Hearst pumps out 70 iPhone apps

"Unlike the web, we've always trained people that everything on the mobile device costs money."

Steve Jobs thinks he can save media, and Hearst hopes he’s right. The publisher is pumping out iPhone apps—70 so far—that aggregate news around topics and celebrities with the aim of finding a revenue stream as print sales and advertising income dwindles.

The apps, developed by Hearst’s LMK division ("Let Me Know") generally cost $1.99, with a few going for $0.99.  All of them bear the same cookie-cutter LMK thumbnail image,and bring together blog posts, pictures, news stories and other content focused on a single topic such as Tiger Woods, Boston Red Sox, Metallica, Barbie--even Cupcakes.

Headed up by executive vice president of Hearst Entertainment George Kliavkoff, LMK's five-person team hopes to tap into a medium that is proving one of the few points of light in the ailing big media industry. Kliavkoff told the Wall Street Journal that “Unlike the Web, we've always trained people that everything on the mobile device costs money."

Given the one-time charge (versus the usual recurring subscription the magazine industry is used to), it’s unclear how much this project will help Hearst’s bottom line. The company plans to introduce advertising once enough people have signed up.

I can see a crazed 13-year-old Ashton Kutcher fan finding a good aggregator worth the money, if it means she can be the first in the know. Then again, most sane parents don’t give their kids iPhones. Plus, there are plenty of free alternatives for this kind of service—Google Search, Twitter Search, etc. Having a company like Hearst pick the cream of the crop and send an alert when something new comes in could be handy for a few folks. But the savior of big media, this model ain't.