F.Y.I.

News gathering subscription service inkl launches mobile site

inklInkl, which brings together content from across publishers, including those who charge for their content via paywall, and offers it all via a single subscription, has launched a mobile news site following the platform’s desktop launch earlier this year with seven titles including The Guardian and The Sydney Morning Herald.

It aims to provide a global subscription solution for news similar to what Netflix has done for TV and film or Spotify for music.

Gautam Mishra, CEO of Inkl and former director of strategy for Fairfax Media said: “Inkl makes high-quality journalism easy and affordable for readers to access.

“We’ve seen a growing number of readers needing news and information that extends beyond their local titles. They’re seeking out content from multiple publishers in an effort to ensure they have a global perspective. inkl simplifies this search process by curating content from a global selection of publishers.

“Readers can now access content from all these global sources via one subscription. So they have access to journalism they might otherwise be locked out of due to the different digital subscription models of various publishers.”

The platform offers users a standard monthly subscription offer of $15 a month or a “pay as you read option” of 10 cents per article.

Inkl was founded by Mishra earlier this year, with creative and strategic input from Marcus Brauchli (co-founder of North Base Media and former managing dditor of The Wall Street Journal and executive editor of The Washington Post).

Mishra said Inkl aims to help ensure quality journalism remains financially viable.

“As the trend towards mobile news consumption continues, publishers need innovative business partners who can help them find new ways to grow revenue. Inkl generates 50- or even 100-times as much revenue per page as most publishers earn from mobile ads, and still delivers a very cost-effective solution for readers,” he said.

Inkl can be accessed via mobile browsers at inkl.com, with iOS and Android apps being developed for launch later this year.

It launched with seven titles including the US, US and Australian editions of The Guardian, The Sydney Morning Herald, South China Morning Post, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post and Indian business publication livemint.

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