“In his new biography of Steve Jobs, Walter Isaacson describes some of the behind-the-scenes dealings between the Apple CEO and publishers after the iPad was launched in 2010,” Steve Myers reports for Poynter. “According to Isaacson, Jobs was particularly interested in helping The New York Times because it hadn’t yet figured out how to charge for digital content: ‘One of my personal projects this year, I’ve decided, is to try to help — whether they want it or not — the Times,’ he told me early in 2010. ‘I think it’s important for the country for them to figure it out.'”
“Isaacson describes publishers’ frustration over being unable to access subscribers’ data and credit card information. A New York Times circulation executive pushed back against Jobs, as did Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes. But Rupert Murdoch relented, recalling later that he knew Jobs wouldn’t bend, and he wouldn’t have either if he were in Jobs’ position,” Myers reports. “Jobs and Murdoch’s work on The Daily created a bond between the two, with Jobs having Murdoch over to his house twice for dinner. ‘Jobs joked that he had to hide the dinner knives on such occasions,’ Isaacson writes, ‘because he was afraid that his liberal wife was going to eviscerate Murdoch when he walked in.'”
Myers reports, “Jobs pressed Murdoch on Fox News, arguing that the network was destructive to the nation and harmful to Murdoch’s reputation: ”You’re blowing it with Fox News,’ Jobs told him over dinner. ‘The axis today is not liberal and conservative, the axis is constructive-destructive, and you’ve cast your lot with the destructive people. Fox has become an incredibly destructive force in our society. You can be better, and this is going to be your legacy if you’re not careful.’ Jobs said he thought Murdoch did not really like how far Fox had gone. ‘Rupert’s a builder, not a tearer-downer,’ he said. ‘I’ve had some meetings with James, and I think he agrees with me. I can just tell.’ Murdoch later said he was used to people like Jobs complaining about Fox. ‘He’s got sort of a left-wing view on this,’ he said.”
“Murdoch agreed to have his staff create a highlight reel of a week of Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck’s shows, and Jobs later told Isaacson that he was going to ask Jon Stewart’s staff to put together a similar highlight reel,” Myers reports. “He apparently never sent it to Murdoch, who says in the book he would have been happy to have seen it.”
Much more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews readers too numerous to mention individually for the heads up.]