News Corp to build online news consortium

News Corporation has held talks with major publishers to create an online consortium to charge for news, according to reports.

News Corp chief digital officer Jonathan Miller is understood to have met major US publishers including Hearst, The New York Times and The Washington Post, according to reports in The Los Angeles Times.

The Wall Street Journal is currently the only News Corp title to charge a subscription fee to access all content on its site. But earlier this month CEO Rupert Murdoch confirmed an advance into paid-for content, stating the media company would end its policy of free access to sites.

Murdoch said: “Quality journalism isn’t cheap. An industry that gives away its content is simply cannibalising its ability to produce good reporting. The digital revolution has opened many inexpensive methods of distribution. But it hasn’t made content free. Accordingly, we intend to charge for all our news websites.”

It’s understood The Sunday Times will be the first News Corp UK title to charge for content. It’s set to launch a standalone site by the end of November.

Other publishers, such as Guardian News & Media, Independent News & Media and Bauer, are also considering moving to a paid-for model.

The talks follow Journalism Online, an online platform, signing agreements with more than 500 magazines and newspapers to provide ways for publishers to charge for content platform will allow consumers to use one universal Journalism Online account to access subscriber content across all partner sites.

Source: New Media Age

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http://www.nma.co.uk/news-corp-to-build-online-news-consortium/3003726.article

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