From GalleyCat this morning:

Can Any Device Save Publishing?
By Jason Boog on Dec 09, 2009

Are too many publishers placing false hope in the idea that an e-reading device can salvage lagging sales? Today's guest on the Morning Media Menu was All Things Digital reporter Peter Kafka, a tech journalist with some interesting thoughts on the subject.

Kafka has reported on media and technology since 1997, and shared insights into the week's biggest tech headlines--stories that will shape media news for the next few years.

He focused on the hypothetical Hulu for magazines being developed by the world's most powerful publishers, taking a shot at the digital reading revolution. "I'm very wary of the idea that a lot of publishers have glommed onto now which is: there is this thing which people don't value if it's on the web, but if you move it to this Kindle-like device that doesn't exist yet, somehow people will pay for it," he explained.

"I watched the music industry go through this with mobile content a few years ago. At the time, people were stealing music, so they thought they could sell you a song for three dollars on your mobile phone. The idea was it's more valuable. You can have it on your phone, it's on the go. I think that's what the magazine and book guys are following, [the idea that] the device somehow increases the value of the content. I don't think that's the case," he concluded.