Long before Apple even announced its new iPad, media companies were going nuts about the device, for two reasons. First, they believed they would be able to create apps that would be gorgeous and stunning and way better than anything they've been able to do on a Web browser. Second, money. As in, media companies figured that with apps, customers would be willing to pay subscription fees, something they have been reluctant if not outright unwilling to do when their news delivered via a browser.
The idea of getting people to pay for news again was especially appealing to old-media companies. Those guys have been online for a decade or so, and most still can't figure out how to make money over the Internet. In the original version of the magical thinking that surrounded the Web, media companies were led to believe that the Internet was a pot of gold, and that the money they would make via the Web would offset the declines in their print businesses. Instead, their Internet divisions have turned out to be money losers; instead of solving the problem, they are often making it worse.
Ah, but here comes the iPad, and with it a fresh round of magical thinking, with a three-step process that goes like this:
1.Create an app
2.Um …
3.Profits!
And who knows? That may work out. But it's worth noting that some of the savvier denizens of Internet media have not leaped on the Apple iPad app bandwagon. Case in point—Nick Denton, publisher of Gawker Media, who says he won't rule out the idea of creating apps for Apple's environment, but for now he will happily stick to delivering news via the plain old browser, thank you very much.
"Every single time something new comes out and people wonder what's the killer app, the answer is the same. It's the Web every time.The boring old Web," Denton says, or rather writes, since we were doing the interview via IM, Denton's preferred mode of communication.
Denton has looked at some of the news-media apps and says he's unimpressed. "Wasn't it obvious when one played with the WSJ and Time apps that the apps were a massive step back?" he says. "I loved the look of the Time app, but then I tried to select and copy a paragraph to send to a friend. I did the action automatically, without even thinking."
And guess what? You can't do that. "You can't e-mail. You can't bookmark. It made me realize how much the experience of reading has changed. Nobody really just reads anymore. They copy text, send links, tweet," Denton says.
There's another issue for media companies to consider,which is, do you really dare to get into bed with Apple, and put yourself at the mercy of Steve Jobs?
Over and over, Apple has run roughshod over its partners. This is Apple's one great weakness—they simply do not know how to play well with others.
Recently Apple has been bullying developers, issuing new rules telling them what tools they can and cannot use when they make apps. Apple also hopes to give itself a leg up in the advertising space by prohibiting apps from sharing usage data with third-party ad networks. Apple's new policies reportedly now have drawn the attention of federal antitrust regulators.
More relevant to media companies is the way Apple has been policing content, blocking apps that ridicule public figures or contain material that Apple considers objectionable. Why would a media organization align itself with a distributor that insists on having a say about the material that is being published?
The reason is that Apple has rounded up a huge audience, having sold close to 80 million devices that run the iPhone OS. We've all heard about the little companies that are making lots of money selling iPhone apps.
The hope among media companies seems to be that it's worth putting up with Apple's control-freakery for a chance to get in on the gold rush. Plus, don't forget, the media companies are struggling, and they can't figure out the Internet, and desperate times call for desperate measures, and so forth.
In other words, from Apple's perspective, they're perfect.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
