First XML, Then the iPad: Another Life Preserver for Publishers
December 6, 2010
Publishers love XML. Well, not the coding of XML. Publishers love the versatility and slicing – dicing functions of XML. Now the publishers have another life preserver as traditional cost structures and marketing methods come under increased pressure.
“Why the iPad Newspaper is Doomed” is broken down into a long list of all the reasons why Rupert Murdoch’s latest news venture is destined to be an epic fail. Gawker, publisher working to reinvent itself, asserts:
“Rupert Murdoch is putting $30 million and 100 journalists behind an iPad newspaper called “The Daily. He even has support from Apple CEO Steve Jobs. But no one really believes this thing will last.”
The reasons are that the morning news will be compiled the evening before, the scope is too broad, Murdoch has not had success online before, huge amounts of subscriptions will have to be sold, links will be non-existent, costs are too expensive to maintain, the cost-free news competition s too tough, and the staff is all traditional news not tech.
Yet, the post does also have a short list of reasons for optimism, which are: Steve Jobs, huge iPad sales, Murdoch’s unexpected success with Fox News, and the success of some other iPad publications. It’s the Fox News angle that interests me most. Rupert Murdoch, love him or hate him, has been known to sniff out an opportunity and keep putting his extensive resources behind it until it pans out. This iPad newspaper seems like a long shot, but sometimes Murdoch knows something we don’t. The story, as real journalists say, is still being written.
Alice Wasielewski, December 6, 2010
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