Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger has posted on Roy Greenslade's blog on MediaGuardian to counter claims the paper has ploughed "lunatic sums" into online.
Rusbridger was responding to a post by Shanksy on Roy's blog about whether Rupert Murdoch's plan to get newspapers to charge for news website will work.
Shanksy wrote: "Five per cent paying something is a lot better than no-one paying anything. Look at the Guardian. It's ploughed so much into its internet operation that it is now having to lay off journalists - advertising revenues online are pitiful. Murdoch isn't worried about charging as deep-down he knows the BBC offers no real alternative - its website is dull as ditch water. People will pay and it will work - it's all about having access to decent content, however you define decent. And it won't be long before MediaGuardian is a paid site, one of the first being earmarked by the Guardian to go that way."
Alan Rusbridger responded: "That's not actually right. Since 2002/3 our spending on guardian.co.uk (operational and capex) has exceeded revenue by just £20m. There's a crisis in the industry, and the Guardian is no more immune than anyone else, but it's a myth that we've ploughed lunatic sums into digital."
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