Five days of The Daily

If you're in the news business, the big industry buzz of the past week was the launch of The Daily, Rupert Murdoch's new iPad-only news app. Even those who don't have iPads were chiming in on The Daily, good or bad. I can't recall this kind of interest in a news product in a long time.

If you're a regular reader of this site, you know I posted back in November that I was tired of pre-launch hate for The Daily, which only picked up steam with Wednesday's launch. I thought some of that post-launch criticism was justified (particularly with technical issues and thin hard-news report) while much was blind hate toward Murdoch and something different. After Day 1, I shared a quick update to that November post and said I'd follow-up after a few days of thorough review.

An iTunes-style story carousel is a great way to scan storiesAnd?

I feel like a piece of swaying seaweed writing this but I after 5 days of reading, I have a love-hate relationship with The Daily. One minute I'm thrilled, the next I'm shaking my head in disgust.
An iTunes-style story carousel makes it easy to skim topics.

I understand The Daily is not supposed to be The New York Times or even Huffington Post -- it's a tabloid for tablets. "The Daily" is not a publication of record. It skims the news and makes no bones about ignoring important news that for whatever reason doesn't make the cut.

Presentation is frequently striking, which is magnified on a high-resolution platform like the iPad.But too often The Daily seems thrown together, with digital tricks often inserted at the expense of relevant information.

I think The Daily is a product with tons of promise that surprises me enough each day to keep me coming back. But there are some flaws that I consider serious in light of The Daily's $25 million pre-launch costs and $500,000 per week operating costs moving forward.

So, follow me as I run through some highlights and lowlights, as well as a few suggestions:

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Virgin's "Project" raises the bar for digital publications

After skimming the debut edition of Virgin's iPad lifestyle magazine "Project," I was immediately struck  by two things:

1. Why couldn't a company like Virgin, which exudes passion and energy, come up with a better name for what is a dynamic digital app?
2. The "Project" cover displays dynamically in portrait or landscape mode"Project" captured my attention and imagination like few magazines have done before. In the infant age of tablet publications, it's reset the bar for digital magazines and publications in general. That's saying something when magazines like Wired and Popular Science are doing innovative things. But "Project" is so well-packaged and executed that it's at times breath-taking. 

Unless you own an iPad, it's hard to describe all that "Project" is (although the video above offers a glimpse). I don't say that to be elitist -- there are millions of iPads after all -- but to reinforce the fact that touchscreen tablet computers will dramatically reshape how we view and interact with content. But here are some things about "Project" that knocked me out:

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Enough hate for "The Daily" already

Updated on Wednesday, February 2, 2011 at 10:11 PM by Logan Molen

I don't get the hate that's already cropping up for Rupert Murdoch's planned tablet-only news product tentatively titled "The Daily." 

I get that Murdoch is evil in a lot of media circles. But what's the harm in letting someone try something that goes against the grain? In an age where there are no sure things when it comes to monetizing news online, shouldn't we celebrate someone with a big bag of cash funding an experiment that might work? Nope, at least among critics postulating recently at Fast Company, "This Week in Google" and more. 

What kills me is too many of these critics are basing their hate on the idea of a "newspaper" online. In fact, Murdoch is proposing a tablet-only product, which opens up all kinds of fresh opportunities in retooling - but not mimicking - the things that make newspapers authoritative and valued. The guys at "This Week in Media" said as much this week. Oddly, none of them have print backgrounds. Hmm. 

OK, a little background on the drama for newbies. 

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