The Daily: Rupert Murdoch Unveils First iPad-Only Newspaper

Feb. 2, 2011 — -- Welcome to the future of newspapers -- or at least media mogul Rupert Murdoch's vision of it.

Starting at noon today, subscribers to Murdoch's The Daily will get HD-quality video, 360-degree photographs, text stories interlaced with Twitter feeds and 100 pages of current events, gossip, sports, apps and games delivered daily to Apple's iPad for 99 cents a week, or $39.99 a year.

Calling for a "digital renaissance," the News Corporation chairman and CEO joined with Apple at a New York press conference today to unveil the new venture, billed as the first "newspaper" designed specifically for the iPad.

"New times demand new journalism," Murdoch said. "So we built The Daily completely from scratch, on the most innovative device to come about in my time -- the iPad."

"The magic of great newspapers -- and great blogs -- lies in their serendipity and surprise, and the touch of a good editor," he continued. "We're going to bring that magic to The Daily -- to inform people, to make them think, to help them engage in the great issues of the day. And as we continue to improve and evolve, we are going to use the best in new technology to push the boundaries of reporting."

Although other newspapers have already created applications for iPad users, The Daily is the first to cater fully to the new tablet platform. The digital newspaper will also have a Web presence, but the the paywall-protected site will only be available to subscribers and will not include all of the content delivered to the iPad.

Murdoch said Apple CEO Steve Jobs, currently on medical leave from the company, called Murdoch last last week to tell him he thought The Daily is "terrific."

In a statement, Jobs said, "News Corp. is redefining the news experience with The Daily."

The billing plan that will support The Daily will let users automate billing through the application instead of Apple's iTunes store. Apple's vice president of Internet Services Eddy Cue, joined Murdoch on stage, said iPad users have already downloaded more than 200 million news-related applications.