A curious strategy from German publishing group Axel Springer – the publisher is reportedly blocking access to the website of its tabloid Bild from iPad browsers so that users can only access the title by downloading a paid-for app.
The Guardian reports that Murdoch’s News Corporation is thought to be working with Apple to launch its new iPad newspaper, called ‘the Daily’, later this month.
According to the report, the newspaper will combine “a tabloid sensibility with a broadsheet intelligence” and that there is no print or web edition planned.
According to the US elite fashion industry journal Women’s Wear Daily, the Murdoch-Jobs “newspaper” will be run from the 26th floor of the News Corp offices in New York, where 100 journalist have been hired, including Pete Picton, an online editor from the Sun, as one of three managing editors. The editor of the Daily has not been announced, but observers are assuming it will be Jesse Angelo, the managing editor of the New York Post and rising star in the News Corp firmament.
The Economist has today launched apps for the iPad and iPhone. The apps can be downloaded for free and offer users a weekly sample of articles chosen by the editor.
The full issue of the Economist will be available to purchase through the applications every Thursday evening for £3.49 each week for a single issue.
Digital and print subscribers to the Economist will receive full access to the print edition and website’s content via the apps.
Oscar Grut, managing director of digital editions for the Economist, says in a release that he expects digital downloads to match the title’s print circulation of 1.5 million “in a relatively short period of time”. He hopes the free apps will help attract new readers to the title, who will be encourage to take out subscriptions to the full edition.
Says editor John Micklethwait:
We have reformatted the newspaper to make the most of iPad, iPhone and iPod touch while retaining the familiar feel of the Economist, with all the articles, charts, maps and images from each week’s print edition. And we have integrated our audio edition, read by professional newscasters, for easy switching between reading and listening. We have put a lot of work into making sure that these new versions of the Economist are not just easy to use, but also make our readers feel at home.
An interesting post on Rob O’Regan’s blog looking at how Conde Nast has developed best practice guidelines for advertisers who want to work on its iPad apps. To create the guidance for clients, the magazine publisher has been conducting extensive research on how readers are using and rating the apps:
To learn more about these early adopters, Conde Nast is combining its in-app and in-person research with usage software built into its apps. Results from the in-app survey showed that 80 per cent of users who downloaded a Conde Nast digital magazine app said the content and experience “met or surpassed their expectations”, and 83 per cent said they were likely to purchase the next month’s edition.
The UK version of Wired magazine launched its iPad edition yesterday, according to paidContent.
The edition, which costs £2.39 to download, is a one-off before the magazine “takes a slight pause to assess/iterate before moving to monthly publication”, Wired UK editor David Rowan said in a previous interview with paidContent.
The Independent’s new title ‘i’ has also revealed plans to launch an iPad app later this month.
MD for digital at the Evening Standard and Independent Zach Leonard confirmed to Journalism.co.uk today that the compact paper will be developed through an iPad app which he hopes will be released on the app store later this month.
It’s very exciting for us. We are being confidential in terms of the specific price but it will be subscription based.
It draws directly from the i itself. Given the multimedia capabilities we will be adding increasing functionality over time.
He added that the app would provide the title with a payment mechanism for quality journalism, with an Independent app also currently under development.
The Financial Times has launched its FTChinese.com app for iPad.
The app is compatible with both the wi-fi and 3G iPad models and allows readers to download content to browse offline. It is sponsored by watchmaker Rolex.
The launch follows the FT’s highly successful iPad app, launched in May, which has attracted around 400,000 downloads and generated more than £1 million in advertising revenue. According to global commercial director Ben Hughes, the iPad now accounts for 10 per cent of the paper’s new digital subscriptions.
Oliver Zhang, senior product manager at FTChinese.com said: “The iPad is another exciting platform providing readers with FTChinese.com’s high quality content. Our objective is to allow users to read award-winning content on the move as well as interact further with the website’s dynamic features such as slide shows, videos and interactive quizzes.”
“Think of a number, quarter it, and you’re still not there.”
This was Annemarie Kirk’s answer when asked what her budget was for developing Danish newspaper Berlingske‘s first iPad app to be launched later this month, which she showcased yesterday at the World Editors Forum in Hamburg.
A shoestring budget and a small team were both necessities in developing the business news app and driving forces behind it. Find talented people in your newsroom, young people who will see things differently and get them to work on it, said Kirk. Don’t overlook existing skills though: much of the design for the new app was done by a newspaper designer from Berlingske’s print edition who had never even worked on design for the website. He was set to work on the iPad app though, alongside an external web designer brought in for the project.
The application, which is awaiting approval by Apple, will combine content from the print and online editions of the business section through a semi-automated process, said Kirk. Concept design and project management were carried out in Denmark and technological development in Kiev, Ukraine following a study into what applications and devices Berlingske should be launching onto, that began back in March.
It’s clear from the development that has taken place this has been a tightly managed project, but Kirk said there has been a real need to get onto the iPad, despite the device not being on sale in Denmark, as traffic stats show a significant growth in the number of users accessing the Berlingske website via an iPad.
Fellow panellist at the WEF event, Alfredo Triviño, who as director of creative projects at News International has overseen many of the publisher’s iPhone and iPad application developments, said the success of building apps for “liquid media” devices relies on understanding the technological boundaries.
“Tablets are not websites, they’re not newspapers, magazines or books. Not all of our content we produce is consumed. (…) probably we need tablet newspapers,” he said.
“Loading time is critical and progressive downloading is a must (…) Success also grows from envisioning what is next.”
When developing apps for tablet devices, news organisations must look out how these apps will scale and be iterated.
Speaking to Journalism.co.uk after the debate, he said news organisations will have to reassess their plans when the next wave of technology comes to tablet devices, including built-in cameras and better integration with social media. Hear more of what he had to say in our WEF podcast at this link.
Speaking more generally, president of media for Thomson Reuters, Chris Ahearn, said that “whether it’s a tablet or a smartphone or a device we haven’t seen yet” news organisations have to embrace change. As an industry they must “lean into the wind together” and, to make these new apps part of a successful business model to support journalism, “collectively rise”.
When designing apps or tablet propositions, news organisations must look at what their readers and consumers want and need, and build a subscriber base, he said.
How can we add unique value to each subscriber? The answer for us is not always more content. It has to include more services. We have to embrace the technological advances to build compelling user experiences. We have to put that content into context and develop a loyal customer base.
Editor of Sun Online Pete Picton has been enlisted to help launch a “new digital project” at News Corporation in New York, according to a paidContent report.
The project is understood to be part of News Corps’ reported plans to develop a new tablet-only newspaper.
News Corp has already enlisted New York Post executive editor Jesse Angelo to head the project, which seems designed to go nationwide with a mass-market U.S. title on iPad in the same way the Sun has been in the smaller UK for decades.
Picton has been editor of the Sun Online for the past 10 years.
The Washington Post has put together a mobile leadership team to develop the availability of its content on portable devices with a new app for the iPad currently being created, according to a report on The Upshot.
The latest developments which were allegedly detailed in a staff email sent out earlier this week and a statement given to The Upshot are part of the Post’s ongoing attempts to increase access to its content through mobile and open up new revenue streams.
Commenting on the news Dawn Osakue advised on the Editors Weblog that newpapers do not simply aim to offer access to their content on as many platforms as possible but remember to be creative.
Going mobile is a bold step for newspaper publishers, but they have to keep in mind that creativity remains very important. Recent research confirmed that newspapers still have a long way to go in exploiting the potential of mobile platforms.
Celebrity magazine publishers could have problems getting their products onto the iPad device, according to the Hollywood Reporter, as photo agencies are reportedly “banding together” to try and reach an agreement with one title – People magazine – to seek extra compensation for use of their images.
This has been linked to the postponed launch date of the publication’s new app, although this is denied by a spokesperson for the magazine in the report.
While the standoff centers on one publication for now, just about any other brand that makes photos of the rich and famous their stock in trade is watching nervously from the sidelines. Whatever deal they strike could set the terms of trade for the industry going forward.