"John Fairfax is believed to be planning a launch of internet-only titles in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth early next year," writes Michael Sainsbury in yesterday's edition of The Australian. Not surprisingly, there was no mention of the story in The Sydney Morning Herald, which is owned by Fairfax.

Interesting also to read that "an analyst" says there will be war with News Corp if the initiative goes ahead. No name. I wonder why the analyst was so worried about being quoted on the record? It's hardly the sort of story that would lead to violent enmity. I imagine the analyst, whoever she or he is, is worried that good relations with Fairfax, the leading publisher of news in the major south-east markets of Sydney and Melbourne, would be destroyed if she or she were named openly.

But it's actually big news, and demonstrates how concerned print journals are by the rise of the Internet as a vehicle for advertising. In a related story, The Australian revealed that a consortium of real estate companies would be likely to launch a Web portal for home and apartment ads. The Internet changes everything, indeed.