News Corp. CEO Robert Thomson praised what he sees as the improved business conditions in the U.S. following the election saying, “the yoke of woke” has been lifted.
“We are seeing a tangible increase in business confidence here in the US since the election,” Thomson said during his remarks to investors following second quarter earnings. “The temporary turmoil of transactional tariffs aside, there is the confluence of economic optimism and a cultural awakening with the yoke of woke having been lifted. We believe these trends should lead to less superfluous, gratuitous regulation, greater capital formation, increased opportunities for all Americans and more candid, creative, compelling conversations. Hopefully, an era of censorship and self censorship is receding into the distance.”
While Thomson said his comment was a general remark on business conditions, News Corp., which is owned by the Murdoch family and home to Dow Jones and publications including The Wall Street Journal as well as the New York Post, also reported a record revenue of $600 million at Dow Jones for the quarter, driven by improved circulation revenues, with digital circulation revenue growing at its fastest pace in two years.
It also saw higher professional information business revenues driven by its subscription products. News Corp. expects year-over-year growth at Dow Jones to increase in the second half of the year. Digital-only subscriptions at The Wall Street Journal were up 7 percent year-over-year for the quarter, while total subscriptions were up 4 percent.
News Corp. is one of many publishers to have signed a licensing agreement with AI platform OpenAI. Thomson continued to praise that collaboration while speaking out against Perplexity and newcomer Deep Seek. The company filed suit against Perplexity, an AI research and conversational search engine, in October, alleging that it is illegally using News Corp’s copyrighted work.
“We are pleased with our partnership with Open AI, and hope that other companies in the segment take a similarly enlightened approach. Our legal action against the perplexing Perplexity is underway, and we look forward with relish to document discovery,“ Thomson said.
The News Corp chief added, “We firmly believe that this discovery process will be an important phase, not just for us, but for all who cherish the sanctity of IP. The sudden rise of Deep Seek is itself a solitary lesson for all AI players, if they are unable to host fresh, trusted news. Their version of AI will lack immediacy and relevance. Data centers and energy sources and newfangled chips may well be essential AI infrastructure, but ultimately, we believe content will be king in the world of AI.”