I have no idea whether media publishers will be able to make a go of new devices like the iPad. In some ways I think their structures are much more limiting than their distribution systems. I mean, if the NY Times stops printing paper and goes online and onto media devices, it won’t change their work methods much, which is where a lot of the cost — and a lot of the tone-deafness to public needs — is bound up.

Personally, I find this new era exciting. Someday I suspect the technology and how we create and gather media will calm down into some regular, maybe even boring, patterns. But for now, who knows what happens next?

I have my doubts that media publishers will make a ton of money off of these devices. I mean, how well is the NYT doing on the Kindle? Free is a difficult price to beat.