How Rupert Murdoch May Save the News Biz

There are those who say that the U.S. is different and that Americans just don't want to read. It's a variation on an old -- and silly -- story: let's blame the customers for our lack of performance.

Two very high-quality publications were brought to market here in the U.S. both from the U.K. Perhaps most notably, The Economist saw its worldwide distribution double to 1.3 million over the past 10 years. That included a 2.5-fold jump in circulation in North America, to around 720,000.

Then there was men's magazine Maxim, which launched in 1997 with a rate base of 175,000. But by 2001, Maxim had a circulation of 2.5 million, far exceeding expectations.

It wasn't that Americans didn't want to read. It's just that they didn't want to read what was on offer in America.

And there's where Murdoch might actually help with the news business. It seems clear he wants to make The Wall Street Journal, the flagship publication of Dow Jones & Co., which he acquired recently, a general readership newspaper. It would compete directly with The New York Times.

It could actually make the Times a better publication, and one which is more attuned to its readers.

"The Times is going to have to give up its agenda and start reporting some news," Carew says. Carew mentions that he has read The New York Times every day for 40 years, despite being disappointed in what he finds. "People want to know what's happening in the world and you don't get that in the Times."