KMR -
08.03.10 08:22
There is a widespread myth that search engines have taken profits away from news websites. A few months ago, Rupert Murdoch said: “Google has devised a brilliant business model that avoids paying for news gathering yet profits off the search ads sold around that content.”
The reality is that news is a lousy business. Period. Even Google doesn’t make money on it. For example, here are Google’s search results for the phrase “afghanistan war”:
- An Nachrichten sind auch für Google kein gutes Geschäft Twitter senden
- Mit Nachrichten sind auch für Google kein gutes Geschäft Facebook empfehlen
Nachrichten sind auch für Google kein gutes Geschäft
The internet exposed hard news for what it is: a lousy standalone business. Google arguably contributed to this in many indirect ways, including by helping users find substitute news sources. But the idea that Google takes profits directly from newspapers is simply misinformed.