Top of the shop this week was to be the widespread rumour that Mr Murdoch’s digital newspaper, The Daily, was going to be making its debut on Wednesday of next week, January 19. As of yesterday, January 14, that rumour has been officially debunked, and we are told that release is going to be put back a few more weeks due to Apple’s issues with its subscription service. Having said all of that in a somewhat excited fashion, is The Daily going to be anything to get excited about? We have asked the question here before: is there any future in a paid news service? Personally speaking, if I go to the rail station, I will pick up a free copy of Metro; most days I start my day from home with BBC Breakfast News on the TV, the iPhone or the iPad, and might take a look at The Telegraph and The Guardian in web form, and then to the radio for an hourly news bulletin on the wonderful Planet Rock, or Radio 4/Radio 5 Live if I am in the car: no news buying going on here. On the other hand, much of what I have mentioned above is provided by the BBC; well we already do pay for that via the license fee. Other products/services mentioned are paid for via adverts, and we do have to appreciate, of course, that quality journalism does cost. However, the big question remains, who is The Daily going to appeal to? Your thoughts and comments welcomed to PIND.editor@gmail.comIn the printed paper world, regular readers might remember that we mentioned the launch of “i” a few months back, the trimmed down lean version of The Independent. Well, it would seem that “phase two” of the launch programme is now underway, and a TV ad campaign is due to start on Sunday of this week, January 16.
Returning to the digitised side of the fence, the Proofstream product now provides both iPhone and iPad connection, and you can even get a free iPad by ordering one of the high-end Proofstream packages during the next month or so.Press purchases are still rare things at the moment, so it was good to read of further investment by the Alderson Printing Company, with a KBA Rapida 105 going in to the Surrey-based business as it continues to expand its point of sale venture.
More detail on the SV Two Digital liquidation story mentioned last week: PrintWeek has revealed a total of over £1 million of debt, and 12 jobs losses.
On a more positive note, should any printer be without his myPantone app for the iPhone and iPod Touch? Maybe a good plus for the print salesman? One of the pricier apps that you will find however.The green debate is always one that the print industry gets excited about, and the e-reader v. printed books contest is one question that can easily get temperatures to rise. Here is a write-up by Richard Romano from What They Think? Which makes for interesting reading. There is also an interesting “tale of the tape” style presentation from The Wall which offers an attempt to briefly summarise some of the key stats in the debate, but seems to lean towards the answer that both can exist side-by-side.
The QR code bandwagon is still rolling along here on PIND, as it has been in recent editions, and further links keep coming to the fore that fans of QR might like to be aware of. Firstly, a very interesting article detailing suitable code creation services that provide analysis and results; a very important factor in any marketing activity. Another interesting article compares the potential of QR codes with tear out forms, whilst the Vancouver Sun is looking at how retailers can make use of this form of marketing. One final example comes from Italy, where a printed restaurant guide includes a QR code for each restaurant. The page that the codes leads to gives the reader up to date reviews and menu details, along with a Google map to help you find it.CES is now all done and dusted, but The Telegraph is giving us its thoughts on the show, which will help to guide readers through the electronic wizardry that was on show.
Finally, do keep checking back to see what will be featured in our next edition, PIND 39. Details of new stories will be added to this text page during the course of the week.
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