iPad News: iPad Kills Newspaper Subscriptions

Posted Dec 27, 2010 at 7:43AM EST by QJ Staff

Listed in: iPad News Tags: apple, ios, news, tablet

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Like a lot of people, I like getting my news from the Internet, because you get it while it’s still news. After a few years of checking the ‘net first for hard news, I found myself ignoring the front section of my daily paper, because by the time it was in print, it wasn’t news anymore. I still read the style, home, entertainment and sports sections—for a few more years, anyway. Then I got sick of dragging last week’s papers out to the recycling bin out back and cancelled my subscription. That was back in 2006 and I don’t miss the print edition at all, because I can read such a variety of publications online. My experience is a pretty common one these days, and even more since the iPad made it so much easier to read your news on the go. A recent study by the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute at the University of Maryland reveals how the iPad has changed the reading habits of users, and the effect it’s likely to have in the future. Of the 1,600 iPad users surveyed, three-quarters spent at least 30 minutes per day reading news on their device, nearly half of them spending at least an hour. The ominous news for the newspaper industry is that of those heavy news-readers, more than 58% plan to cancel their print subscriptions during the next six months. This obviously does not bode well for the newspaper industry, unless it can adapt to the digital news era. Roger Fidler, research project leader for RJI, gave this outlook for publishers: “These findings are encouraging for newspaper publishers who plan to begin charging for subscriptions on their iPad app editions early next year, but our survey also found a potential downside: iPad news apps may diminish newspaper print subscriptions in 2011.” So while the immediate forecast for newspaper publishing may not look too bright, the industry can use digital media to its advantage—provided it acts quickly instead of remaining bogged down in the past.

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