"A well-considered news interface. Lots of rich content that keeps the interest high." —juror Kim Rees
"A beautifully designed iPad app that has the potential to simplify the way we consume news on the Internet." —juror Keith Butters
Overview: Launched just over a year ago, this tablet-native national news brand publishes original content exclusively for the iPad. With the depth and quality of a magzine, delivered daily like a newspaper and updated in real-time as on the web, it's incisive, optimistic and independent. It's not just an app, but a new voice that presents the day's news and information in a way that's innovative, informative and inspired. Combining everything print, web and broadcast, The Daily mixes images, text, video, infographics and unique engagement in a package that provides information in a way that dazzles as users interact with it.
• From conception to launch, the app was created in approximately six months.
• The Daily puts out over 100 pages of original editorial and designs every day.
• In 2011 The Daily was the third highest grossing app in the iTunes store, after the games Angry Birds and The Smurfs, and subscribers spend more than 30 minutes on each visit and return to the app multiple times each day.
Comments by John Kilpatrick:
What was the most challenging aspect of the project? "The obstacles to establishing The Daily were big: Nothing like this had ever been done before, so we were creating everything from scratch. Like many startups we worked unending hours, building a robust daily news publishing platform and producing an incredible amount of content."
What's the process for creating content? "The Daily features every kind of media, from text on a page and interactive infographics to videos and photo slideshows. We've learned that there's enormous value in presenting content in, not just a variety of formats, the right format (sometimes a story is told best when the reader can interact with a graph while another story might be only text or video). A critical component of our storytelling is reflected in our workflow: Reporters, editors, designers and producers work together as content producers to figure out the best way to report a story. Each spoke of the wheel is involved from the beginning, enabling us to figure out the best way to report—as the story develops, each piece of the reporting can evolve with it."
