Murdoch's newspaper sites will begin to charge users in a year

Rupert Murdoch, the would-be media plutocrat of $4 billion net worth, seems to be leading his media properties via two emerging strategies.

One, use citizen journalism when possible. Two, start to charge for Web content.

Breaking news all over again, via CNN today.

Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch expects News Corporation-owned newspaper Web sites to start charging users for access within a year in a move which analysts say could radically shake-up the culture of freely available content.

Murdoch's newspaper properties include the Wall Street Journal, the Weekly Standard, the New York Post (all in the United States), the Times and the Sun (both in the United Kingdom), and the Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun and the Australian (all down under).

The Wall Street Journal already charges $79 per year for much of its Web content -- it did so even before Murdoch's News Corporation purchased it in August of 2007. But the Journal is still available for free via the iPhone and BlackBerry -- which doesn't please Mr. Murdoch at all.

Also see: Stop giving away content via Web, Walter Isaacson advises media
And: Fox News launches citizen journalism site
And: Mainstream media sites increasingly welcome citizen participation
And: Citizen journalism will complement "public media 2.0," says white paper
And: MySpace starts its own citizen journalism forum
Finally: A sustainable model emerges: Use collective intelligence but fact-check with journalists