Mr. Jobs made the comments at the D8 Conference, where he said, “I think we need editorial oversight now more than ever. Anything we can do to help newspapers find new ways of expression that will help them get paid, I am all for.”
He believes that (contrary to popular belief) people are willing to pay for content, but that media interests need to get more aggressive when it comes to pricing their offerings in the digital world.
“The market right now is set up to be far more responsive to consumer demand for what prices need to be than it was six months ago,” Mr. Jobs said. “Prices may go up in near future, but if consumers want the prices to be less, they will be far more responsive to those signals then they were six months ago.”
Late in 2009, leaks concerning the iPad began coming from the publishing industry, where Mr. Jobs had been the soon-to-be-announced iPad as a great news and magazine reader that could turn the tide in the eroding fortunes of publishers. Since the device’s release, many of those publishers have released or announced dedicated iPad apps.
Pricing, however, has been all over the map, with publishers like Rupert Murdock of News Corp suggesting that premier properties like The Wall Street Journal could and should command a hefty premium. On the other end, The Washington Post offers an iPad app for $1.99.