NEW YORK — News Corp. launched its highly anticipated iPad news product, The Daily, on Wednesday, with CEO Rupert Murdoch declaring that the news media has to "completely re-imagine our craft."
The global media conglomerate launched the iPad-only daily newspaper at a packed press conference at the Guggenheim Museum on New York's Upper East Side.
Declaring the start of a new "digital renaissance" News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch said: "New times demand new journalism. The iPad demands that we completely re-imagine our craft."
The launch of The Daily was accompanied by an announcement from Apple that *The Daily *would be the first publication to allow one-click subscriptions, of either $1 a week or $40 a year — a departure from the company's requirement that all subscriptions be funneled through the iTunes store.
New Terms of Service, which must be accepted before you download The Daily App, say in part:
That key change may open the floodgates by publishers, who thus far have largely avoided any subscription model -- and pricing -- for their iPad editions in part because there was no agreement from Apple to share subscriber information.
The new terms allow for that data to be shared, but it also gives the subscriber the right to opt-out and still subscribe — publications cannot require that they have that information — in what seems like a grand compromise.
Murdoch views The Daily as his shot at bringing News Corp. into the iPad age. He clearly views it as a possible "savior" for the industry, and he has spared no expense testing his theory — an estimated $100 million to reach the starting line. Murdoch has recruited a cadre of News Corp. veterans, including former New York Post managing editor Jesse Angelo.
Mike Nizza, formerly the editor of AOL News, is the publication's managing editor.
"The Daily is not a legacy brand moving from the print to the digital world," Murdoch said. "We believe The Daily will be the model for the way stories are told and consumed."
In a press release, News Corp. said that every day The Daily will publish up to a whopping 100 pages focused on six areas: news, sports, gossip and celebrity, opinion, arts and life, and "apps and games."
The company said launch advertisers include HBO, Macy’s, Paramount, Pepsi Max, Range Rover, Verizon, and Virgin Atlantic Airways.
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