Publishers putting shutters may get shattered

Global publishers, fearing that Web search engines such as Google are encroaching on their ability to generate revenue, plan to launch an automated system for granting permission on how to use their content, I glean from ITPro.

Buoyed by a Belgian court ruling this week that Google was infringing on the copyright of French and German language newspapers by reproducing article snippets in search results, the publishers said on Friday they plan to start testing the service before the end of the year.

"This industry-wide initiative positively answers the growing frustration of publishers, who continue to invest heavily in generating content for online dissemination and use," said Gavin O'Reilly, chairman of the World Association of Newspapers, which is spearheading the initiative.

Of course, this is a quick way to commit suicide.

If people cannot get access to information, they seek other sources.

Of course, such a move would give blogs a gift. News blogs are gaining in popularity and would be a powerful alternative.

This means that PR people need to begin to identify the blogs and bloggers they want as information partners.