NEW YORK Rupert Murdoch, owner of The Wall Street Journal, told executives at an industry conference this week that newspapers will have to start charging for content online -- and specifically pointed to The New York Times.

According to Reuters, Murdoch told the audience, "People reading news for free on the Web, that's got to change."

Murdoch made the remarks during a cable conference in Washington D.C.

The Wall Street Journal has required a subscription to access online content since 1996. WSJ.com though takes a hybrid approach setting some content free in order to capture more eyeballs.

Reuters reported Murdoch said that online subscriptions to the WSJ.com was not a "gold mine, but it's not bad."

Additionally, Murdoch disclosed that News Corp., along with partners, was working on a digital reader.

The New York Times has experimented twice with paid content by charging international readers and for access to it columnists. TimesSelect reaped $10 million for the company.

The debate as to whether to charge for online content has been going strong for the past several months coinciding with a downturn in online advertising revenue, which once advanced in double-digit clips.

Several companies are considering ways to charge online including Hearst and Cablevision, which owns Newsday.