Newspapers will have to adopt a multi-channel strategy, embracing mobile phones, iPods and even PlayStation Portables, if they are to survive in the digital era.

The prediction was made by Rupert Murdoch, the chief executive of News Corporation, parent company of The Times, in a speech given tonight at the Stationers’ Livery company in London.

Mr Murdoch, who turned 75 over the weekend, said that newspapers will have to use new technology to engage readers in what he described as an era in which "media becomes like fast food".

In the future, readers and viewers will consume "news, sport and film clips on the go" on devices like "Sony’s PSP, or others already in test by our satellite companies" such as BSkyB, the broadcaster in which News Corp holds a 37.2 per cent stake.

Mr Murdoch said: "Crucially, newspapers must give readers a choice of accessing their journalism in the pages of the paper, or on websites such as Times Online or — and this is important — on any platform that appeals to them, mobile phones, hand-held devices, iPods, whatever".

The new consumer trends also mean that power was shifting, away from "the old elite in our industry — the editors, the chief executives, and let’s face it, the proprietors" and towards a "new media audience" who are using the internet and new technology "to inform, entertain and above all to educate themselves".

Rupert Murdoch has run News Corporation for more than 50 years, turning the company from one newspaper in Adelaide, gradually expanding into television and film, before turning attention to the internet over the last 18 months, which has included the purchase of the community website MySpace for $580 million.

The News Corporation chief executive’s comments were part of a wide-ranging speech, entitled The New Age of Discovery, an era in which "the fusion of technology and science allied to the natural creativity embedded in the human spirit will enable us to surmount the dangers we undoubtedly face".

Summing up the threats, Mr Murdoch revealed some of his own political thinking. Echoing the language of President Bush’s War on Terror, he asked: "Can we find victory over a new and harrowing form of terrorism carried out in the name of Islam?"

Answering the rhetorical question trenchantly, Mr Murdoch said: "We should not fool ourselves. There are no civilians and no chance of a negotiated peace in this war."

There was also a warning about "unstable regimes in North Korea and Iran that are bent on, and very close to, developing nuclear weapons" and well as questions about how "the old nations of Europe cope with the economic rise of nations such as China and India".

But the overall message was positive, with Mr Murdoch arguing that "we must have what those great seafaring explorers had in abundance: the courage to use technological change that is unfolding around us to help make a better world".

As an example of the emerging trends, Mr Murdoch, who was treated for cancer, chose to highlight recent scientific breakthroughs in the treatment of the disease helped by the better understanding of DNA.

That happened because "scientists in the US were able to post their findings on the web, drawing information and inspiration from colleagues around the world".

However, despite the perceived shift in power in which "newspapers may become news sites", Mr Murdoch said that history shows that changes in technology do not eliminate media that began life in another era — implying that the current climate of rapid change is nothing new.

"Radio did not destroy newspapers, television did not destroy radio, and neither eliminated the printing of books.

"Each wave of new technology in our industry forced an improvement in the old. Each new medium forced its predecessor to become more creative and more relevant to the consumer".

The Times Livery Lecture at Stationers Hall: previous speakers

2005: Mark Thompson, BBC Director General: Angels & E-mail

2004: Jonathan Porrit: The Media, Friends of the Earth or foes?

2003: David Starkey: Printing and the Invention of England

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