Post date: Feb 03, 2011 2:9:59 AM
News Corp has launched its iPad newspaper "The Daily". It will cost consumers 14 cents a day and uses a new subscription platform.
USA-IPAD NEWSPAPER - News Corp Chairman Rupert Murdoch walked out on stage at New York's Guggenheim Museum holding an iPad to unveil his latest venture- The Daily. The first ever newspaper created solely for tablet devices like the iPad.
RUPERT MURDOCH, CHAIRMAN, NEWS CORP SAYING:
"New times demand new journalism. The devices that modern engineering has put into our hands demand a news service edited and designed specifically for them."
The Daily will be published every morning- with stories told through text, photos and video. It will cover everything from international politics to sports and entertainment.PCMag.com's Lance Ulanoff thinks it will be a hit- even with old media lovers.
LANCE ULANOFF, EDITOR IN CHIEF, PCMAG.COM SAYING:
"This goes right to the heart of people who still love newspapers. Pull the word paper out. Paper is the old term. Everything about it- all the other stuff is current. It's news. Its prepackaged. It's sit back relax and you get those sections. You get news. You get sports. You get horoscopes. You get gossip. That is why people still buy newspapers."
News Corp. has spent about $30 million to get The Daily launched- hiring about 100 reporters- and says it will cost about half a million dollars a week to run.
The Daily will be available on the iPad for 14 cents a day- 99 cents a week or 39 bucks a year using a new subscription platform. The daily will also make money from advertising and sponsors.
So far pay walls have met resistance- so this is being closely watched in media circles.
News Corp Chief Digital Officer Jon Miller:
JON MILLER, CHIEF DIGITAL OFFICER, NEWS CORP SAYING:
"We think that's a fair price especially considering the tremendous effort and value we are putting into the product. So we hope this creates a new model which is you know- we are not trying to charge through the roof. We are actually charging very modestly. Hopefully we'll get a lot of subscribers."
Right now the daily is available exclusively on the iPad but as soon as other tablet devices gain traction it should be available on them as well.
Bobbi Rebell, Reuters.