Gordon Brown Doubts Readers Will Pay For ‘Basic News’

By Mark Sweney: Gordon Brown has come out against plans to erect paywalls, arguing that internet users will not abide being told to pay for news content.

The prime minister, in an interview in the Radio Times, argued that an ethos has been engendered in internet users that nearly all content should be made available free of charge. “People have got used to getting content without having to pay,” said Brown.

“I don’t think you are going to be able to put things behind paywalls in the way that people think. People will pay for certain things, and should pay for certain things, but I think there’s a whole sort of element of communication that’s got to be free. People mind paying for basic news.”

Murdoch is planning to start charging for online content from June, with the Sunday Times and Times set to lead the way, with The Sun and News Of The World to follow suit in due course.

Murdoch’s titles, in particular The Sun, switched allegiance from supporting Labour to backing the Conservative cause to win the general election on May 6.

Last month, Murdoch renewed his attacks on search engines, such as Google (NSDQ: GOOG), whom he accused of stealing journalism from traditional media outlets. He told a National Press Club event at George Washington University in Washington, DC, that the newspaper industry had to stand up for itself and charge for content while using copyright law to defend its journalism from being used without permission.

The interview with Brown

This article originally appeared in © Guardian News & Media Ltd..

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