Rupert Murdoch on 'Liberal' Newspapers, iPad as Savior and the Economic Outlook

In a wide-ranging interview on Fox Business Network Tuesday afternoon, News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch opined that liberal-leaning newspapers were chasing people to Fox News, that the iPad may well be the "savior" of newspapers, and that his company's recent success could portend an economic rebound.

Murdoch returned to the theme of The Wall Street Journal several times in the interview with host Neil Cavuto, noting the paper had increased ad revenue 25% in the first quarter and grown circulation in the last six-month reporting period. Asked whether the strong performances of News Corp.'s cable and broadcast properties, not to mention the hit film "Avatar," were a precursor of an economic revival Murdoch said:

"Well, yes, but the truth is that you go across all the major newspapers in this country, they were down this year a bit in the first quarter, as against the previous quarter, when they were down a tremendous amount. It's a little too early to jump at that, but television, local television stations, they're well up on last year.
But last year was a disaster for them. So, you know, the comparisons, you can't say we're in a boom period yet."

Cavuto noted that Fox News had its best quarter ever, and asked Murdoch what drove that.

"Well, I think as far as Fox News goes, it's very simple," he said, according to a transcript provided by Fox. "It's very powerful, it's very good, and it's very balanced. And, you know, everybody else, every newspaper other than ours, and every -- it may be a generalization, but for the most (part) newspapers and certainly the other television networks sort of are all on one side, sort of the liberal side of things. I think the population of this country is pretty worried about its direction, and they turn to Fox News."

Asked Cavuto: So, when you see the criticism in the media, you personally or Fox News, or Fox anything, period, do you just look at numbers like this and say bring it on, bring it on?"

Replied Murdoch: "It's good for ratings, yes, absolutely."

Murdoch was also asked if the iPad tablet from Apple "is going to be for newspapers the printed word, the savior?"

"Yes, I think -- look, there's never been such demand for journalism as there is today, nor as much consumption," he said. "I mean, just look at Fox News or its competitors. People are consuming and needing news all the time. We don't care in the least whether it goes outs on a piece of paper or whether it goes out on a digital platform."