Newspapers largely shun Apple’s news subscription service

Associated Press

NEW YORK

Many newspaper publishers – after suffering for a decade from job losses, shrinking ad dollars and circulation declines – are so far shunning Apple’s new “Netflix for news” subscription.

For $10 a month, Apple News Plus offers articles from more than 300 magazines, but only three newspapers.

Despite a potential audience of millions of iPhone users, newspaper publishers may be wise to be skeptical.

“Is this the thing that’s going to save media? The answer is ‘no.’ It’s not one thing,” said Jim Brady, who built a local-news business, Spirited Media, and consults with media companies.

Media companies have struggled to adapt to readers’ shift online and the surge of free articles the web made possible. Even prominent digital-media outlets have had layoffs or been sold off.

More people are getting news through technology platforms such as Facebook. Still, publishers want readers to care about news brands and pay for news and events. For that, they need more control over how they interact with readers. Many publishers want to build their own sites and customer base rather than be at the whim of giant technology companies.

The three newspapers participating in Apple News Plus are the Los Angeles Times, Toronto Star and The Wall Street Journal.