The Staggers

The New Statesman’s rolling politics blog

Murdoch: I'll sue the BBC

Media mogul threatens lawsuit against Beeb for "stealing" his papers' stories

By George Eaton Published 09 November 2009 19:46

Rupert Murdoch may have indicated that News Corporation could miss its target of charging for all its news websites by next summer, but in his latest interview he steps up his war on the "content kleptomaniacs" of the internet.

As well as raising the possibility that he could block Google from including his newspapers' stories in its search index, the media mogul signals that he has the online news provided by ABC and the BBC in his sights:

[If] you look at them, most of their stuff is stolen from the newspapers now, and we'll be suing them for copyright. They'll have to spend a lot more money on a lot more reporters to cover the world when they can't steal from newspapers.

The removal of stories from Google and other web "parasites" would lead to a dramatic fall in traffic but it's hard to imagine Murdoch losing much sleep over this. The advertising revenue that follows web users is too paltry to be worthy of his attention.

His plan to charge for digital content is in many ways designed not to make online news profitable but to push people back to print.

As his biographer Michael Wolff has written: "The more he can choke off the internet as a free news medium, the more publishers he can get to join him, the more people he can bring back to his papers. It is not a war he can win in the long term, but a little Murdoch rearguard action might get him to his own retirement. Then it's somebody else's problem."

I'm convinced that James Murdoch, the heir apparent to the News Corp empire, will veto his father's more outlandish proposals regarding Google, but otherwise the company's strategy appears fixed.

At 78 years old, Murdoch is gearing up for one of the biggest battles of his life. He will not go gentle into that good night.

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Tags: Rupert Murdoch

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26 comments

Mon, 2009-11-09 20:01 — bazzerk (not verified)

Well maybe people should start charging Murdoch for the news he reports! Afterall if it happen to you then it should belong to you.

I'm sorry but this is just pathetic and at his age he should be spending his time with the grand kids!

Mon, 2009-11-09 22:49 — quibbly (not verified)

Murdoch can jam it! I'll just get the news from somewhere else. Didn't the NY Times teach him anything. Free is the new thing and it's here to stay.

Mon, 2009-11-09 23:01 — Thomas Horan (not verified)

Murdoch's plan is to block free information, charge for and manage the news he thinks is fit to print. The basis of the web , the blogs, and democracy are all about the opposite. He will fail

Mon, 2009-11-09 23:04 — John Kearns (not verified)

In a culture and time where Sky News is run like a Jeremy Beadle video show what hope is there for the Real News to be relayed? Havent people had enough of the Newsporn merchants?

Mon, 2009-11-09 23:07 — John Kearns (not verified)

@ John Kearns how right you are mate. What is that idiot like when he says ..and now on Sky News "Most Clicked stories" Can somebody call time on this Joke of a news station?

Tue, 2009-11-10 00:51 — Harold Sykes (not verified)

Typical of Murdoch he nicked our national sport (football)
and choked it off to the people who supported it before he got there, I agree with other comments here he should stick his business where the sun dont shine and retire gracefully.

Tue, 2009-11-10 00:52 — Stafa (not verified)

He can block google and charge for the news if he wants. At least i will not be enclined to hearing the crap he has to sell to me. There are plenty others who offer the same even better quality for free.

Tue, 2009-11-10 00:54 — Keith (not verified)

Hes going way over the top again, as did his son, who wrote that speech anyway, just proves they are in their own world.. not a clue of reality. Not listening to anyone else because on `planet Murdoch`.. he is RIGHT. Fine.. let him sue.. see how far he gets.
WE PAY for the BBC by law.. they have their own news gatherers?? I`m told his other papers round the world are rubbish anyway.

Tue, 2009-11-10 01:02 — Dame Celia (not verified)

And I suppose that no News Corp journo has swiped a BBC lead and just about gulded it so it passes copyright muster? Ever?
I hope he takes his tosh off the net too. Spoils my Google searches

Tue, 2009-11-10 01:44 — Ozymandias (not verified)

Golem in a suit.....Sky TV, my precious.

Its about time someone sent this old nag off to the glue factory.
Good luck Rob, in trying to get people to pay for your old rubbish.

Tue, 2009-11-10 01:55 — New statesman

So does Murdock plan a reciprocal agreement? Will News Corp plan on no longer using Google (and the internet) as a basis for their reporting? So will the next annual News Corp party in the Grand Ballroom at Parliament House (Canberra) be free of reporters searching the internet for stories they can re-write (pinch) for publication??
Does this mean that News Corp journalists will no longer be able to trot out their standard response for failure to research ("we pulled the story from the internet a regret we didn't have time to check the story ourselves")??

Tue, 2009-11-10 02:02 — Jerry Maguire (not verified)

What planet is Murdoch on? If he thinks people will pay to read his newspaper content online he's away with the fairies. The FT is the only UK paper that's held out against free access & it has a very small subscriber base... it's a lost cause Rupert.

Tue, 2009-11-10 02:10 — Cameron (not verified)

Ridiculous old man.

Tue, 2009-11-10 02:11 — Phil (not verified)

First Amendment for Heaven sake Murdoch. You cannot block use of an item released as "news" - only the form which it takes - the specific wording of articles

Murdoch is the reason why so many of us have given up on printed media. His present behaviour merely confirms the lack of faith many of us have in his publications

Whilst I have no fears that search engines by indexing material are not behaving either illegally or unreasonably, there may be a need for clearer legislative protection for them in particular and the internet in general if only to stop this boring blathering. The actions of Governments as in Australia to filter content using readily abused technology is a case in point

Tue, 2009-11-10 02:39 — Phil T (not verified)

For goodness sake! This is a pathetic/desperate attempt by Mr Murdoch to increase publicity!
It is very easy to stop Google (and others) from indexing your site!!!! Create a file 'robots.txt' In that file put the following 'User-agent: *
Disallow: /'
Really! It is that simple! This is web 101! If the IT guys at Sky have not sussed this by now they should be sacked immediately!!!!!!!!
BTW. I checked Sky (as of this eve) does not have a robots.txt on their website! I hope they get shat upon in court!

Tue, 2009-11-10 02:43 — Bob Matthews (not verified)

Since when did Murdoch actually a newspaper rather than a comic. He and his and his penchant for poor reporting, sensationalism and poor english only appeals to morons. The sooner he goes bust the better. He cant' compete with the BBC or the quality press. Perhaps he should team up with the prime minister of Italy they seem to be two of a kind basically thinking their above the law.

Tue, 2009-11-10 03:37 — Marc Jacks (not verified)

Rupert Murdoch is a pathetic, egocentric self-absorbed & deluded man. If there was any news organisation(I use that word loosely) that scavenges, plaigarises & steals it is the one he so fiercely controls. He virtually stole a different nationality just to further his empire building. As for the BBC struggling to compete with the trash that eminates from SKY/FOX, dream on -another Murdoch delusion. So go on & charge for your biased & poorly researched news -the fewer that read it the better.

Tue, 2009-11-10 03:42 — Simon (not verified)

I'm actually rather looking forward to Murdoch's attempt to start charging for his newspapers online. There's no possible way that I can see it working, but he must have some sort of game plan or he wouldn't just stumble head first into failure... Unless the old man's finally lost his marbles once and for all!

Tue, 2009-11-10 04:36 — Sean Britania

Bored and fed up with main stream PC media that has no meaning or important truths people are making their own alternate news without pay masters investors and it has nothing to gain from perversion of truth and information and that is what has got the liars and rats on the run.

These control freaks need to face the fact uniform education and internet has educated masses and they are beyond the PC news brigade's.

To even be seen to try to take it away from people only reveals the real dirt and corruption in the elite ranks.

Tue, 2009-11-10 10:08 — Max Milne (not verified)

Looks like he's heading towards the end in an ignominious spiral of deluded dementia, just like his heroine, Margaret Thatcher

Tue, 2009-11-10 11:47 — JanC (not verified)

Murdoch sue the BBC? The charity I work with has a website news service and we sometimes have used Sun stories (fairly rare as it goes, but we do) - will he sue us - we do give the source when we do it? Knowledge is power it is said. People want to share in that power not have it blocked off by a narrow vested interest with out-moded dreams of political influence.

Tue, 2009-11-10 16:37 — GoldFishBrain

Sounds pretty desperate to me. His circulation sales are dropping. Good I hope it's bye bye Sun (wishful thinking I suppose)

Tue, 2009-11-10 17:44 — John Emsley (not verified)

Poor old Rupert.
Business model fallen apart, petal?

Tue, 2009-11-10 23:25 — Mrs Noname (not verified)

Mr Murdoch, do you know the meaning of humble?

Wed, 2009-11-11 15:35 — Rupert (not verified)

Nothing personal, Australia, but could y'all reclaim this clown Murdoch? He's a worthless old hypocrite who rants about about bare boobs on one channel while showing them off to the point of tedium on the other.
Please, take him back now!

Thu, 2009-11-12 06:47 — Death (not verified)

Obviously, non of us will ever pay.
The adverts on their papers will fall. we don't trust any of your papers anyway. Take your News Corporation together with you to your grave with your own hands.
Support free non-biased news!!