The Washington Post Co. is discussing possible collaboration with Google, the Post's media writer, Howard Kurtz, reported Monday.

In an article on the Post's Web site, Kurtz wrote that "Post Co. chief executive Donald Graham and Google chief executive Eric Schmidt and their lieutenants have been holding talks about collaboration. This could range from creating new Web pages to technological tools for journalists or readers. Hanging over the talks is the reality that the search giant, while funneling vital traffic to news sites, vacuums up their content without paying a dime."

The talks seem to be a reaction to Rupert Murdoch's assertion that only search engines like Google had found a way to make a profit off of free content.

Philip Bennett, an executive at the Post, said the discussions between the companies were focused on finding "improved ways of creating and presenting news online."