A new memo from Steven Swartz, the president of Hearst Newspapers, outlines some significant changes in store for the chain. For one, it's going to start charging for some Web content --- although it seems local management will determine where to draw the line between free and premium material.

There is a belief that this firewall will effectively drive up ad rates. Lower traffic will mean fewer available spots for advertising, which in turn will create some scarcity, which should yield more demand and better fees.

Hearst plans to increase its Web staffing, offer self-serve advertising for small businesses, provide access to third-party printing and ad platforms, and develop electronic readers for its content.

Swartz's memo to staff comes in the middle of the chain's 100-day initiative to rework its operations.  Earlier this week, Cablevision announced that its subsidiary Newsday would be discontinuing its free service online and shifting its content into a local news site under its cable operation for subscribers.

Andrew Keen's latest column for The Independent suggests the Plastic Logic e-reader is the most viable and desirable technology on the horizon.

While it's a smaller firm, less able to leverage the market that Amazon can with its Kindle, Keen sees the bendable, larger device as more consumer-friendly.

Whatever the case, the print industry awaits the arrival en masse of the devices.

There were two major developments Monday in the drive toward electronic reading devices.

The main attention was on the second iteration of the Amazon Kindle, which is slimmer, lighter and with a longer-lasting battery. A new Stephen King novel will be available exclusively on it.

But also of note were the content deals announced by Plastic Logic for its planned e-reader. Newspapers were being lined up to participate in its market debut early in 2010.

E-readers are considered opportunities for print media to eschew costly production and distribution. In using electronic ink, they more closely resemble the experience of paper and offer many of the technical features of the online experience.

Researchers at University of Toronto have increased the speed of colour change ten-fold with new technology that has its applications in electronic paper. The development, reported in Technology Review from MIT, has potential consequences for the development of colour electronic readers and billboards.

The publishing industry has been looking for colour applications of technology to create more sophisticated e-readers, on the assumption such technology will help build an audience for content as it departs print.

While such devices as Amazon's Kindle and others have gained initial buzz, their limitations as black and white e-ink readers means rampant growth will be difficult.

An intriguing presentation from BBC on the development of the electronic paper, in particular the work being conducted in Germany by Plastic Logic.

The next generation of e-paper from Liquavista and Plastic Logic will supposedly be in full colour with audio and video. A Cambridge University project with 12 million pounds in backing is in the works with a three-year timeline. That would be a measurable step forward from the existing black-and-white versions without audio or video.

The field is crowding for e-ink readers. The release Monday of the iRex Digital Reader 1000 is seen as particularly important for newspapers because its 10-inch screen has enough surface space to emulate the laydown of the print product. The price point will be about $849 for the best model and $649 for the lower-end reader. The $749 model appears to be the ideal catch.

For those among us hoping that e-ink can rescue the ink-on-paper business, Plastic Logic's new e-reader looks like a technical advance. No price was announced today, but the features are attractive: letter-sized screen, flexible and resilient (can be struck with a shoe), able to download office documents with no conversion.
Amazon has staked good ground with the Kindle, but Plastic Logic is immediately very interesting.

A very bullish piece from Newsweek and a fairly positive view from the New York Times on the impending development of electronic ink and its power to rescue the ailing ink-on-paper version of the paper.
Newsweek notes the arrival in the next 18 months of proprietary devices. The new Plastic Logic device will be in demo this week with a flexible screen, and several firms are looking at picture-sized devices arriving in due course. Much needed: Full-colour and large-screen versions.
The big question: Will people pay for something largely free, in exchange for a format and a more readable technology than the backlit screen?

A design blog from Mayo Nissen suggests how The Guardian could pursue the concept of the e-paper, offering as little or as much as readers wanted on the basis of a scrollable device. Other organizations have indicated they're at work on such technology to supplement the ink-on-paper publications.