I’ve criticized press coverage of Apple quite a bit. 
 
 But I have to acknowledge something: The company’s NSA-like secrecy makes it a bear to cover, and readers really want to read about Apple (me, too!). Those factors don’t excuse weak coverage, but they complicate providing good coverage. 
 
 Today, as an example, we have this San Jose Mercury News story reporting that Apple is about to launch a digital newspaper-subscription service. 
 
 First, the sourcing is thin and unclear. There’s nothing but the old passive-voice attribution in the lede: 
 
 Apple is expected to announce soon a new subscription plan for newspapers, which hope tablets like the iPad will eventually provide a new source of profits as media companies struggle with declining print circulation and advertising revenue. 
 
 And the second paragraph makes us doubt the accuracy of the first, relying as it does on speculation (at least as far as we know) from an outsider. 
 
 Apple did not respond to a request for comment. But Roger Fidler, head of digital publishing at the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute in Columbia, Mo., said Apple probably will take a 30 percent cut of all subscriptions sold through the company’s online App Store, and as much as 40 percent of the advertising revenue from publications’ apps. 
 
 Finally, in the third graph we get some sourcing for the actual news: 
 
 The Cupertino company has agreed to provide an opt-in function for subscribers to allow Apple to share with publishers their information, which includes vital data that news organizations use to attract advertisers, industry sources say. 
 
 Anonymous sourcing is fine here. It’s either that or nothing. But it’s the only time any of the news angle is sourced in the whole story, and the only piece of news that looks solid. Look at the weasel words in the first two graphs—all at critical places: “is expected to… soon… probably… as much as…” 
 
 Again, it’s extremely tough to cover this company, but this isn’t good enough. Look at some of the headlines of the blog rewrites on Google News: 
 
 — Rumor: Apple will announce newspaper subscription plan 
 
 — Rumor: Apple to announce newspaper subscription service 
 
 — Rumor Alert! Apple Reaches Newspaper Subscription Deal 
 
 Those are three of the 165 news results so far. The market is so starved for any nugget of news or “news” about Apple that when a scrap appears, it gets rewritten and repackaged almost immediately by hundreds of online outlets. Pageviews soar. 
 
 So let’s be honest here, that—rather than the difficulty of reporting around Steve Jobs & Co.—is what causes news organizations to forego their standards when it comes to Apple (although in this case it doesn’t hurt that everybody assumes that Apple is going to do some deal with newspapers anyway). 
 
 Otherwise they’d rather be scooped than have their work labeled “rumor,” accurately, by a bunch of bloggers who know it when they see it. 
 
 And if you want my guess (pure speculation—labeled as such!) I’d say newspapers won’t give Steve Jobs 30 percent cut. Far be it from me to overestimate the business prowess and intelligence of newspaper executives, but surely they’re not so dumb as to give him nearly a third of a recurring revenue stream. 
 
 — Further Reading: 
 
 The Press in the Reality Distortion Field: Gossip, rumor, rank speculation—all on the table if it’s an Apple product 
 
 Steve Jobs, Holy Moses. Did you hear the one about the most-anticipated tablet since the Ten Commandments? Yes. Over and over and over… 
 
 The Dead Go On the Record in The Wall Street Journal: The paper held Apple director’s newsmaking comments until after his death. 
 
 Advertising for Apple: We’re not even talking about the crush of breathless stories and live blogs that accompany its pronouncements. 
 
 Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today 
 
 Ryan Chittum is a former Wall Street Journal reporter, and deputy editor of The Audit, CJR's business section. If you see notable business journalism, give him a heads-up at rc2538@columbia.edu. Follow him on Twitter at @ryanchittum. ||||| Apple is expected to announce soon a new subscription plan for newspapers, which hope tablets like the iPad will eventually provide a new source of profit as media companies struggle with declining print circulation and advertising revenue. 
 
 Apple did not respond to a request for comment. But Roger Fidler, head of digital publishing at the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute in Columbia, Mo., said Apple probably will take a 30 percent cut of all subscriptions sold through the company's online App Store, and as much as 40 percent of the advertising revenue from publications' apps. 
 
 The Cupertino company has agreed to provide an opt-in function for subscribers to allow Apple to share with publishers their information, which includes vital data that news organizations use to attract advertisers, industry sources say. 
 
 Publishers "want the data of their customers so they can integrate it into their circulation database so they know who their customers are," said Fidler, who works with many newspapers. 
 
 While a handful of national papers already offer app subscriptions to iPad users, major metropolitan papers across the country are getting ready to roll out their own publication apps and have been in discussions with Apple. Industry leaders hope tablet devices and subscription-based digital editions can help newspapers stem, if not reverse, losses incurred after they began offering content online for free years ago. 
 
 "Newspapers are seriously trying to re-create the traditional print model in digital editions for tablets and e-readers," Fidler said. 
 
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 Publishers wanted to pay Apple a fee rather than a cut of subscription and advertising revenue and are not happy with Apple's terms, he said. They had hoped to offer app editions as part of subscription bundles that include print versions of the paper. Instead, they must use Apple as an intermediary with subscribers. 
 
 While the leap into the digital tablet market comes with short-term problems for newspapers, the iPad and future tablets will provide a new digital palette for publications to create sophisticated and lucrative ads, said Needham & Co. analyst Charles Wolf. 
 
 "I would say it's a risk, but I would argue it's a short-term risk," Wolf said. "If you can put animation and multimedia into ads, that will greatly enhance reader views. I am certain of that." 
 
 That could benefit Apple, as well. 
 
 "Obviously, Steve Jobs sees this as a significant revenue stream for Apple in the future," Fidler said. 
 
 Apple is expected to dominate the consumer tablet market for at least a couple of years. However, analysts expect high-quality tablets based on Google's Android operating system to eventually challenge Apple's lead. This will give publications more leverage in future negotiations, Fidler added, though Google does not yet offer subscriptions through the Android Market. 
 
 While newspapers are anxious to get subscriber-based content onto tablets, there is some concern readers could drop print editions for app versions too quickly. 
 
 "Most publishers don't want to see a rapid migration to apps without a comparable growth in advertisement revenue from tablet editions," Fidler said. "That would be disastrous." 
 
 Contact John Boudreau at 408-278-3496.
– Apple is working out a deal with newspaper publishers for a digital subscription service on its various i-gadgets, industry sources tell the San Jose Mercury News. Apple, as usual, isn't saying anything, but the Mercury News talks to one industry observer who predicts that Steve Jobs would take a 30% cut from subscriptions, plus 40% from any ads generated by the newspaper apps. And remember this is all speculation, warns the Columbia Journalism Review. Because of Apple's obsession with security, we have to rely on thinly sourced stories like this one to get our fix of company news. "And if you want my guess (pure speculation—labeled as such!) I’d say newspapers won’t give Steve Jobs 30% cut," writes Ryan Chittum. "Far be it from me to overestimate the business prowess and intelligence of newspaper executives, but surely they’re not so dumb as to give him nearly a third of a recurring revenue stream." (For more iPad doings, click here.)