Rupert Murdoch: print will survive for "many, many, many years"

Commenting on the newspaper price war that he started in the 80s, Murdoch said that today's newspapers are "all overpriced." But as some of their prices increase, "The reality is that we've seen the last of any serious price wars for a long time." 

Talking about his rival, Trinity Mirror, Murdoch said, "There are certainly difficulties with their national newspapers. And I imagine that their provincial papers are going to be pretty heavily challenged by the classified advertising market. So as a business, they've got problems."

Concerning his standing in the British press Murdoch doesn't think he is treated fairly but at the same time he doesn't expect to be; "i've been fairly radical, and an agent of change. I've brought in competition in the popular press. It is perfectly natural that people would be a bit paranoid about me."

As newspaper classified advertisements suffer, Murdoch predicited their ultimate end. "This is a generational thing. We've been talking a 15 or 20-year slide on this. Certainly I don't know anybody under 30 who has ever looked at a classified advertisement in a newspaper. With broadband they do more and more transactions and job-seeking online." 

Finally, Murdoch, who has been aggressively buying Internet properties, commented on the future of journalism with some suggestions for newsrooms; "Just become better journalists. Great journalism will always be needed, but the product of their work may not always be on paper - it may ultimately just be electronically transmitted. But for many, many, many years to come it will be disseminated on both.

"There will always be room for good journalism - and good reporting. And a need for it, to get the truth out."

Source: Press Gazette, The Independent