Rupert Murdoch’s daughter actually understands her fathers business better than he does…

What have countless sources on the internet including myself and TechDirt said before? Paywalls, no matter how great of an idea on paper, simply don’t materialize into what investors and executives want. In the age of the internet, information is available extremely cheap, extremely fast, and most importantly, without any restrictions. That’s the very core of why the internet was invented in the first place.

Rupert Murdoch and many other news sites fail to see this. They seem to think simply slapping a price on their content will add value and entice people to pay up. While it is true that some will move over to digital subscriptions, many will not. It’s called a business model. The traditional print media is banking on an old, outdated, and dying one.

The point? Rupert Murdoch is a well known media big wig — operating NewsCorp which itself is a massive media company. His daughter — Elisabeth Murdoch, whom runs a TV production house — is more or less in the same business. A business field that suffers from growing pains moving to the web also. But her approach to the whole concept of digital information is far more enlightening:

“Fans remain the best salesmen of our content, even if that behavior is on the borderline of piracy. Danger of the new world is that we must concede that we’ll lose some control.”

Simply put, her comments are in start contrast to the countless claims and accusations by her father show that those who’ve been in the business for any length of time have little hope of “coming around”. In the digital age, we need more forward thinkers like Elisabeth Murdoch and less of those like her father. I’m not saying ban all monetary payments online. That’s silly. Instead, I’m saying don’t be so god damn greedy, adapt to the changing market, and stop labeling people and companies who help your business (such as Google, social networking sites, and so on) as thieves and criminals. It’s really not the best approach.

Paywalls and overly restrictive false barriers do nothing but erode and destroy the very principles of the internet.

TechDirt

Author: Mike Norris

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Gadget lover, smartphone collector, and beer connoisseur. I've been writing about gadgets for three years now and loving every minute of it. Outside of the digital landscape, I enjoy being active outdoors. I'm always up for a good conversation, so feel free to drop me a line!