• BusinessWeek, Friday, January 13, 2006 11:15 AM

It's not clear if he actually endorses the concept or is merely having fun by placing it into the rough and tumble arena of public debate, but Business Week media columnist Jon Fine this week suggests that a well-organized consortium of big content providers could, if they wanted, cripple Google.  Fine has Walt Disney, News Corp., NBC Universal, and the New York Times cooperating on the proposed venture. "Picture this: [these companies partner] in an odd tableau of unity, join together and say: 'We are the founding members of the Content Consortium. Next month we launch our free, searchable Web site, which no outside search engines can access.'"  Such a daring scheme clearly would not be popular in all quarters. There is a strongly held belief among many Internet advocates that all content must be free and openly searchable across all platforms. This works to Google's great advantage, but it undercuts the potential profits of many content providers. "Any such move would have serious side effects," allows Fine. "But perhaps the traditional players are too busy enjoying a delicious frisson to worry--imagining that even though Old Media's fortunes are waning, it can still put some hurt on the new guys."

Read the whole story at BusinessWeek »