News Corp finally launches iPad magazine The Daily, gets profit boost from cable networks

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch finally launched News Corp’s long-awaited tablet magazine The Daily in New York this morning along with tech giant Apple, saying that “new times demand new journalism”.

But the launch of the media giant’s new magazine was tainted by a separate announcement regarding MySpace, with News announcing it has taken a loss of $US156 million this year, with the company saying the loss was “worse than our expectations”.

However, New Corp also announced that profit grew by a massive 153% due to ongoing strength in its cable television networks. Net profit grew from $US254 million to $US642 million in the three months to December 31.

The announcement was presented in conjunction with Apple head of internet services Eddy Cue, who was there to spruik Apple’s new in-app subscription system. Chief executive Steve Jobs was not in attendance due to his ongoing medical leave.

The Daily is not yet available in Australia, and there is currently no information about when it will arrive.

Murdoch took the stage this morning to present the new publication, promising that it will change journalism for the better.

“The iPad demands that we completely re-imagine our craft,” Murdoch said to a packed crowd, adding that it will be “the model for how stories are told and consumed”.

“Our challenge was to take the best of traditional journalism, competitive, shoe-leather reporting, good editing, a sceptical eye, and combine it with the best contemporary technology,” he said.

News is putting a huge amount of effort into updating content every day. The magazine itself is about 100 pages, and Murdoch promises the Daily‘s team of reporters will be pushing new stories every day.

When users access the app, the new issue will automatically begin downloading. Murdoch says the company wants to utilise the benefit of constant internet connectivity, so stories will be updated every day as new information becomes available.

The app itself is technologically impressive. Stories are interactive, featuring plenty of HD photography, video and interactive graphics and charts. Many of the pictures are panoramic and can be viewed in 360 degrees.

The user interface also places a large emphasis on user interactivity. The app’s sections are displayed at the top of the screen, linking to each different page.

The app also users a “carousel” system. Readers can preview each page in a menu that allows them to swipe from page to page, click on whatever page they want and then expand that to the full size of the screen.

Individual articles can be saved and read later, while users will also be able to comment on stories. There’s even a feature for users to leave audio comments.

Social interactivity is also a big part of the app. “The Daily is not an island. It will definitely be part of the web discourse and the social world,” News Corp’s chief digital office John Miller said at the event.

Articles can be shared through Twitter and Facebook, along with a system to send articles through email.

The company is also hopeful for profitability – The Daily cost $US30 million to set up but its specific operating costs are only $US500,000 a week.

“Our ambitions are very big, but our costs are very low,” Murdoch added. “Our aim is for The Daily to be the indispensable source for news, information, and entertainment.”

Users can access their local weather, and new crossword and Sudoku puzzles will be updated every day.

And while Murdoch says the launch will apply only to iPads for now, the company will eventually bring the publication onto other tablets.

The Daily will cost users $US0.99c per week, or $US40 for the entire year. Apple’s Eddy Cue explained the in-app subscription system, which will allow users to purchase new editions of the publication within the app itself.

New issues will be automatically billed by Apple through the user’s existing iTunes account. “We’ve built a whole new subscription billing that’s as easy as one click. You’ll be billed weekly at 99 cents or yearly at $39.99,” Cue said.

This subscription service may extend to other publications soon, Cue said.

However, despite the impressive technical capabilities of the app, analysts have already questioned whether the app will be enough to compete with existing publications.

The content in The Daily itself is more geared towards entertainment, sports and gossip rather than hard-hitting news, and long, drawn-out features are apparently shelved in lieu of short and snappy stories.

Wired published this morning that while the app is a “serious effort” in exploring how a magazine can work on a tablet, articles “tend to the short side… neither brief, nor long form”.

Meanwhile, News is having problems in other areas of the business. Chief financial officer David DeVoe said in a media briefing this morning that MySpace, the social network haemorrhaging members to Facebook, lost $US156 million this year.

The figure is $US31 million worse than last year’s loss.

News will now be seeking a “rebuild” of the business, he said, and that “now is the right time for News Corp. to consider strategic options for the business”.