Can the iPad Save the News Industry?

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Wired magazine says it has been waiting for the iPad 'for 15 years'

With the official launch of the iPad over Easter weekend, a lot of consumers are asking themselves which cool apps to download first. Newspaper and magazine editors, however, are asking themselves how they can use the iPad to dig their readership figures and revenue out of the grave.

The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New York Times, and even Wired magazine have jumped on the iPad app bandwagon, anxious to allow readers to browse the latest headlines from Apple’s new tablet computer – at a price, for some.

The state of the newspaper industry is in the red right now as more people get news and information online as opposed to traditional print media. As a result, the news industry is losing ad revenue as the shift into new media accelerates. Internet ad revenue still only represents a small fraction of a newspaper’s total revenue.

The people at Wired magazine seem to think the iPad will change all of that. The magazine's Creative Director, Scott Dadich, believes that the device will bring huge opportunities for readers and advertisers alike. 

"There’s still going to be the rich storytelling; there’s still going to be narrative art, but now we’re going to be able to do it in short film and 360s – the ability to turn a product around and look at all sides of it."

The videos, social networking features, and even advertisements will be enhanced on the 9.7” touchscreen device which would provide access to online news from virtually anywhere. Advertisers will also be pleased with the new distribution model available to consumers since they can engage with the content on a new level. Wired's Editor in Chief, Chris Anderson, thinks everyone will benefit from interacting with the iPad app.

"We’ve been waiting for an opportunity to use all these visual tools to our disposal, and tell these stories in a way that is efficient; that is multidimensional. But we also think it’s an opportunity to reset the economics. For the first time, people may value this experience so much that they’ll pay for it."

That, however, is the million dollar question: will people be willing to pay for news on devices like the iPad? A survey conducted by the Project for Excellence in Journalism stated that 82% of people who check their favourite news site regularly said they would find other news sources if their favourite decided to charge them a fee.

The iPad may revolutionize new media, but if it means readers must open up their wallets when they did not have to before, news corporations may bump into the same problems they were running away from.

Source: Wired.com