"If all the newspapers in America did not allow Google to steal their content for nothing, what would Google do, and how profitable would Google be?" the Chicago real estate maverick [Sam Zell] mused.

His answer: Not very. - Papers, Web firms need 'a new deal,' Zell says, Los Angeles Times

Dear Mr. Zell, 2002 called, they want their business model back.

I'm sure this is simply a PR stunt but on the off chance that it's not or other publishers forget how value flows on the Internet let me clarify. Links build value.

The attention economy is still alive and well online and newspapers like all publications don't make money unless they have eyeballs. It's just as true in the virtual world as it is in the paper based world. Mr. Zell believes that Google should owe his newest takeover Tribune Co. money because of their limited aggregation of its content through services such as Google News. It's interesting to note that currently Google News does not populate its pages with AdWords like its search results but instead drives traffic to news properties that may or may not run AdWords. Essentially Google News is a traffic driver that has an optional AdWords model at the end but it is the publication's choice to participate. Otherwise you're welcome to simply enjoy the traffic it provides you and sell your own ads.

The deal is apparently a financial steal for Zell but the admitted newcomer is peddling some old ideas that Old Media had previously failed to understand when Google News first launched in Beta; links provide eyeballs and eyeballs drive revenue. If Mr. Zell would prefer not to have Google index his site there's a simple fix to cut himself off from search engines. Personally we find Google drives a significant amount of traffic, but his mileage may vary.

Welcome to the Web  sir!