This week saw the second hearing for David Aptaker for justice of the family and probate court.
What wasn't covered by the media was majority of the subsequent questions asked him by the...
A clever attempt to defuse a controversy or did Google blink?
posted by Ralph Ranalli on December 2, 2009
In what could be a clever bid to defuse the controversy stirred up by media owners like Rupert Murdoch, Google has announced that it will allow publishers to set a limit on the number of articles people can access through its search engine without paying.
The News Corp. chairman has called search engines like Google and Yahoo "content kleptomaniacs" for aggregating news content without sharing profits with the companies that create it. He has threatened to block Google from indexing stories produced by News Corp. properties like the Wall Street Journal and Fox News.
Google officials said yesterday that the company will change it's "First Click Free" program to allow publishers to limit users to five pages per day without either registering or subscribing. It seems as if it's a compromise that could work, since publishers like Murdoch who are hell bent on putting their content behind pay walls could still get the benefit of referrals from Google.
The announcement comes after much reporting, including by our own BTP panelist Dan Kennedy of "Media Nation," that Murdoch was in talks with Microsoft about an exclusive content deal with its new Bing search engine.
Comments
Hi Ralph, Dan,
ST: Thanks for Keeping us UTDate on News Icons Insanity..
As you wrote a "clever attempt".
I don't know what to say about Murdoch's dumbness in the Internet Age, and Google's false yet true offer.
Truth is in the details. Now some and most of the public will be really ticked off when they are faced with a 5 page limit (maybe). One must ask the question on the number 5. Those that are above 5 will go elsewhere for their news or whatever, and Rupert isn't the wiser nor richer.
And the media still suffers until it plans it's own takeover.
Hi Again Ralph, Dan,
ST: Monopolies/Oligarchies/Tyrants-Kings
A good king is OK for a spell, yet a dumb king or monopoly is horrid.
Rupert is an example of too much centralized power in one place. Rather than being fast on his feet like Google or Arianna he is slow and clumpy.
Why NewsCorp isn't broken up under anti-trust laws is beyond my pay grade. Just like the Banking and Investment System he is a drag on innovation and the individual journalist or consumer making money and having a good life.