Murdoch's iPad newspaper The Daily lays off one-third of its staff
Rupert Murdoch's tablet-only newspaper The Daily, launched in February last year, is to lay off almost one-third of its 170 full-time staff members.
Murdoch: 50 jobs to go at the Daily
The news, first reported by All Things Digital, comes as News Corporation prepares to divide its operations into an entertainment company and a publishing company . The Daily is to be part of the publishing company.
In a statement, News Corp reinforced its commitment to The Daily and said the restructuring would “enable the business to operate more efficiently and with even greater focus on the types of content that that consumers have gravitated towards since its launch.”
Late yesterday, The Daily informed its staff that 50 full-time employees would be “released.”
The cutbacks will mostly affect the publication’s sports and opinion sections, which have fewest readers. The Daily will no longer have a stand-alone opinion section and will get its sports coverage from partners like Fox News, according to a memo sent to the staff.
“These are important changes that will allow The Daily to be more nimble editorially and to focus on the elements that our readers have told us through their consumption that they like and want,” Jesse Angelo, The Daily’s editor-in-chief, said in a statement.
Angelo added: “Unfortunately, these changes have forced us to make difficult decisions and to say goodbye to some colleagues who have worked hard to make The Daily successful.”
Last week Angelo hit out at media reports predicting the demise of The Daily.
Rupert Murdoch introduced the Daily last year as “the model for how stories are told and consumed” and praised the iPad as a means to make “the business of news gathering and editing viable again.”
Last year, The Daily ranked third among the highest-grossing paid apps, behind Angry Birds and Smurfs’ Village, according to Apple. There are about 100,000 paying subscribers.
“We have consistently remained one of the top-ranked paid news apps since our launch,” Greg Clayman, the publisher, said in a statement. “Like all good digital products, however, we must change and evolve and remain fresh, competitive and sustainable.”