The news apps that leave you smarter; but worse at your job

The battle to ensnare digital eyeballs has ratcheted up again with the launch of two new products in the last six weeks: the FT’s Edit app and Bloomberg’s long-awaited UK site.

Business journalists in particular have benefited from this rush to invest in new forms of peddling financial news. 

Salaries have climbed higher as Bloomberg raided newspaper and broadcasting news rooms for writers.

But what about the readers? How well are they being served by these innovations from the often sleepy legacy media sector?

One flak confesses she’s suddenly reading a lot more of the pink un, now that it’s spoon fed (curated is the buzz word in media circles) each morning – and free for an introductory period. 

While my correspondent now feels smarter on the morning commute, there is the nagging feeling that time spent with some of the FT’s columnists and global writers means she is not keeping track of the bread and butter specialist writers in her sector. 

So professionally, she warns that this media product may make you feel better informed, but is probably making you worse at your job. 

I assume the FT’s editors and owners Nikkei think this is a brilliant new way to hook new readers and subscribers in. But cutting the price of your product to next to nothing is a dangerous game. 

It feels like the FT is doing the editorial equivalent of those 10 minute grocery companies that are funding lazy people with VC money…..at least until it runs out. How many of those new readers will give up FT lite for the full fat (and full price) version?