Newspaper mogul Rupert Murdoch has been told that if he goes ahead with cunning plan to stick pay walls erected around all News Corp-owned news websites, his readers will go somewhere else.

A comment thread attached to a report about the announcement contained about 140 replies from readers. Most of then opposed to the move and many of them threatening to quit News Corp websites when charges are applied. Murdoch has been removing negative comments from the story, but Murdoch's moves are interesting whether he fails or not.

Murdoch predicted that move would prove a success and that others would follow his lead. He said that quality journalism is not cheap, and an industry that gives away its content is simply cannibalising its ability to produce good reporting.

Ironically most of his readers think the idea of Murdoch producing quality journalism is funny. Most people look at it for free entertainment, wrote one reader. It is worth the price at the moment, if it is not free then we will look elsewhere, he said.