A fascinating insight in to how News Corp regards Google (NSDQ: GOOG) - Times Online editor Anne Spackman said the search site is ”hugely dangerous”. At a Society Of Editors conference Q&A (via Journalism.co.uk): ”The number one topic of conversation at News Corp is Google. Its move into DNA is a massive threat. I wonder whether we will all start feeling that they are behaving a little bit too much like big brother. We absolutely can’t afford not to be brilliant on Google News.”

Such pessimism is not solitary. Telegraph editor Will Lewis, reading CEO Murdoch Maclellan’s speech, in April said his “ability to protect content is under consistent attack from those such as Google and Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) who wish to access it for free ... seeking to build a business model on the back of our own investment”. So now the two newspaper sites ranking bottom out of the five who submit monthly ABCe returns are on record - Google is a threat. If they decided to do something about it, they might just be dangerous themselves.