Murdoch foresees paperless future for WSJ, all newspapers

Media mogul and News Corp. chief executive officer Rupert Murdoch said Monday in an interview with FOX Business’s Neil Cavuto The Wall Street Journal could be paperless in 20 years.
Murdoch said he believes almost all news will be delivered either digitally via computer or on portable devices like Amazon's Kindle within 10 years.
While the newspaper industry is currently struggling to change its business model, Murdoch said he believes newspapers will endure. From the story:

“My feeling is that we hopefully hit a bottom here where things will be pretty stable from now on. Not as good as they were a little while back. It’s going to take time to climb out of it. That’s okay,”

View the story here.

What do you think of Murdoch's predictions and a potentially paperless WSJ? Tell us in a comment.

News Corp. posts results; newspaper division hit hard

News Corporation released its first quarter results Thursday, showing an operating profit of $755 million, down 47 percent from the previous quarter.
The newspaper division, however, was hit particularly hard, according to The New York Times:

The company’s newspapers in particular had a dismal performance. Newspaper operating income fell to just $7 million for the quarter that ended March 31, from $216 million a year earlier. Advertising revenue at The Journal fell 33 percent. News Corporation took a large write-down for the quarter that ended Dec. 31 to reflect the decline in the value of The Journal.

Chairman Rupert Murdoch remained optimistic, saying, "It is increasingly clear that the worst is over... The days of precipitous declines are gone."
Murdoch also stated that at least some News Corp. outlets will begin to charge for content online soon, according to Editor & Publisher.

In a conference call with analysts and journalists after the release of the media and entertainment giant's quarterly results, Murdoch said The Wall Street Journal has proven newspapers can charge for online content.
Asked specifically if he envisioned charging readers for that content from his general interest newspapers such as The Times of London or The Sun, Murdoch replied, "We are absolutely looking at that. Very much so."

As for a general time frame, Murdoch said that some newspapers should begin charging within the next year.

Click here for the Times article, and here for the Editor & Publisher article.

Murdoch tells Dow Jones employees he will set an even "higher bar"

Rupert Murdoch spoke to Dow Jones employees at their Manhattan headquarters several hours after he bought their company, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal's Sarah Ellison.
Murdoch acknowledge that change creates nervousness and is sometimes difficult, but said Dow Jones must be the essential source of financial information and comment in the world.
Ellison reports says that Murdoch told employees he understood the value of Dow Jones and in particular The Wall Street Journal.
"If anything, you will find us trying to set a higher bar," Murdoch said.
Shareholders approved the more than $5 billion sale of Dow Jones & Co. to Murdoch's News Corp. on Thursday.
To read Ellison's full report click here.

Can Murdoch save newspapers?

Diane Mermigas, Editor-at-large at MediaPost, contemplates today about Rupert Murdoch's ability to save newspapers now that he has The Wall Street Journal in his hands. Mermigas says Murdoch's advantage is that he understands and embraces the notion of a global media landscape. He is able to envision possible digital applications of many currently undervalued, and often overlooked, assets.
While many publishers are expected to post a decline in revenues for the year, "News Corp.’s newspaper holdings are growing profits better than 25% annually to more than $650 million on $4.5 billion in revenues (and a 15% margin). It must be doing something right."
Read more from Mermigas here.

Bancroft family expresses emotion over sale of Dow Jones

The vote that ended Dow Jones tenure today as an independent company, something it has been for 105 years, was emotional for some Bancroft family members, according to a report in Forbes.
Jane Cox MacElree the oldest surviving member of the Bancroft clan, teared up when asked about the sale.
"It's a very sad day," MacElree said. "Something that's been in your family for many generations--to see it end is very sad."
Other family members openly expressed their opinion about selling their company to Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.
"I'm sad about this. This is a moment that I did not wish for,'' Dow Jones director Christopher Bancroft said, before the meeting.
To read the full story from Forbes click here.

Snippets: Murdoch interviewed on Fox News

Shareholders approved News Corp's purchase of Dow Jones today. Rupert Murdoch then appeared on Fox News.

Snippets from the interview...

• He plans to develop international editions of The Wall Street Journal.

• In regard to competition with The New York Times: "We are a long way in front now."

• Despite the success of the WSJ.com paid subscriber model, Murdoch talks of making the site free saying they'll cover the subscription revenue by increasing total online circulation (viewers) resulting in greater online advertising revenue. More eyes, more ad dollars.
  

• On how to get young people reading newspapers again: "Make newspapers better and more exciting."

• On making articles shorter: Murdoch wants to "keep the paper busy." Perhaps break stories in parts, "guts on the front page" and the rest inside.

• On Fox Business Network: "It's going well." Dow Jones and Fox Business Network will help each other.

Murdoch also talked politics and shared views on the writers' strike and its impacts on the industry.

Approval likely for Wall Street Journal sale

The Wall Street Journal reports that a count of proxy votes indicates Dow Jones shareholders will approve a News Corp. takeover tomorrow.
Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. has offered to buy the company for more than $5 billion, which would end the Bancroft family long ownership of the newspaper.
For the full report click here.