back to article Apple said to prep iPad news sub service

Apple is preparing to throw an iPad lifeline to the rapidly sinking news biz by offering to host a newspaper subscription service on its "magical and revolutionary" device. That's the word from the San Jose Mercury News, which notes that an announcement of the service is expected "soon". This lifeline would not be a …

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  1. famousringo

    Is it for the dinosaurs?

    Or is it for startup periodicals? The old newspapers have their entrenched subscription and advertising systems that make jumping onto Apple's scheme seem more risky.

    But if you were, say, a free news web site thinking of turning your web content into a more refined subscription-based periodical publication, allowing Apple to handle the subscriptions and ads while you worry about attracting eyeballs with good content might be an attractive way to lower your barrier to entry.

  2. JaitcH
    WTF?

    All the news, or all the news that fits Jobs morals?

    Jobs might be trying to foist only the news that passes his censors. What happens if some derogatory news about Apple, such as another Lemon 4, happens along - does his censorious ways win out?

    Do the words murder, rape or incest pass his filter?

    I think I'd trust my Fish and Chips wrapper before anything passed through Apple.

    1. F111F
      Pint

      Wrappers made from page 3, maybe...

      And even then I wonder about silicone...

      Silicone: helping beer goggles for 5 decades now...

    2. Trevor_Pott Gold badge

      I think it's safe to say...

      ...El Reg won't be getting an invite...

  3. CmdrX3
    Coat

    One little problem with this quote

    "But the only way that readers who are accustomed to receiving their news for free will begin paying for it is if all outlets in a given market were to switch to a for-pay model simultaneously."

    It's called the BBC and they would not be permitted to use a for-pay model for their news site so many people would go there for their news. Quite frankly if it was a choice between paying for access to news sites or losing them, I'm afraid I would go for the latter. However regardless of the number of sites that switched to a pay model there will always be substantially more that would continue or begin to offer it for free.

  4. Geoff Campbell Silver badge
    WTF?

    Finally we get rid of Rupert Murdoch....

    ....only to replace him with Steve Jobs?

    Truly we get the mass media we deserve, it seems.

    GJC

  5. twomoggies

    "The Times" of London?

    I'm going to be pedantic here

    but.stating that it is The Times of London, misses the point that this it is a national newspaper and not tied to a specific location like The New York Times or the Washington Post.

    A more accurate description would be as The Times of London, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Belfast .....etc, etc.

    We shoudln't have to pander to the American view of things.

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