As a former journalist who watched many newspapers disintegrate in the face of the Internet, I have been interested in how certain newspapers have succeeded and others have failed. The Wall Street Journal has a target audience who will pay for content. It can keep itself close, and has been doing very well financially. Other newspapers, like the Boston Globe have been hemorrhaging, because no one wants to pay.
I was particularly interested when I saw a Charlie Rose PBS special about the iPad and digital publishing:
http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/10952
A big-time European media mogul was thrilled when the iPad came out. The reason: it uses a paying model for content. That means that his German newspaper could charge for content, and it would, charging only 10% less than the paper version.
Of course, Apple gets a cut when you subscribe. A big question is whether newspapers want to be at the beck and call of Apple and other device manufacturers. A bigger question is whether they have a choice.
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