Media companies need to deliver compelling information on a variety of electronic devices and overcome readers' resistance to paying for material online, news executives said Tuesday at a government-sponsored journalism conference.

Rupert Murdoch, News Corp.'s chairman and chief executive, sees a promising future for publishers that can adapt to the Internet age. Key to survival, he said, is giving consumers what they want, how they want it _ be it on a computer, mobile device or e-reader _ and then charging for it, as his company does with The Wall Street Journal.

"We need to do a better job of persuading consumers that high-quality, reliable news and information does not come free," Murdoch said. "Good journalism is an expensive commodity."

Murdoch's comments were echoed during the Federal Trade Commission's workshop, which explored the challenges facing media companies and ways the government can help them survive.

Newspapers, broadcasters and other traditional media companies are in distress as the growth of their online revenue has failed to keep pace with sharp declines in the offline advertising that has historically supported their operations.

The FTC holds periodic workshops on developments across a range of industries, from health care to targeted advertising. In the two-day journalism workshop that began Tuesday and concludes Wednesday, media executives came to discuss new business models and government officials sought ways they might protect a critical pillar of democracy _ a free press.

"News is a public good," FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said. "We should be willing to take action if necessary to preserve the news that is vital to democracy."

Leibowitz stopped short of endorsing specific proposals, although he noted that government support for the media has precedent _ such as with requirements that legal notices be printed in newspapers.

Among the options being discussed now: tax changes that would allow media companies to earn tax credits or become tax-exempt entities, and copyright law changes that would force search engines and other online aggregators to compensate media companies for the content they produce.

Also on the table is a proposed change in antitrust rules to allow newspapers to jointly negotiate payments from Web sites that use their content.

Many of Tuesday's speakers urged the government to remain on the sidelines, allowing the free market to weed out the publishers unable to evolve.

"The bold will survive and the timid will fail," said Chris Ahearn, president of media for Thomson Reuters Corp., which specializes in financial news and data.