iPad affecting newspaper sales

It's pretty clear that smartphones in general eat newspaper sales, especially news stand and non-subscription sales. Whenever I'd stop for breakfast on the way to work, or grab lunch by myself, I'd always buy a paper from a box or newstand. Now, I read my phone.

I grew up believing that journalists & newspapers should, and largely did, present a neutral position: the facts not opinion or self serving statements. However, with NewsCorp, I am not so naive. This feels as self-serving as usual from any of the Murdoch family. No doubt it is part of them creating the environment for their ongoing attacks on the BBC.

However, I am not one of those who believe that all news should be free. I understand that news gathering costs money. A paywall or subscription model makes sense. The first app I access every morning is The Grauniad and I will be happy to pay their proposed subscription. Paper as a medium might be dead but the need for reliable, trustworthy sources will always remain.

When your local newspaper sucks, like mine in San Jose, California, it's not hard to transition to digital media. Too bad the local rag hasn't yet. Een their attempts have been feeble at best. What's more, most of the writers are anything but--there's a serious lack of unbiased, talented writers in San Jose. And as the supposed Silicon Valley I shocked and amazed how poorly done the news is--shameful.

That opening line of the article is one of the worst mixed metaphors I have seen in a long time!

Steven -

As Murdoch did not share any actual data (that I have seen), it seems to me he was speaking dogmatically here. Did you sense his comments reflected anything beyond News Corp's belief that digital technologies in general are to blame for circulation declines?

I can agree that tablet experiences are more engaging than the Web, but with the small number of tablets sold so far it is tough to believe they have had any provable impact on subscription sales.

Newspapers should really get on board with digital subscriptions as soon as possible. I recently traded a print subscription to my local paper for a digital subscription using PressReader, and it's been great. The only reason I still have my print subscription to the NY Times even though I do most of my NY Times reading with the iPad app is that there's no mechanism for paying for the digital content. As soon as the Times has digital subscriptions (supposedly sometime early next year), I'll scrap the print subscription. Call me old-fashioned, but I'd like to pay for my newspaper, whether it's on dead trees or digitally.

Newspapers, are you listening?