Rupert Murdoch Defends People Who Hate Old School Journalism

Somewhere, Jeff Jarvis is cackling maniacally right now. It was only a week ago that the new media guru chastised all his former colleagues in print journalism for whining about the death of ink. And then bipartisan author Ron Rosenbaum got involved, and it became (sort of, not really) an epic analogy of those willing, eager even, for changing the medium, and those who still believe the paper industry isn't quite dead yet.

But now, Rupert Murdoch unwittingly has taken sides in this argument, blaming newspaper and magazine editors for their own inability to connect with their audiences (instead of the crappy economy) for the now-daily firings and closings in the journalism spectrum.

"My summary of the way some of the established media has responded to the internet is this: it's not newspapers that might become obsolete. It's some of the editors, reporters, and proprietors who are forgetting a newspaper's most precious asset: the bond with its readers," said Murdoch, the chairman and chief executive officer of News Corp.

And the thing is, you are more inclined to trust Rupert's assessment here than Jarvis', because Murdoch, at least, is still working in the industry. He didn't cut out because of some bad blood and then started writing only online with an obvious axe to grind.