Rupert Murdoch has sounded the death knell on free access to online news provided by his News Corporation websites, including The Sun, The Times and the New York Post.
The newspaper magnate said he planned to switch to paid access within the next year and that should it prove successful other content providers would quickly follow suit.
Murdoch gave no indication as to whether users would access news by some form of subscription or would pay per individual article.
Only two leading titles, FT.com and Murdoch's Wall Street Journal, currently charge for content. However, Murdoch will be moving into unchartered territory by charging for general news rather than specialised business content not available anywhere else.
Murdoch is looking to turn around the flagging fortunes of a news empire that has been hit by declining advertising revenues brought on by the recession.
And if he pulls it off, it will completely transform the online news landscape with huge ramifications for the PR industry.
Companies and organisations are putting ever-increasing emphasis on communicating with their target audiences online and PR agencies may need to rethink their online strategies in order to get their clients' messages across in the digital media.
hello@octopuspr.co.uk 
01785
229530 
