And you just know that this is going to turn out well

From CNN/Fortune Magazine:

Hearst to launch a wireless e-reader
The publisher plans to introduce a large-format device this year based on electronic-ink technology.

Against a backdrop of plummeting ad revenue for newspapers and magazines, and rising costs for paper and delivery, Hearst Corp., is getting set to launch an electronic reader that it hopes can do for periodicals what Amazon's Kindle is doing for books.

According to industry insiders, Hearst, which publishes magazines ranging from Cosmopolitan to Esquire and newspapers including the financially imperiled San Francisco Chronicle, has developed a wireless e-reader with a large-format screen suited to the reading and advertising requirements of newspapers and magazines. The device and underlying technology, which other publishers will be allowed to adapt, is likely to debut this year.

So-called e-readers like Kindle and the Sony Reader are hand-held gadgets that use electronic "ink" displayed on a crisp, low-power screen to deliver an experience that approximates reading on paper - without the cost of paper, printing and delivery, which can account for as much as 50% of the cost of putting out a periodical.

Talk about a stupid business decision. Their profits are tanking and they venture out into a field that is outside of their core competency. Let's see: "large-format screen suited to the reading and advertising requirements" I am willing to bet that they promised the advertisers full color and motion. That will mean a traditional LCD screen as opposed to the ePaper that the Kindle and the Sony Reader use. You are talking about a serious case of short battery life here and a much heavier and larger package. The Kindle can last a week between recharges if the wireless is turned off and the Sony product routinely gets 20+ hours of continuous use. It will be interesting to see -- after all, this is the company that invested so heavily in the CueCat Hat tip to BoingBoing Gadgets for the link.