Inside The Daily’s Sudden Shutdown: 100 Employees Caught Off Guard
The Final Hours of News Corp’s iPad Newspaper Experiment
When News Corp abruptly shuttered The Daily—its ambitious iPad-only newspaper—approximately 100 employees were left stunned. Despite earlier layoffs that hinted at trouble, many staffers had little warning before the publication’s final day.
A Reporter’s Perspective
One former reporter, who held a $40,000 position at the digital outlet, shared insights into the chaotic closure:
- Lingering Doubts: While not entirely blindsided, employees sensed instability. “When summer layoffs hit, you saw it coming,” they noted. “People were dropping off.”
- Final Clues: The sudden promotion of Robert Thomson to News Corp’s publishing head on that Friday morning signaled impending changes. By midday, the fate of The Daily was clear.
Why The Daily Failed
The source pinpointed core issues that doomed the venture:
- Flawed Concept: News Corp’s vision of a “daily” digital newspaper never fully materialized. Updates were frequent but irregular—”not exactly one issue per day.”
- Lack of Data-Driven Strategy: Unlike traditional web publications, The Daily underutilized analytics. While click/read metrics existed, they weren’t emphasized as performance indicators.
A Bittersweet Ending
Despite the abrupt termination, the reporter reflected positively on the experience:
“Were you happy you worked there?”
“I think it made me better, yes.”
The closure marked the end of a bold media experiment—one that left lessons about digital publishing’s challenges and the human cost of corporate pivots.
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