“The Daily, News Corp.’s attempt to create a digital newspaper for the iPad age, is laying off nearly a third of its staff,” Peter Kafka reports for AllThingsD.
“The publisher plans to tell its workers today that it will fire 50 of its 170 employees, according to people familiar with the Daily’s plans,” Kafka reports, noting that News Corp. also owns AllThingsD. “The move comes 18 months after the tablet newspaper’s high-profile launch, and a little more than a month after News Corp. announced plans to split itself into an entertainment company and a newspaper company.”
Kafka reports, “Employees who produce the paper’s editorial page and sports coverage will be heavily hit by the layoffs, and the Daily will run skeletal versions of those sections from now on. But the cuts will affect other parts of the Daily, including its design and production staff.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Finally. How soon until the other 120 get their pink slips?
As we wrote back in April 2011: “The Daily is losing audience because it’s a pain in the ass to read. It’s always been that way and it hasn’t improved rapidly enough. We do not want to be forced to learn several new paradigms for accessing content. We just want to read/view/watch/listen to the news. You can’t find anything painlessly in The Daily, so we stopped bothering. Also from News Corp., the less ambitious NY Post app for iPad is far better; it’s navigable without having to screw around pinching and swiping and tapping assorted crap, much of it hidden. Launch the NY Post app and you get their version of the news; that’s all we want.
We don’t want stupid UI puzzles, we just want the effing news!
The Daily needs to remove (or hide) the bells and whistles, open on the Table of Contents (or just copy The NY Post app) and KISS. Then we might consider launching The Daily on our iPads again. Maybe.”
We haven’t bothered to look at the thing in well over a year. Has anyone? If so, did they take any of our advice?
Related articles:
News Corp. may axe money-losing iPad news app ‘The Daily’, says source – July 12, 2012
Rupert Murdoch to split News Corp. into two publicly traded companies – June 28, 2012
News Corp.’s The Daily averaging only 120,000 readers at most per week – September 29, 2011
News Corp.’s ‘The Daily’ lost $10 million over last three months – May 5, 2011
Twitter data suggests News Corp.’s The Daily iPad news app is losing audience – April 6, 2011
The Daily: First national daily news publication exclusively for iPad debuts; Jobs: ‘It’s terrific’ – February 2, 2011
News Corp. and Apple launch The Daily for iPad: 99-cents per week, $39.99 per year – February 2, 2011
News Corp.‘s Rupert Murdoch, Apple’s Eddy Cue to launch The Daily at special media event on Feb. 2 – February 1, 2011
Major sponsors back launch of News Corp.‘s ‘The Daily’ iPad newspaper – January 17, 2011
Apple and News Corp. delay launch of ‘The Daily’ iPad news service – January 14, 2011
Code leak provides early peek at News Corp.‘s ‘The Daily’ for iPad – January 13, 2011
RUMOR: Steve Jobs to join News Corp.‘s Murdoch on-stage to unveil iPad-only ‘The Daily’ on Jan. 19 – January 11, 2011
RUMOR: News Corp. chief Rupert Murdoch to debut ‘The Daily’ iPad-only publication on Jan. 19 – January 10, 2011
Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. to launch ‘Daily’ iPad newspaper in January – December 17, 2010
Excitement runs high ahead of News Corp.‘s launch of ‘The Daily’ iPad ‘newspaper’ – November 26, 2010
iPad newspaper ‘Daily’ created by Steve Jobs and Rupert Murdoch to launch within days – November 20, 2010
News Corp.‘s James Murdoch says iPad apps are cannibalizing physical newspapers – November 12, 2010
News Corp’s Rupert Murdoch may be preparing to launch two iPad newspapers – September 15, 2010
Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. plans new national digital newspaper for Apple iPad, iPhone – August 13, 2010
News Corp.‘s Rupert Murdoch hails Apple’s revolutionary iPad as ‘game changer’ – August 05, 2010
News Corp.‘s Rupert Murdoch: ‘All media is going to go onto Apple’s iPad’ (with video) – March 18, 2010
News Corp.‘s Rupert Murdoch waxes enthusiastic about Apple’s iPad – February 19, 2010
Apple iPad pushes Rupert Murdoch’s HarperCollins into e-book pricing talks with Amazon – February 03, 2010
Rupert: It’s time to end the circus and take down the tents. The new generation understands digital technology. You and your cronies don’t. News Corp is burning…
Unvarnished propaganda usually works best on simpletons. Murdoch would’ve been much better then off targeting android users.
The Daily is a failure because it’s a piece of dung. You are supposed to have news in a newspaper.
The Daily was glossy and pretty, but there was never anything interesting inside… A Sarah Palin in fact…
The navigation and bells and whistles all got worked out. But the editorial choices went against 2/3 of the iPad demographic. Add to that the huge weight given to gossip and opinion and the other sections suffered.
It is a real shame cuz some of the sections do a nice job.
There already are newspapers for the digital age and they are not made by the fact challenged NewzCrap or it’s Murdoch Street Journal.
One is called The Financial Times, another The New York Times.
None have the stench of Murdoch. Begone, Rupert.
You also have the Murdoch factor that most Apple users are aware of – left wingers are not inclined to give money to any enterprise associated with Murdoch. No media owner is more hated for his negative manipulation of the American Political system than him. No matter how “Good” the Daily might be, it’s still a vehicle for Rupert to make money with. Therefore he gets none from the left which I think is the majority of Apple users who Think Different than right wing facists like Murdoch.
The New York Times? If you are saying they are not infected by the Murdoch Touch, I agree. However if you are saying that the NYT is a better paper than what Murdoch has, your wrong. The NYT is a paper that has had credibility issue and are a little better than a tabloid. The Financial Times seems to be better, if you enjoy straight business news.
Regardless of what some others have said. I like it. I love the video work in it. I have found many things interesting in every issue. I am very sorry that Rupert has chosen to do this. I don’t think he gets digital. And what is wrong with having crossword and Suduko. I don’t do either but my family sure does. I would be interested in knowing what the people who don’t like it would change and when was the last time you looked at it. Rupert, your mistakes continue.
All sounds so typical of Murdoch tabloid crap, like his shitty UK papers, The Sun and News of the World, full of scurrilous celebrity scandal and bare tits.
I wouldn’t wipe my ass with a Murdoch paper, it’d end up dirtier than it started out.
Once again Rorschach, you are having trouble posting anything meaningful without resorting to potty talk. If you can’t say it cleanly, don’t bother posting.
The world would be a much better place if media outlets were independent and dedicated to excellence in objective reporting and in-depth investigation instead of divisions of one ego-driven schmuck’s former media empire, constantly propping up profits by titillating gossip and hot-button snippets taken out of context and blown out of proportion.