I don't think anyone would argue that reading a book is a different experience from reading a magazine or a newspaper. Apparently, the folks at media giant Hearst Corporation (16 daily and 49 weekly newspapers) agree, as Fortune reports that they're working on developing a new periodical-friendly wireless eReader. According to the Fortune article, the Hearst business model involves selling the new eReaders to publishers, and then getting a cut of the revenue from magazine and newspaper e-sales.

Hearst refuses to give details, but if it's intended for magazines and newspapers, then their eReader is almost certainly closer to what Plastic Logic is working on than the Kindle. In fact, some folks wonder if it is Plastic Logic? PL's videos say they are aiming at business travelers and they made the screen 8"x11-1/2" so that it could accommodate magazine pages.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see.