Can The iPad Save My Newspaper?

A PricewaterhouseCoopers report last year said that over the next five years, newspapers will lose $13 billion losing about 32 percent of its advertising revenue to digital. At the same time the global entertainment and media market as a whole will grow by 2.7 percent. How are newspapers making up for those loses?

Starting in January 2011, a visitor to NYTimes.com discovered that they can now only view a certain number of articles free each month. To read more, they must pay a flat fee for unlimited access.

The New York Times has also released the Times Reader 2.0, powered by Adobe AIR. It is a downloadable software application offering a digital experience of The Times. It works on Windows, Mac OS or Linux and is delivered to your computer in less than a minute. Limited access is free, but full access to content cost $3.45 per week.

Then after revolutionizing computer, music and smartphone industries Steve Jobs steps in to save the newspaper. He is kind of quoted in The New York Times as saying, “Steve believes in old media companies and wants them to do well,” said a person who has seen the device and is familiar with Apple’s marketing plan for it, but who did not want to be named because talking about it might alienate him from the company. “He believes democracy is hinged on a free press and that depends on there being a professional press.”

How much does it cost to keep a professional press? The Wall Street Journal iPad app bills itself as free, but clicking on the more info button reveals that is for limited content. Full access will cost you $17.29 a month. Will consumers pay?

One thought on “Can The iPad Save My Newspaper?

  1. The WallStreet Journal has charged for its online content for as long as I can remember. While its something that irritated me as a college student looking to do research online I understand now the importance of maintaining profitability.

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