Why Digital Magazine Apps Fail: Lessons from The Daily’s Demise
The High Cost of Poor Digital Strategy
When News Corp’s The Daily shut down in 2012, it wasn’t just another media failure—it was a cautionary tale about digital publishing gone wrong. With annual operating costs of $25 million and only 100,000 subscribers in an iPad market of 100 million devices, the math simply didn’t add up. The fundamental problem? The economics of digital publishing were broken from the start.
The Blame Game: What Really Went Wrong
In typical media fashion, post-mortems pointed fingers everywhere:
- News Corp’s corporate culture
- Apple’s ecosystem limitations
- The challenges of native apps vs. web
- Tablet adoption rates
But as John Gruber of Daring Fireball astutely noted, the core issues were simpler: “don’t suck” and “start small.” These principles remain essential for any digital publication today.
The Fatal Flaws of Digital Magazine Apps
1. Bloated File Sizes
Early iPad magazine apps were excitement killers:
- Typical issue sizes: 500MB-700MB
- Slow downloads even on fast connections
- No improvement over two years
Newsstand’s promised background downloading rarely worked as intended, leaving users waiting unnecessarily.
2. Print-to-Digital Porting
Publishers made a critical error by:
- Simply converting print layouts to digital formats
- Adding gimmicky interactive elements
- Prioritizing ad integrations over user experience
In contrast, Marco Arment’s The Magazine proved lean publishing works:
- Issue sizes under 50MB
- Fast, reliable downloads
- No unnecessary multimedia bloat
3. Outdated Publishing Models
The industry clung to:
- Monthly content dumps
- Print-style layouts
- Fixed publication schedules
Craig Mod’s “Subcompact Publishing” concept suggests better approaches:
- Weekly “mini” editions
- Live content updates
- Bite-sized, manageable deliveries
The Path Forward for Digital Publishing
Build Digital-First Experiences
Tablet publications should:
- Leverage touch capabilities fully
- Eliminate artificial page limits
- Enable seamless navigation
Rethink Content Strategy
Successful digital publications need:
- Exceptional, must-read content
- Unique perspectives that can’t be easily replicated
- Focus on quality over quantity
Improve Distribution Models
The industry requires:
- Better cross-publication linking
- Smoother payment systems
- Alignment between platform and publisher incentives
Key Takeaways
- Start small and scale thoughtfully - Don’t replicate print workflows digitally
- Prioritize user experience - Fast loading trumps flashy features
- Embrace digital-native formats - Move beyond PDF-like experiences
- Focus on exceptional content - Quality drives subscriptions more than quantity
The Daily’s failure wasn’t inevitable—it was the result of ignoring fundamental digital publishing principles. As The Magazine and other innovators show, there’s still tremendous potential in digital publications that understand their medium and audience.
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