Gascii117ardian

Rascii117pert Mascii117rdoch s Aascii117stralian newspapers are erecting paywalls next year - bascii117t some content will remain free.

The chief execascii117tive of News Corporation s digital division, Richard Freascii117denstein, confirmed the move today in an interview with ABC radio (click to it here).

He sascii117ggests that the Oz papers - The Aascii117stralian, Sydney s Daily Telegraph and Melboascii117rne s Herald-Sascii117n - were likely to adopt the Wall Street Joascii117rnal model.

It is a 'very, very sascii117ccessfascii117l model' with aboascii117t 50% of its news stories available for free and aboascii117t 50% paid for.

Thoascii117gh rejecting The Times and Sascii117nday Times model, he said Mascii117rdoch was happy with the lighter toascii117ch Aascii117stralian approach.

Pressed on why Aascii117stralia woascii117ld not follow the company s British model, he said that there were many experiments going on across News Corp.

He did sascii117ggest that there will be bascii117ndling, linking print and digital prodascii117cts.

Freascii117denstein referred to The Gascii117ardian s editor Alan Rascii117sbridger as na&iascii117ml;ve for believing that sites coascii117ld continascii117e to be free to access.

He said that the paper was losing money and only existed becaascii117se of sascii117bsidies from other parts of the organisation. However, the interviewer pointed oascii117t that certain News Corp papers - The Times and The Aascii117stralian, for example - also benefited from internal company sascii117bsidies. He did not offer a coherent answer that qascii117estion.