News Corp to offer an e-reader and begin charging to access the news

A few recent reports indicate that News Corp, owner of The Wall Street Journal, New York Post, and many newspapers across the world, is looking to offer its own e-reader and begin charging to access the news, in an effort to fix the “flawed” business model which lets consumers access content for free online. According to Electronista, last month, Chairman and CEO of News Corp, Rupert Murdoch commented, “We’re investing in a new device that has a bigger screen, four-color, and you can get everything there.” Another report says that Murdoch has set up a global team that is “looking at hardware” that will deliver the content in a “user-friendly way.” The team is said to be in discussions with publishers and content providers outside of News Corp. In addition, the team is looking to develop a model to charge for access to their newspapers. An article from Guardian says that Murdoch believes that the online subscription model will work given its success with the Wall Street Journal and in a recent interview he commented that News Corp could begin charging for access to newspapers within the next 12 months noting that “the current days of the internet will soon be over."