"the Daily." The 99 Cent Question.

News Corp rolled out "the Daily" yesterday. It' a digital daily newspaper, an app available (at least for now) for the iPad only.

News Corp Chairman Rupert Murdoch says, "Our aim is for the Daily to be the indispensable source for news, information and entertainment."

What it won't be, is free. It will cost you 99 cents a week or $39.99 per year. There is a two week free-trial.

As iPad early adapters at our house we're intrigued and lwe'll will check it out for the free trial. We stopped getting a real newspaper when the Rocky Mountain News (RIP) ceased publication. We get much of our news online with apps from USA TODAY, MSNBC, CNNfn and Bloomberg-- just to name a few. All are....free. Content is updated all the time with fresh news about everything we're interested in.

The challenge for any online news outlet is generating revenue. The very same people who thought nothing of paying for a print subscription, shudder at the thought of paying for the same thing online.

Rob Pegoraro writing in the Washington Post does a nice job (especially because the Post is a competitor) pointing out the strengths and weaknesses of the Daily.

I haven't tried it yet so I'll refrain from any comment other than coming back to the question is whether we at our house, or you at yours, will be willing to pay for it?

Ultimately, like everything else in the news business, it will be the value of the content that will either driver consumers to, or away from the Daily. Value, like perception, is an individual reality for each consumer. The "Reality Check" will come after the two-week free subscription.

Brian Olson
Conversation Starters Public Relations
"We start the conversation about you"

BEVO Blog: Mack Attack?

The folks down in Austin, TX are getting restless. The 'Horns are 3-2, and out of the AP Top 25 for the first time since 1998. Are there "For Sale" signs being planted in Mack Brown's front yard?

Winning is everything in Texas and according to USA Today, at least some think the Mack Brown is in a little hot water. What hooey.

OK, Texas isn't going to any major bowl this year. Next week they'll likely lose to Nebraska at Lincoln but I still think they'll finish off what is essentially a re-building season 9-3. Going into the 2010 campaign the Longhorns were way over-rated. Colt and J-Ship moved to Ohio leaving some big holes. The defense was supposed to be the best in the land. It isn't. Then there's those dumb "East-West Offense" passes aka the "Greg Davis Offense" which is offensive.

All this has a few not-so diehard fans longing for D-Coord Will Muschamp, already the designated heir to the throne, to take over at the end of the season. They worry Muschamp could head back to his alma mater Georgia if he doesn't get the top job.

Mack Brown is 131-29 in 13 seasons at Texas including a National Championship (I was there) and but for Colt getting knocked out this year's game, might have won a second.

131-29.

If you've ever lived in Texas, you understand the pressure to win at any level. Texas is also the biggest of the big dogs in college football. It was Texas that put the kabosh on what might have been the PAC 16. The program is a cash cow, and cash is king in college football.

Mack Brown will step-down when he's good and ready. If Will Muschamp has any sense, he'll wait patiently for that day to come. As for O-Coord Greg Davis, he can leave anytime he'd like. That could come as early as a week from Sunday.

Finally, I heard that a few OU fans made their way to the Texas-Exes game-watching party this past weekend and behaved like, well, OU fans. Too bad for them because payback is a bee-otch.

HOOK'EM!

Brian Olson

Conversation Starters LLC

"We start the conversation about you"