News Corp. (NWSA), on its earnings conference call, eased concerns by maintaining its guidance for fiscal 2009 operating earnings and by Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch declaring "the worst is over" for the economy.

Murdoch also gave encouraging comments about the advertising market, reiterated his belief that the newspaper business model has to change, and sounded a defiant note about difficulties media companies have had in monetizing their content amid the rise of digital media.

"Too many content creators have been passive in the face of obvious violations of intellectual property rights," Murdoch said on a conference call with analysts following the company's third quarter earnings release.

On the call, Chief Financial Officer David Devoe said the media conglomerate stands by the forecast it made in February for 30% decline in adjusted operating income for fiscal 2009 from last year's base of $5.13 billion.

The comments soothed fears of continued deterioration in the company's outlook amid the global recession and came despite a 46% decline in the company's third-quarter operating income to $755 million. In February, the company slashed its original 2009 outlook from an operating income decline in the low to mid-teens.

Murdoch added to that optimism by saying it's "increasingly clear that the worst is over" for the economy and that "the days of precipitous declines are done."

Murdoch's latest comments were a sharp reversal from his recent public comments reflecting a dour outlook for the economy. His latest remarks echoed similar optimism expressed by other media executives, economists and federal officials.

"We're beginning to see a number of bright spots that give us encouragement," Murdoch said. He later added that customers are coming back to the advertising market and spending.

"I think they realize that they've got to keep their brands in front of people," Murdoch said, noting that advertising isn't back to old levels. "At the very least we've hit a floor, and we seem to be getting a bounce."

When asked whether News Corp. will begin repurchasing shares, given the stabilizing economy, Murdoch said he was waiting for a little more evidence that the storm has passed.

"It's early days yet," Murdoch said.

As for the news business, Murdoch reiterated his position that the business model has to change. "Even though the present situation I think has been greatly exaggerated by the current recession, revenues are undoubtedly migrating to the Web, probably not to return."

Devoe said The Wall Street Journal posted a decline in third-quarter ad revenue of 33%, leading to a drop in the operating results of Dow Jones & Co., publisher of this newswire as well as the Journal.

"There's no doubt that the traditional newspaper model has to change," Murdoch said, adding that he expects ad revenue from the newspaper's Web site, WSJ.com, to grow by 20% in the company's fourth quarter.

Murdoch also said the company is exploring a number of ways to derive revenue from online news content, including online subscription models and the use of mobile devices.

"There's a lot of ways we can make money with our content over and above advertising," Murdoch said, noting "the violation of rights on the Internet is rampant in our own country."

Despite that, Murdoch wouldn't completely embrace Amazon Inc.'s (AMZN) Kindle.

"I can assure you that we will not be feeding our content rights to the fine people who created the Kindle," he said. "We will control the prices for our content, and we will control the relationship with our customers."

When asked about how long it would take for News Corp. to generate enough online revenue from its publishing businesses to make up for lost print revenue, he said it may take a couple of years.

"I hope it's less, but it may be a little bit more," Murdoch said.

-By Nat Worden, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5216; nat.worden@dowjones.com