something like this. 

He's still living in the past and doesn't want to have to adjust the business model of how he used to run things.  He doesnt' want to have to adapt to the internet age.  He's just a crotchety old man set in his old ways. 

[WarKirby]

I believe that he is also the one who started/runs fox news, correct me if i am wrong.

Free information is never bad, and claiming that "there are millions to be paid by just charging for [x service]" is a capitalistic-whore attitude that is exhibited by the whole of our country.

i certainly dont feel that newspapers are obsolete though. Their medium is dying, and its because people are not willing to change. Look at the magazine industry, they can exist because they are integrating with the online world, in an effort have a digital and print audience. The newspaper industry is treating the internet as an afterthought (concerning merging) and is clinging to what the past was. Its run by a bunch of old people, who dont want to change. Its going to take a youthful revolution to get out of the slump, and the industry will have to either adapt to the internet or die.

[sonchez]

I'm finishing up my degree in journalism and i have older folks ask me what newspaper i want to write for lol. When i explain that news sites are shifting towards the internet, i get confused looks. I frequently get this question "well how do i read that then?".  The real problem is that people are living longer lives. That means all those old ass bastards who dont adapt keep pushing their influence, even when their ideas are outdated and stale.  EVERYONE MUST START SMOKING AND OCCASIONALLY DRINK CHLORINE TO OFFSET THE BETTER LIVING CONDITIONS WE HAVE lol.

[MetalMusicMan]

  EVERYONE MUST START SMOKING AND OCCASIONALLY DRINK CHLORINE TO OFFSET THE BETTER LIVING CONDITIONS WE HAVE lol.

lol.  man, what a quote that is.

[magnesium]

I am shocked that some published conservative viewpoint counter to modern liberal views are met with direct scorn from Mr. MmM. I thought for sure he would entertain the though and point out pros and cons of the conservatice viewpoint.

Seriously though, Rupert Murdoch is pretty much the anti-christ and any quote you find from him can equally be balked at. He stands for controlled distribution of media so that mainstream America can be controlled (a la 1984) and using that control to influence people for backing his friends (corruption).

[MetalMusicMan]

I am shocked that some published conservative viewpoint counter to modern liberal views are met with direct scorn from Mr. MmM. I thought for sure he would entertain the though and point out pros and cons of the conservatice viewpoint.

LOL  <3

[sonchez]

lol i was completely oblivious to printed news being obsolete....until EGM got shut down..then i knew everything holy was gone.

[KaggyPoo]

  EVERYONE MUST START SMOKING AND OCCASIONALLY DRINK CHLORINE TO OFFSET THE BETTER LIVING CONDITIONS WE HAVE lol.

lol.  man, what a quote that is.

well shit, thats practically what smoking was invented for...(killing people that is)

[sonchez]

yes but not enough people do it. more need to start if we're gonna control population growth, plus its to slow and costly. Chlorine helps speed up the process lol
I think smoking used to be used as some kinda religious thing. Then the educated man came along and decided it was better to soak the tobacco in chemicals he was afraid of, then light it on fire, inhale it and see what happened.