Journalism beyond the app

Hamish McKenzie, writing for PandoDaily, has a useful piece on tablet-only magazines and the bundling problem:

Lest you think this is just a paper problem, keep a close eye on what’s happening with tablet-only magazines. If publishers thought tablets were going to be the saviors of their industry, they must be really bummed out by recent news that The Daily is cutting a third of its staff and the Huffington Post has decided to stop charging for its iPad magazine after just five issues. Working on the principle that three events equal a trend and two pass for a story, AdWeek last week asked “Are Tablet-Only Publications Dead?”.

But McKenzie’s conclusion is the important part:

But the game isn’t over for journalists and editors - it’ll just be leaner and different. They will have to produce content that can move easily outside the borders of pages and apps, content that can be shared - even purchased - at the click of a button, content that can live on the strength of its reporting and writing.

This is the better way to frame the problem. Magazines do not only have a device problem, and tablets were never going to fix the deeper issue by themselves. A beautiful app can still be a closed bundle with poor distribution, awkward discovery and content trapped inside the wrong container.

The future McKenzie points to is less comfortable for publishers, but probably healthier for journalism. The work has to travel well. It has to stand on the strength of its reporting and writing, rather than on the assumption that readers will keep opening another branded package.

The tablet may still be a good reading device. It is a weaker answer when treated as a business model.

Via Daring Fireball.