News Corp. 1Q Up But Online Paper Fees Delayed

RYAN NAKASHIMA

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Media conglomerate News Corp. posted a surprise increase in quarterly profit Wednesday, but Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch said the company might not meet its goal of charging fees for online versions of its newspapers by next summer.

Profits at the wide-ranging company got a boost from the box-office success of "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" as well as from strength at its cable networks like Fox News Channel.

But advertising revenues fell during the quarter that ended Sept. 30 at newspapers worldwide and local TV stations in the U.S.

Murdoch said he "wouldn't promise" to begin charging for online access to the company's newspapers, which include The New York Post or The Times of London, by next June.

When asked on a conference call what the delay was, Murdoch said, "with everything."

"There is a huge amount of work going on. It is not just with our sites, but with other people," said Murdoch, 78.