On the day of the iPad’s UK launch I saw two things that may be evidence that newspapers will survive the launch of the iPad. One was a Times advertisement for their new iPad app, and the other the front page of the Financial Times featuring an article about the creation of artificial life.
Fresh from my first play with an iPad, I am sure that it will change a lot of things. I was surprised how small and light it was. Apps from the iPhone do not work on it. Apps written specially for the iPad look fantastic.
My friend who is an expert says that the iPad is too middle class to be as successful as the iPhone. But if you have middle class customers, then you should expect it to change something.
The FT story was about the creation of artificial life. I had seen the story on the internet the previous day and saw it on the television evening news. But putting the story on the front page of a newspaper made it more real for me.
While we know that not everything that is printed is 100 per cent accurate, we also pay attention to what editors decide is important. It is this editing that papers do so well. It is this editing that makes newspapers so powerful.
The iPad will prove a challenge for books and magazines. I don’t think it will have as big an impact on newspapers. Whether it will sell more papers or simply move some news readers online, remains to be seen.
Adrian
09/06/2010
Nick, you imply that it’s the editing that makes newspapers more powerful than television and the web, but I’m sure the BBC television news, or sky news or whoever, is very carefully edited, and I’m sure The Times’ website has a team of editors just as well trained as the newspaper itself.
So is it more that there’s a sense of tradition to newspapers? An old lingering feeling of “if it’s printed then I’ll believe it”?