The Business of News and Devices with Rafat Ali
Some say an interview with ScribeMedia.org is the kiss of death.
In the past week Jeff Hayzlett, Chief Marketing Officer for Kodak, appeared with us and then announced he’s leaving the company. Then, we interview paidContent founder Rafat Ali days before he announces his departure from paidContent.org and ContentNext Media.
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Trust us, it’s a coincidence. Really, it is.
It’s just that a lot can happen in a week.
Rafat though comes through in a wide ranging interview that touches on a number of moving parts in the media ecosystem. This includes the Wall Street Journal’s existing subscription model and attempts by the paper to increase its reader base to a more general audience; the New York Times and its move toward their planned subscription model early next year; and a few pokes at news aggregators like the Huffington Post and Newser.
What we find interesting though are his thoughts on the iPad experience that come about halfway through the interview.
It’s not the savior of the magazine industry as some might hope, Rafat argues. “I think they will be disappointed at the end of the day.”
“I think it’s a little silly that adding interactive elements will make [a magazine] readable. If you don’t read it online, and don’t read it in print, you won’t read it on the iPad either.”
Instead, the device is better used for media consumption through applications like that created by Netflix.
At the end of the day, this may leave room for Amazon’s Kindle which Rafat calls “a more peaceful experience.”
Not that he expects the physical device to be the dedicated delivery system in the next few years. Instead, he expects the Kindle software to be everywhere, be it in a dedicated e-reader, mobile device or tablet.
Amazon is, after all, in the business of selling books, not in producing electronics.
Anyway, we wish Rafat well in his future endeavors and send him off with a kiss… of life.
About The Business of News and Devices with Rafat Ali
This article originally appeared on ScribeMedia.org.
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