Crain’s Chicago to launch iPad app

A story on its website states, “The new app will be downloadable for free; Crain’s also will sell a $59-a-year subscription to access content on an iPad, smartphone and computer, said Mr. Snyder, who leads the weekly business publication, one of the two dozen titles produced by Detroit-based Crain’s Communications Inc.”‘We no longer view ourselves as a print business that has a nice website attached to it, but a digital media business that’s fortunate to have a strong print publication associated with it,’ Mr. Snyder during a speech to the City Club of Chicago.

“He noted that the need to focus on the publication’s digital strategy comes at a ‘very challenging time in publishing.’ Print advertising and subscription revenue has been dropping over the past decade across the industry as both advertisers and readers shift to a broader range of online publications, blogs and other sites.

“Mr. Snyder, who became publisher in 2010 after rising through the publication’s ranks, also noted that Crain’s Chicago Business in June launched an metered pay system online, which prompts readers to register or subscribe after they view a certain number of articles a month.”

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