Rupert Murdoch definitely not a "doom and gloomer" when it comes to the newspaper industry

Well, at least one person is sticking with his bullish views of newspapers. This newspaper contrarian happens to be none other than Rupert Murdoch. In a lecture titled The future of newspapers: moving beyond dead trees, Murdoch presents his views of the future of the industry. Here is a quick recap:

Global media magnate Rupert Murdoch says doomsayers who are predicting the Internet will kill off newspapers are “misguided cynics” who fail to grasp that the online world is potentially a huge new market of information-hungry consumers.

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Mr. Murdoch, the Australian-born chairman and chief executive of News Corp., said in a speech broadcast Sunday titled “The Future of Newspapers: Moving Beyond Dead Trees” that the Internet offered opportunities as well as challenges and that newspapers would always be around in some form or other.

“Too many journalists seem to take a perverse pleasure in ruminating on their pending demise,” Mr. Murdoch said in a speech, recorded in the United States and relayed nationally by the Australian Broadcasting Corp. It was the latest in an annual ABC series of lectures by a prominent Australian.

“Unlike the doom and gloomers, I believe that newspapers will reach new heights” in the 21st century, Mr. Murdoch said.

If you are interested in the full speech, you can grab the transcript and audio from the source here.

I have given up on my idea of investing in newspapers for the time being, given that high quality stocks in other businesses are beaten down. Nevertheless, newspapers are contrarian area to watch. This might go against consensus but I think they are actually a bit safer than financial companies.