iPad newspaper 'The Daily' will be launched on February 2

Talking of the iPad, media magnate Rupert Murdoch’s tablet-only newspaper — designed specifically for the Apple product — will be launched on February 2 after at least two missed deadlines.

It has the most unassuming name — The Daily — but it could have a significant impact on the media space not only in the US, but around the world. American newspapers are battling falling readership and precipitously falling revenues to stay afloat. In the last two years alone, several newspapers have either shut down or have cut staff and retained only the digital version.


Mostly, the print medium has lost to digital, something that even television was unable to do.

Thus, in a world of 1.5 crore ( and growing) Apple iPads, will The Daily ( priced reasonably at 99 cents or Rs 45 a week and $ 4.25 or Rs 196 per month) ease out regular newspapers? This question is moot.

Here’s why.

The Daily ’s success will depend upon its product quality. Given Mr Murdoch’s track record so far, it is safe to assume that the product will have high standards. It may be controversial, but it would not be devoid of high quality journalism.

So assuming that The Daily is a success, what does it have in store for the print editions of newspapers such as The New York Times and The Washington Post , since both already have iPad apps? Chances are that the print medium will be further hit and sooner than expected. A newspaper is bulky to carry; it has to be folded; it cannot be updated through the day and it can never hope to have the instant interactivity that a digital edition promises.

It would not be naïve, therefore, to say that the print medium in the US — unlike India, where print news products face no such threat — is bracing up for upheaval. And it could well be a battle that is being fought for a losing cause.