Rupert Murdoch doesn’t like Google. His problem with the search engine giant is that it makes money from helping people find stuff on the internet — stuff like content from News Corp websites.
In the past, he’s criticised Google and other search engines like Yahoo, claiming that when they re-publish summaries from his sites, they’re breaching copyright.
He’s determined to ensure that visitors to his websites pay to view the content. He’s already taken that step with the Times and the Wall Street Journal. He’s also flagged similar intentions with The Australian and other sites.
The Times' paywall
Although, that doesn’t mean that customers aren’t be able to access the sites at all. Instead, they get a snippet of an article; if they want to view the whole article, then they’re prompted to hand over their credit card details.
In 2009, Murdoch explained the strategy to Sky News thus:
“We do it [charge readers for content] already with the Wall Street Journal. We have a wall, but it’s not right to the ceiling. You can get the first paragraph of any story but if you’re not a paying subscriber to WSJ.com, you get a paragraph and a subscription form.”
In theory, that’s true. The problem though, is that not only do the walls not reach the ceilings. They’re also riddled with gaping holes. Continue reading →
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Jan 11
How to read the Wall Street Journal for free
Rupert Murdoch doesn’t like Google. His problem with the search engine giant is that it makes money from helping people find stuff on the internet — stuff like content from News Corp websites.
In the past, he’s criticised Google and other search engines like Yahoo, claiming that when they re-publish summaries from his sites, they’re breaching copyright.
He’s determined to ensure that visitors to his websites pay to view the content. He’s already taken that step with the Times and the Wall Street Journal. He’s also flagged similar intentions with The Australian and other sites.
The Times' paywall
Although, that doesn’t mean that customers aren’t be able to access the sites at all. Instead, they get a snippet of an article; if they want to view the whole article, then they’re prompted to hand over their credit card details.
In 2009, Murdoch explained the strategy to Sky News thus:
“We do it [charge readers for content] already with the Wall Street Journal. We have a wall, but it’s not right to the ceiling. You can get the first paragraph of any story but if you’re not a paying subscriber to WSJ.com, you get a paragraph and a subscription form.”
In theory, that’s true. The problem though, is that not only do the walls not reach the ceilings. They’re also riddled with gaping holes. Continue reading →