Google drops idea to buy newspaper

Google has considered buying a newspaper or using its charitable arm to support news businesses seeking non-profit status, but is now unlikely to pursue either option, said Eric Schmidt, chairman and chief executive. Google had looked at buying a newspaper but was "trying to avoid crossing the line" between technology and content, Mr Schmidt said. It was instead working with publishers to make their websites "work better" for online advertising. More broadly, he added, Google had concluded that potential acquisition targets were too expensive or carried excessive liabilities. "Clever ideas" about sheltering newspapers in non-profit structures had been suggested to the Google.org foundation but "they are unlikely to happen without some massive, massive set of corporate bankruptcies", Schmidt said.