I heart Apple. But ...

So, I am an Apple junkie. Plain and simple. I write this on a MacBook I bought three years ago and use every day. Our house has two Macs and four iPods. My wife and I, independent of each other, got each other engraved iPods as wedding gifts.  Sports Media Baby already has an iPod in her nursery. I think Apple software is generally greate and easy to use. I think iTunes is the best software of the 00s - simple, intuititive, easy to use. But ...

News that Apple is ready to announce subscription plans for newspapers leaves me uneasy.

On the face of it, it's great. Hey, Apple is helping out the "dying" newspaper business! It puts our product in the print form (pdfs, pages, etc.) on the iPad. We can make money off this internet thing. Hooray! Apple is cool and Apple likes us.

But ...

Read the whole story: "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."

30 percent cut of subscriptions.

40 percent of ad revenue.

30 percent cut of subscriptions?

40 percent of ad revenue?

Sorry, I don't see how this benefits newspapers. The problem is the online platform isn't profitable. Giving away at least a third (or more) of the money right of the bat to Apple is good for Apple. But how does this help newspapers? I don't see the benefit.