For an organisation deeply implicated in organised crime, the Murdoch media empire has quite some cheek. But they certainly know how to put a gloss of respectability on the ruthless pursuit of self-interest.
One of the latest lines of attack from Murdoch junior is that the BBC is “dumping free news” on the market, by producing such detailed and comprehensive coverage on its flagship website, BBC online. Murdoch argues that this is unfair competition, because it makes it harder to get people to pay to read the news stories his companies publish. Why bother giving money to Murdoch when you can get the same stories online for free from the BBC?
It’s easy to agree that, despite having vastly more money to spend (roughly £20 billion to the BBC’s £4.6 billion), Murdoch’s News Corporation media group struggles to come close to the quality, breadth and objectivity for which the BBC is renowned. But it’s hard to see how this is an argument for getting rid of the BBC, or making it more difficult for them to provide the public with free, high quality news...read more
http://richardwilsonauthor.wordpress.com/2010/03/02/dumping-free-news/
