The Internet and new technologies will only boost the newspaper industry to “new highs in the 21st century,” and will provide new opportunities rather than hurt newspapers, Chairman and Chief Executive of News Corporation Rupert Murdoch said in an Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio address on Sunday.

“Among our journalistic friends are some misguided cynics who are too busy writing their own obituary to be excited by the opportunity,” he said, according to ABC Radio National.

However, for newspapers to thrive, executives must “fully comprehend what it means to be alive in the era of information,” the ABC Radio's Boyer Lectures online section explained.

Murdoch pointed out in his radio lecture that “self-pity is never pretty,” and that the newspaper business is more about “giving readers great journalism and great judgment,” and less about the format, be it print or online.

“Too many journalists seem to take a perverse pleasure in ruminating on their pending demise. I know industries that are today facing stiff new competition from the internet: banks, retailers, phone companies, and so on. But these sectors also see the internet as an extraordinary opportunity. But among our journalistic friends are some misguided cynics who are too busy writing their own obituary to be excited by the opportunity,” he said. “In the 21st century, people are hungrier for information than ever before. And they have more sources of information than ever before. Amid these many diverse and competing voices, readers want what they've always wanted: a source they can trust. That has always been the role of great newspapers in the past. And that role will make newspapers great in the future.”

For the full transcript, visit ABC Radio National.