Ehhhh...Rant incoming, you have been warned:

"Referral Traffic Is Lost With Apps" - Since when? Have an interstitial or header saying "get our iPad app for the best experience!" People can send people to your site on a tablet, no one says they can't. An app is just a better UX for consuming the content on your site.

"Readers Are Already Going To The Site" - So? They don't have to download the app. Just make it a better experience. If they want to use your web site, they will. If they want to use an app, give them that option.

"HTML5 Is Capable To Deliver App Like Experiences" - Not so much. If you're making an HTML5 site to try and deliver an app like experience, you should be making an app. Trying to frankenstein a web site into an app is daft, don't do it. Conversely, if you're trying to make an app that just accesses your web site with nothing unique of value, don't bother.

"Fixing The “Stuff To Do” Problem" - If people have a stuff to do problem on your site, something is wrong. The web is a completely different ecosystem than apps, so don't bother trying to intrude one into the other. If I sit down on my couch and want to read your paper and the experience is better on a tablet app, I'm going to use it (are you sensing a trend here?). There is a reason Instapaper is so cool and highly used - it has provided a better experience than the web for so many people.

"Homescreen Fatigue" - Homescreen fatigue is a problem if you aren't delivering something compelling. App purgatory happens if your app sucks.

"Consistent Cross Device Experience" - Total cop out. You can make a consistent experience with apps and sites. Again, make a compelling UX and use what you can't reasonably do in HTML with your app.

"The Web Was Meant For URLs" - Yes, it was. Apps are meant for consuming media and interacting. Provide a better way to consume that information!

"App Stores Don’t Provide Real Distribution" - Yes they do. They are a holy grail for discovery and growth, but only if you are providing real value to the user. I completely disagree that you could not distribute a publication entirely through the app store - you could if you made it awesome. However, I don't think you should (at least not yet).

"Follow the Money" - You can push an update whenever you want. You can charge however much you want. You can collect data from users if you want (just not out of subscription process). Give them a reason that is compelling first, or just use Facebook connect. Apple handed you the world's largest consumer credit card database on a silver platter and asked for a fair price. They handle so much of the equation (the hardware, servers, distribution, fulfillment, support and more) that they more than earn that 30%. If people want to get a subscription through your web site, they can. What you have with the app store is the smoothest, highest converting, most pleasant experience possible for turning people from browsers into customers. Use it.

However, I do agree that apps that are just an extension of a web site don't make sense. If you're simply rehashing your web site into a tablet, don't bother. Instead, make it a unique and compelling alternative to the web. There are tons of things you can do on a tablet that we have barely even scratched the surface of. Experiment! Innovate! Do something crazy and get attention when people go "omfg what IS that thing? COOL!"

Wow, that was a rant. ~('-' ~)