CNN's new iPhone app is creating quite a stir by following an old publishing model - charge a small fee ($1.99) and include ads, the Huffington Post reported yesterday. The commotion surrounding the app, released September 29, is caused by violating the existing expectation that free apps can include ads, but paid apps should not.

Other media outlets have had less luck charging anything for news content. The Associated Press, for instance, reports trying to charge $2.99 for a BlackBerry application this year. The download rate was less than a tenth of what the app usually attracts, said Jane Seagrave, the AP's senior vice president for global product development. Since dropping the fee, the AP has seen its downloads soar, she said.

"There were too many others that were available on the market for free," Seagrave said. For now the AP is trying to generate revenue from the app by selling advertising on it. She would not disclose how much revenue the AP is getting from mobile phone apps, according to the AP.

The shining feature distinguishing CNN's app, though, is apparently the fact and nature of its interactivity. Consumers are invited to become producers by uploading content to a feature called iReport, taking citizen journalism to a whole new level according to Mashable, an online social media guide.