What newspapers should do, we’ve maintained, is to band together and become their own Google. It would involve blocking Google and other search engines from their Web sites, which Google says they could do legally and technically. The papers would offer their own search engine and keep for themselves all of the ad revenue that Google now gets from using their content.
It’s unlikely that a subscription-based Web site, which is what News Corp chief Rupert Murdoch has proposed, would succeed. His threats increased after the company reported a record $203 million loss for the second quarter. News Corp’s Wall Street Journal already charges non-subscribers to access the paper’s online content. And wouldn’t Microsoft love to furnish a private label version of its Bling search engine and for a very small cut?
The Los Angeles Times this week reported that News Corp executives have been talking to a number of other US papers about forming such a joint venture. It listed the New York Times Company, Washington Post Company, Hearst and Tribune Company as having met with News Corp. chief digital officer Jonathan Miller about the proposal. Miller, however, didn’t have a lot of success turning around Time Warner’s AOL when he was its CEO.
News Corp’s Fox TV was a founding member of Hulu.com, along with rival TV network NBC. The two established a single Web site where consumers could watch both networks’ recent prime-time network shows. ABC subsequently joined. Hulu.com is entirely ad-supported – no subscription fee.