Is Murdoch Mad?
 

From the NY Times of 14 Nov 2007:

You don't go from one newspaper to a global empire by being mad.
Maybe he's thinking about advertising revenue. Maybe (more likely IMHO) he's thinking about being able to influence investors, nudge the market this way and that.
Maybe he's decided he has enough money and wants to start giving it all back, sharing it around. Probably not. :p

Whether intended or not, it may also be a [not-so-]subtle wakeup call to the WSJ's existing management about who the boss is.

Or maybe it has to do with this:

CBS News writers are planning to join the entertainment writers' strike

Their position changes drastically if no additional revenue is being made from the online publishing of their work. I suspect many more news sites will start turning free if the strike looks like it will continue to spread.

No but he is evil :P

They are following the lead of Times Select.

A likely alternative. The WSJ has long had an RIAA attitude. Such as great paper was slowly about to be destroyed by ignoring technology.

he's mad alright. madly in love with his money, which explains his support for bush.