Robert Thomson, the chief executive of News Corp, has branded Washington Post journalists "high priests" who have failed to embrace the transition to digital.
Thomson, appearing with WPP chief Sir Martin Sorrell at an Ad Week Europe session in London on Monday, said he believed that the new Washington Post owner, Jeff Bezos, will be a shot in the arm for the paper's commercial and distribution strategy.
"You know from a merchandising perspective he will think of clever ways of extending their reach," Thompson said. "He has already partnered in subscriptions with other newspaper companies. I think he saw a newspaper he respected, more than a trophy property."
Thomson was, however, critical of the prospects of being able to make a fundamental change in the attitude and practices of the Post's editorial culture.
"The question is creating a content set that readers want to pay for," he said. "That will be the real challenge for [Bezos]. To listen to the sometimes lugubrious Bob Woodward tell you how lucky you are to have them is very different to making the most of a newsroom full of individuals who think they have a role as high priests."
Thomson added that the paper's journalists "haven't understood that we are in a different moment in history".
"That doesn't mean a lack of integrity, it means understanding the opportunity to touch people in different ways [on digital platforms], it means a change in work practice."
He added: "If you think your role is sacred, how can you undermine your sacredness other than by doing something different? For so many US newspapers that have imploded that has been the fundamental question. And for Jeff that is a tricky one."
Somewhat surprisingly for the forthright Sorrell, he failed to ask Thomson his view on the management changes that have seen Lachlan and James Murdoch secure the family dynasty with key roles at News Corporation and sister company 21st Century Fox.
As the collegiate chat wrapped up Sorrell commented that he hadn't asked the obvious question, about last week's appointment of Lachlan Murdoch as co-chairman of News Corp and 21st Century Fox. "I expect a succession of succession questions," Thomson quipped.
Thomson also expected a level of distrust at the rise of native advertising, saying that while the titles under his control are "clearly doing it", caution needs to be taken over the potential impact on editorial quality.
"You can't in the end be flexible with your principles," he said, a refrain he repeated at the end of the one-hour session. "Readers are smart, they know exactly what is going on. We are at the very early stages of native."
