It seems like an eternity since we first heard whisperings of The Daily, the iPad-only publication from News Corp. launched Wednesday. The pet project of none other than Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch, the publishing titan was joined on stage by Apple’s vice president of Internet Services, Eddy Cue as well as editorial staff to unveil the new app to the press.
News Corp. and Apple held a joint special media event in frosty New York City on Wednesday morning to unveil The Daily, an iPad-only publication finally available for download from the App Store beginning at noon EST. (The company also lit up their Twitter feed this morning, complete with live coverage from the events unfolding at Tahrir Square in Egypt, courtesy of reporter Josh Hersh.)
News Corp. Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch took the stage at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum on Wednesday, kicking off the event by praising Apple CEO Steve Jobs for the visionary iPad (the exclusive platform for The Daily, at least for now), prior to launching into an outline of what The Daily brings to the table for “contemporary technology” -- including up to 100 pages of original news, life, entertainment, opinion and sports each and every day, 365 times per year.
“We’re going to bring that magic to The Daily,” Murdoch proclaimed, with the lofty goal of making the business of news gathering viable again. “The iPad demands that we completely reimagine our craft.”
Of course, original video content is also part of the mix, with select articles also available with read aloud audio. Immersive photography will include 360 degree photos that you can explore with a few swipes, as well as interactive charts, info-graphics and clickable hotspots.
Don’t have time to browse The Daily as it becomes available? You’ll be able to save articles to read at a later date, including web-friendly versions for sharing via Twitter, Facebook and e-mail. Sound off on articles with your own comments, including the ability to do them with your own voice. Of course, no newspaper would be complete without local weather, sports, crossword and Sudoku puzzles.
Murdoch then gave the floor to News Corp. executive Jon Miller, publisher Greg Clayman and editor Jesse Angelo of The Daily for a live sampling of the news app, with the debut cover story including full coverage of the current events in Egypt.
360 degree photographs -- many complete with accompanying audio -- fully immerse the reader into stories, and HD video will also be part of the mix. A carousel view lets you swipe through media content, or you can use an autoplay button to browse hands-free and even shuffle through selected highlights.
iPad users will also enjoy The Daily’s apps and games section featuring the latest and greatest from the App Store, and sports fans will truly be in heaven with an interactive section complete with team stats, scores, photographs and much more -- in real time. Twitter feeds from various team members are also part of the package.
The Daily will go live each morning, with live updates throughout the day as necessary. So how much will all of this goodness cost you? “Just 14 cents a day,” Murdoch announced, which is only possible since there is no paper, no multimillion dollar presses, no delivery trucks -- so News Corp. is passing those savings on to the user. The first two weeks will be free, sponsored by Verizon, with subscriptions available at 99 cents per week.
Apple’s vice president of Internet Services Eddy Cue closed the event by taking the stage to detail a bit of the magic behind how the iPad is making The Daily possible. Cue revealed that there are more than 9,000 news apps available for the three iOS platforms (iPad, iPhone and iPod touch) with more than 200 million downloads so far, but clearly The Daily is a different animal. Cue calls it “amazing,” having used the app for the last two weeks.
Cue then disclosed how subscription billing for The Daily will work: Users can have a recurring weekly subscription for only 99 cents per week, or an annual subscription billed at only $39.99, a savings of more than $10. For now, the app is available only in the United States, but is expected on “additional tablets and in international markets over the coming months.”
Closing out the event with a question and answer session, Eddy Cue reveals that in-app subscription billing is exclusive to The Daily for now, but there will be an announcement for other publishers soon. News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch feels confident that the publication will be a success, claiming that their ambitions are high but the costs are low -- the company has invested $30 million into the project so far, with weekly expenses of $500,000.
When queried about the competitive landscape that The Daily is entering, the staff claims that they’re competing with everything these days, including games such as Angry Birds “on some level.” A reporter from The Guardian asked about the political tone of the publication, which editor Jesse Angelo claimed will be pro-American, complete with the freedom of the press that we enjoy here -- without specifying if the publication will lean conservative (such as News Corp.’s Fox News) or liberal.
Murdoch claims that The Wall Street Journal iPad app was what first gave him the inspiration for The Daily, which will not be an Apple exclusive forever -- the CEO admits that the publication will come to “all major tablets” over time, with “last year, this year and next year” the market will be focused on the iPad.
As widely rumored, Apple CEO Steve Jobs is quite excited about the prospect of The Daily, Murdoch revealed in answer to another query. Apple’s own iAds don’t appear to be part of the mix, although Murdoch claims that advertisers will be excited about the interactive content possibilities available to them. When asked why the publication isn’t free and ad-supported, Murdoch claims that the paid model will make it more appealing to advertisers since The Daily readers are paying for the app.
Last but not least, editor Angelo explains that some of The Daily content will also be available in a traditional web form, although TheDaily.com will feature a paywall, with the exception of links shared from within the app.
The Daily is available to download from the U.S. App Store now; the free 46.5MB download is compatible with the iPad only and requires iOS 4.2 or later -- contrary to earlier rumors that the in-app subscription model would require a software update for the device. (Note: The download requires acceptance of changes to Apple’s terms and conditions for “In-App Subscriptions”.)
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(Image courtesy of AllThingsDigital)
