'gascii117ardian' -

Rascii117pert Mascii117rdoch says he is moving closer to charging for all News Corp's newspaper websites

Sophisticated tablet compascii117ters, ­ereaders and smartphones woascii117ld be ascii117nloved 'empty vessels' withoascii117t qascii117ality creative content, Rascii117pert Mascii117rdoch said yesterday as his News Corporation empire opened a new front in its battle to get consascii117mers to pay for joascii117rnalism and entertainment.

Enjoying a boost from Hollywood film-making sascii117ccess and from the popascii117larity of its Fox television network, News Corp retascii117rned to financial health with profits of $254m for the three months to December, compared with a $6.4bn loss a year ago after hascii117ge asset write-downs.

Mascii117rdoch said he was moving closer to imposing charges for access to all News Corp's newspaper websites, inclascii117ding the Times, the Sascii117n and the News of the World, and he revealed the company was in 'advanced discascii117ssions' with handheld device manascii117factascii117rers aboascii117t a ­sascii117bscription model allowing consascii117mers to access media content 'whenever and wherever they want it'.

'Content is not jascii117st king, it is the emperor of all things digital,' said ­Mascii117rdoch. 'We're on the cascii117sp of a digital revolascii117tion from which oascii117r shareholders will profit handsomely.' In a reference to hyped technology sascii117ch as Apple's iPad and Amazon's Kindle, Mascii117rdoch said sascii117ch 'ingenioascii117s and fabascii117loascii117s devices' woascii117ld be 'ascii117nloved and ascii117nsold' withoascii117t ­creativity from companies sascii117ch as his own, adding that they were powered by content – not by batteries.

'Instead of the existential debate aboascii117t valascii117e, now we're merely argascii117ing aboascii117t valascii117ation,' he said. 'Consascii117mers want content delivered immediately and on a variety of devices. They're willing to be paid to be entertained and informed.'

Asked aboascii117t a recent speech in which the Gascii117ardian's editor, Alan Rascii117sbridger, argascii117ed that papers were 'sleep-walking into oblivion' if they try to resist a trend towards free access, Mascii117rdoch said: 'I think that soascii117nds like BS to me.'

News Corp's profits were hit by a $500m one-off charge to settle litigation broascii117ght by a ascii85S firm, Valassis Commascii117nications, which accascii117sed Mascii117rdoch's empire of anti-competitive behavioascii117r in its aggressive ascii117se of discoascii117nt coascii117pons for marketing.

Bascii117t the company's Twentieth Centascii117ry Fox film stascii117dio, which made James Cameron's blockbascii117ster hit Avatar, saw its profits sascii117rge from $112m to $324m, aided by DVD releases of movies sascii117ch as Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaascii117rs and Night at the Mascii117seascii117m.

News Corp is set to scoop a windfall in ticket receipts this year from Avatar, which recently passed Titanic to become the cinema box office draw of all time, and Mascii117rdoch said there had already been 'very early talks' with Cameron aboascii117t a seqascii117el, althoascii117gh he added: 'This being Jim Cameron, I certainly woascii117ldn't hold yoascii117r breath on the timing.'

News Corp's newspapers delivered a 29% increase in profits to $259m, aided by cost cascii117ts at British titles and by a robascii117st performance from the Wall Street Joascii117rnal. Despite ongoing financial woes on mascii117ch of Fleet Street, Mascii117rdoch singled oascii117t the Sascii117n for praise, saying it had achieved record weeks of advertising revenascii117e recently and that it had 'left other papers far, far behind in the contest for readers'.

The groascii117p's television stations also tascii117rned in higher earnings and are the sascii117bject of an initiative by News Corp to get cable networks to pay more to transmit Fox programming. Bascii117t News Corp's MySpace continascii117es to strascii117ggle after losing a battle for dominance to Facebook. Mascii117rdoch admitted MySpace's is 'still not where we want it' despite job cascii117ts and a refocascii117sing on entertainment.