Facebook could launch a brand new app called "Paper" next week according to Re/code's Mike Isaac.
The feature would aggregate news stories from major media outlets and look similar to the popular app Flipboard. That particular app curates news stories for you in a digital magazine tailored to your interests.
Paper would be intended for mobile devices. The exec in charge of the program is Facebook's Product VP Chris Cox.
Cox has a strong desire to create a Facebook experience that people "enjoy waking up to and scanning each morning." Re/code says.
Dubbed Project Reader, Re/code explains that the project spun off from an attempt to redefine the news feed:
Like many Facebook initiatives, the Reader project originally began years ago as an idea to completely overhaul the News Feed itself, but after numerous delays and design refreshes, the project was split into pieces. Parts of the redesign made it into Facebook’s March refresh of the News Feed, according to three sources, when the team had not finished what would eventually turn into “Paper.” While this initiative has been Cox’s pet project, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has also been directly involved (as he has final oversight over Facebook products), according to sources.
The News Feed got tweaked as well, recently. It now surfaces more news and fewer cute cat pics for most readers. That has led to a huge influx of traffic to various news sites — proving Facebook is a powerful force in news distribution.