Steve Jobs to join Murdoch on stage to unveil iPad paper

Rupert Murdoch will unveil News Corp.'s much-anticipated iPad newspaper onstage this month with Apple chief executive Steve Jobs, The Cutline has learned.

The two media moguls will appear together at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, according to a source familiar with preparations for the event. The launch date is expected to be Jan. 19, but that may change.

Known as The Daily, Murdoch's iPad publication has been the talk of the media world over the past couple months, and the News Corp. chief has even dubbed it his "No. 1 most exciting project." The hush-hush project has been taking shape at the company's Manhattan headquarters, but it will also have staffers in Los Angeles.

Jesse Angelo left Murdoch's New York Post, where he was second in command, to run The Daily, and former Viacom digital distribution boss Greg Clayman came aboard to run the business side. Murdoch is reportedly willing to sink $30 million into the project.

The cash infusion has spurred The Daily into a high-profile hiring spree over the past couple of months. So far, Angelo and his team have brought in a number of top-notch journalists from media outlets such as the New Yorker, the Daily Beast, Forbes, AOL and Politico.

But while news of the editorial hires has steadily leaked out, The Daily's brass have remained tight-lipped about the launch.

A bit of information about the launch has trickled out, though. Forbes first reported earlier Monday on the Jan. 19 launch date, which is two days later than previously expected. And WWD kicked off speculation that Murdoch and Jobs might roll out the project together, but those plans were never confirmed.

A spokesman for The Daily had no comment at this time. Apple did not respond to a request for comment.