Regular readers will know that I'm interested Rupert Murdoch's approach to digital media - which, until recently has been a non-approach. And like all journalists, I'm particularly interested in navel gazing speculation around the media industry.
So it was interesting to hear Big Rupe's thoughts on a radio interview with Five Live this weekend (you can download it here), in which he spoke about his almost religious conversion to the belief that, hey, there might be something in this internet thing after all. And when I heard him say the following, I nearly dropped my marmalade.
"I'm sure it will still be available on paper, it won't happen that fast but you'll be able to, for instance, have a tablet beside your bed, you subscribe to the paper and it'll come there wirelessly, and you've got to pick it up and read every page of the paper on an electronic or battery-driven tablet."
Of course, it's not a surprising view. People are already trying these things out, and Murdoch is following trends, not making them. But more intriguing was hearing how a man motivated by profit thinks that he can cash in with a "bedside tablet". His answer was one word: "advertising". Sure, it's done wonders for Google's share price and Craigslist does very well, but these are not the same ways I expect Murdoch imagines he will make money. And I doubt the internet advertising model will ever generate enough cash to prop up many of his firms (after all, he already subsidises newspapers like the Times to the tune of millions each year) - so what does he think he knows that we don't?
