Murdoch: Media should 'adapt and adopt' amid challenge

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-10-09 11:36

BEIJING: Chairman and CEO of News Corporation Rupert Murdoch said here Friday the world's media organizations should "adapt and adopt" as they were confronted by "unprecedented change and challenge" amid a digital revolution.

"Media companies know that if you do not respond intelligently and creatively to the digital challenge, your future will be bleak indeed," Murdoch told the World Media Summit.

Too often the conventional media's response to the internet has been inchoate, he said. A medium once thought too powerful has often seemed impotent in the past few years, he added.

Murdoch said global media had been "submissive" as the flat-earthers insisted that all news content on the Internet should be free.

"The value of content has been volatile in the past decade, but we are entering another decisive phase in which device makers are again courting the creators of content," he said.

He also said Chinese media and entertainment companies had an opportunity to expand their international influence and revenues in an information era.

Only if China continued protecting intellectual property rights (IPR) and created a fairer digital market, could Chinese media companies prosper globally, he said.

"There is no doubt that the Chinese government recognizes this problem (IPR protection) but has difficulty ensuring that regulations are observed across the nation," he said.

Murdoch said the challenge of fusing past and present was real for media companies, and for China.

"Modern China has a tremendous stake in a shared digital future, because its own wealth and success will depend on how well it responds to the challenges, nationally and internationally."