TEXT OF INTERVIEW
Bill Radke: Since Apple debuted the iPad this spring, the world’s leading newspapers and magazines have been rushing to put out bright, shiny tablet editions. And many early iPad users seem willing to pay for them. Now one media mogul thinks the iPad is so promising, it deserves its own, dedicated national newspaper. Marketplace’s Jeff Horwich joins me now live with the details. Good morning.
Jeff Horwich: Good morning, Bill.
Radke: Jeff, who is this mogul with the deep pockets and the chutzpah to launch this project?
Horwich: This is Rupert Murdoch we’re talking about. And we need to quickly give credit to the good, old-fashioned newspaper that broke this story: the LA Times. They caught wind of a plan to launch this tablet-based paper, maybe by the end of the year. Murdoch of course owns the Wall Street Journal, Fox, a bunch of papers and TV operations in Britain and Australia. And if you’ve listened much to him lately, the tablet paper will not come as a big surprise. Here he is evangelizing at the National Press Club:
Rupert Murdoch: You know, I got a glimpse of the future with the iPad. It is a wonderful thing — it may well be the saving of the newspaper industry.
Most papers, of course, haven’t figured out how to make money in a digital world. Murdoch loves to talk about the Wall Street Journal’s iPad app, but apparently he also thinks the world needs something completely new.
Radke: And Jeff, what is so new and different about this tablet newspaper?
Horwich: Well, it’s not a blogging site, not some aggregator of other news outlets’ material. Murdoch’s reportedly investing millions of dollars, hiring dozens of reporters and editors. The paper will be snappier and more general interest than the Wall Street Journal — kind of USA Today-ish, maybe. And it sounds like you will have to pay for it. Murdoch is a big believer in pay walls.
Radke: Oh yes. Marketplace’s Jeff Horwich. Thank you, Jeff.
Horwich: You’re welcome.
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