That's what it looks like, if NewsCorp's current plans are carried out.

Rupert Murdoch, the chairman of the News Corporation, said today that he intended to make access to The Wall Street JournalÂ’s Web site free, trading subscription fees for anticipated ad revenue.

“We are studying it and we expect to make that free, and instead of having one million, having at least 10 million-15 million in every corner of the earth,” Mr. Murdoch said, referring to The Journal’s online readership.

The News Corporation has signed an agreement to acquire Dow Jones & Company, and the deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter. A special shareholders meeting is scheduled for Dec. 13 in New York.

Mr. Murdoch said he believed that a free model, with increased readership for wsj.com, will attract “large numbers” of big-spending advertisers.

What this means is that one of the better sources of news and business information will be available to the common man.

What this means for me is that I will be able to access some of the better pieces of news and commentary that get overlooked by the mainstream media.

And for NewsCorp? Well that is easy -- a 10-15-fold increase in readership online will more than offset the loss of subscriber revenue.

In the end, everyone wins -- with the possible exception of the competitors of the WSJ, who will all face increased competition.

Posted by: Greg at 10:51 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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