If they (AP, NAA, Murdoch--I'll call them whiners) can't configure their robots.txt files to stop google etc from indexing them, then what makes you think that they could analyse their logs. Actually, they probably do not realize there are logs. It seems most people don't--when colleagues, friends and family ask me about various problems they are having with their (IT) systems, I ask them what their log system / event viewer says, and most of the time, the response I get is either "oh ya, I forgot to look at the logs" or "There are logs?"

Google should just decrease the whiners' page ranks, and promote independent media where possible.

Ultimately I think the whiners are trying to shift the blame of their failing business models and plans away from themselves to SbE (Somebody Else) just as the music and movie industries have done (and continue to do) to blame "filesharers" and get P2P technology banned, made illegal and throttled. I find it highly annoying, maybe even insulting, when I try to download an Ubuntu ISO through BT only get 40kbs, but get 320 kbs when I download off of their servers directly.