Springer, active in 35 states with over 170 paper and mags titles, told the launch of iPhone applications with regular subscription costs for its 2 largest countrywide German papers, Bild and Die Sore . With the iPhone apps, users can read the print issues of Bild and a compact version of Die Sore in PDF format the evening before they hit news-stands, the company claimed in a press release. Convinced ten years ago that internet sites supported by advertising were the future, publishers raced to make content openly available on the internet in the expectation of a new cash windfall that never materialised.

Paper owners have begun to fight back, with Stories Co boss Rupert Murdoch planning to make online users pay for more of what they read online and threatening Google to dam it from indexing his titles. Murdoch claimed in Washington last week that papers have to do a better job of convincing clients that prime quality reliable stories and info doesn't come free. Good journalism is a costly commodity, he announced.