Japanese newspapers announce tie-up to combat threat of Internet [news.yahoo.com]
Three of Japan's leading newspapers said Monday they would cooperate in their online productions and distribution, joining hands to maintain clout in an industry under threat from the Internet. The tie-up involves The Yomiuri Shimbun, which is considered the world's top-selling newspaper, along with its liberal arch-rival The Asahi Shimbun and the Nikkei business daily.
The three newspapers will set up a new website with their articles posted next to one another, partly in an attempt to lure younger readers to subscribe to their print editions.
"We want to increase the influence of newspapers in the world of the Internet," Asahi Shimbun Co. president Kotaro Akiyama told a news conference.
Nikkei Inc. president Ryoki Sugita said that most news now found online came originally from newspaper journalists.
