WSJ is free today!

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Rupert Murdoch won the prized Wall Street Journal after months of maneuvering and lobbying. We knew there’d be some changes. Looks like it has started.

The wsj.com website is “Free Today”. I’ve always been frustrated when I’m internet surfing and someone references a wsj.com article. I don’t have a subscription and the articles always have enticing titles and the links are always on quality articles. I just know the wsj.com article is good, but I can’t access it unless I’m subscribed.

So why free? It appears that Rupert believes that the site should be free to unleash its potential and reach. This is an experiment to test the waters. The site is one of the few internet news sites that is able to command a high subscription fee. It costs $99/year to gain access to the online counterpart to the journal.

Why make it free when you can charge?

There are multiple financial models on the internet. The most common is subscription and the second is free for all and charge for advertising. The latter garners a much larger audience. The trick is which will yield the most revenue? In wsj.com’s case, Rupert believes it needs to shift to the free model. The journal has over 1400 writers and has arguably some of the best financial and non-financial content. In fact it is the only newspaper I read on a daily basis. Excluding non-local news, I believe it is the best news source out there in print.

A Bigger Plan

It is no secret that Rupert plans on launching a financial news channel. Financial news is good business on TV. CNBC commands the highest ad rates on television. Considering Rupert’s media skills it wouldn’t be a stretch to expand the WSJ brand into television. They already have all the writers they need. Fox has the production skills. Wsj.com would be the website. WSJ would also provide the brand known throughout the world.

The acquisition of the Wall Street Journal gave Rupert Murdoch a respected global brand to leverage into other media outlets. He will have in my opinion a formidable competitor to CNBC. Rupert will have 1 thing CNBC didn’t have when it launched - a loyal newspaper readership, and web visitors so loyal they are willing to pay for the privilege. Just imagine the value of those readers to advertisers. The integrated strategy will strengthen the brand and will expand tv viewership, online readership, and perhaps even the circulation of the underlying journal itself.

Damn you’re good Rupert. Hats off to you.

*UPDATE [9/19/07]* Still Free today!

*UPDATE [9/20/07]* Somehow I missed it, but the New York Times set their website free also.