• Wall Street Journal et al., Friday, March 12, 2010 1:45 PM

Sold on the potential power of mobile apps, Hearst Corp. is getting into the business of developing such software in a big way. Hoping to eventually offer thousands of apps -- which will deliver all matter of niche content -- the "traditional" publisher already sells about 70 applications on Apple's iTunes for 99 cents and up.

According to Hearst executives, the mobile sphere offers a do-over for media companies, which were complicit in conditioning consumers to expect everything on the "traditional" Web to be free. "Unlike the Web, we've always trained people that everything on the mobile device costs money>," George Kliavkoff, the Hearst executive overseeing the application unit -- known as LMK, or "let me know" -- tells The Wall Street Journal.

Indeed, "In immediately charging for the apps, Hearst also believes it can avoid what major online publishers now perceive as an early mistake; that is, relying primarily on ad-support instead of transferring the newsstand price structure to the internet," writes paidContent. "In terms of creating so many apps for a single topic, Hearst believes that with a haystack as large and growing as the App Store, you're going to need a lot of needles if you want consumers to find your product."

"The move, according to The Journal, "is the latest sign of the media industry seeking fresh business ideas for devices such as mobile phones -- as well as an effort to prepare for Apple's iPad tablet computer, which media companies hope will allow them to reawaken their digital ambitions and profits."

"Last fall, the division launched their first aggregation sites at LMK.com," writes Business Insider. "The apps are another move from a major publisher struggling to find new revenue streams -- albeit a relatively tiny, cheap, and cheap-looking one."

While the iTunes Store has sold over $2.7 billion worth of apps -- according to data from mobile measurement firm Flurry cited by The Journal -- it remains unclear how much money Hearst can generate from its apps business.

Along with one-time download charges, Hearst does plan to slowly introduce advertising into the model once it begins to scale.

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