Rupert Murdoch announces "golden age of information"

News Corp. media baron Rupert Murdoch spoke in London on the occasion of his 75th birthday about the challenges facing major media companies as a result of the internet. He predicted the end of the era of the media giants, as the Internet would put media power in the hands of users. He also announced the beginning of a "second great age of discovery" with regard to the Internet. Murdoch confessed to the members of "The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers" club that he was probably one of the last of a dying breed. The power now lies with consumers, he said, with the new generation demanding content at a time and in a form that suits them. Murdoch went on to say that he believes we are on the verge of the golden age of information, a new age of knowledge. For the great media monoliths of the 20th century, this means "change or die". Murdoch has already backed up his words with deeds and invested more than 1 billion dollars in media companies, including the social networking company MySpace.com. Murdoch sees a great future in diversification in particular. Even if traditional newspapers will not disappear, they will only be one of the channels through which readers are reached in the future. But even if information becomes fast food thanks to mobile technology, which allows readers to consume information whenever, wherever and in whatever form, good journalism will always attract readers. The design of information will also play a greater role: Text, images and graphics should be staged in such a way that they feed the brain and move the heart.