Apple Playing Favorites with FOX’s NewsCorp and Rupert Murdoch

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BY MALLORY PERRYMAN

Rumor has it Apple CEO Steve Jobs and News Corp head honcho Rupert Murdoch are buddying up. Several media reports indicate the unlikely two-some is developing the first true iNewspaper—a daily news publication available exclusively on the iPad. No paper. No website. And no freebies. CNBC has the details.
 
“He’s developing this new product called ‘The Daily’. He’s got Richard Johnson from Page Six and a whole host of other reporters on this thing. It’s going to start in about a month or two and it’s going to be an app-only product so it’ll never exist on paper. It’ll be for the iPad, the Android, for all that kind of stuff.”
 
Womens Wear Daily reports The Daily will cost a buck a week and should make its debut sometime in early 2011. John Koblin writes…
 
JOHN KOBLIN: “The ambitious project is yet another Murdoch experiment to get people to pay for the news they read as newspapers transition to the digital era… When the project is announced, don’t be surprised if you see Steve Jobs onstage with Rupert Murdoch, welcoming The Daily to the app world.”

But an Apple/News Corp. alliance? Raise the alarm—says ZD Net’s Tom Foremski. He says that while it isn’t clear if the tech giant is giving the news giant a leg-up, it sure looks like Apple’s picking favorites.
 
TOM FOREMSKI: “Apple should not get into the content creation business it should remain a neutral distribution platform and maintain a level playing field for all publishers. Apple should make its technology available to all publishers not just News Corp.”

Even with Apple’s help, Ron Callari for the blog Inventor Spot believes The Daily’s social media strategy spells doom. Callari describes the tablet newspaper as a walled garden, saying it will have…
 
RON CALLARI: “…no inbound or outbound links from other sites… If users are unable to link to an ad – The Daily will have to derive the majority of its revenues from subscriptions. Additionally… without an integration with Facebook or Twitter…I think Murdoch and Jobs might want to re-think eliminating links from the equation.”

But in a Mashable op-ed, Ben Parr says—give credit where credit is due. Murdoch is trying to save an industry that’s been giving away its product for decades.
 
BEN PARR: “Murdoch’s commitment to a digital future for journalism is commendable and forward-thinking. He realizes more than his competitors that the future of news isn’t in propping up print publications, but creating truly immersive digital experiences. He may very well be creating the template that brings other newspapers into a profitable digital age.”

PC World reports The Daily will start out as an iPad-only app, but eventually make its way to Android tablets.
 

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