The Daily newspaper launches as an iPad exclusive

A giant image of News Corp. owner Rupert Murdoch on an iPad.

Now available via subscription: The Daily, the world's first iPad-only newspaper. (Photo Credit: CC BY-ND/Multi-Screen.info)

On Feb. 2, Rupert Murdoch announced The Daily, an iPad-only newspaper that will “take the best of traditional journalism” and meld it with cutting-edge technology, reports TechCrunch. The Daily, which is available now, is the first stand-alone iPad newspaper to operate on a subscription basis; it will cost 14 cents per day, 99 cents per week or $39.99 annually via one-click subscription. The first two weeks of The Daily are free.

The Daily is not a legacy brand like the Wall Street Journal

While moving legacy newspaper brands like the Wall Street Journal behind online pay walls has garnered both supporters and detractors, The Daily is a new beast entirely. As many news consumers no longer read print journalism or watch TV newscasts, Rupert Murdoch believes that using portable tablet technology will be the best way to reach new generations. As there is no built-in audience that will expect The Daily to conform to print journalism conventions, Murdoch has the chance to define something new.

“We have license to experiment. We believe The Daily will be the model for how stories are told,” said Murdoch.

The Daily benefits from iPad processing power

Befitting its name, Rupert Murdoch’s The Daily is a daily iPad newspaper in which stories will be updated throughout the day. Users familiar with the animated, 3-D graphical Cover Flow interface of iTunes will have no trouble navigating through The Daily’s stories. Stories will include high-definition video, panoramic photos and features to tailor news to personal or regional preferences.

Subscription rate to attract advertisers

Aside from gigantic aggregators like Google News, free online news delivery has been largely unprofitable because attracting big advertisers to subsidize has been unsuccessful. Rupert Murdoch considers The Daily’s subscription price to be low enough to attract iPad users but high enough to show advertisers that it is a valuable operation that attracts a high class of consumer.

Considering that it only cost $30 million to get The Daily off the ground – a pittance compared to starting a daily print newspaper – and will cost about $500,000 per week to run, Murdoch says that the huge base of iPad users and the advertisers they draw should make The Daily a success.