Hearst opts out by developing its own news platform for handheld devices

Posted by Lisette García on December 4, 2009 at 2:53 PM

Hearst Corp. apparently tired of waiting for the tech world to produce an electronic delivery software suitable for its many publications. So, it spent the last two years developing Skiff, a platform of its own which is set to start selling in mid-2010, The Wall Street Journal today reported.

"The platforms and devices that other people are building are not really appropriate for newspapers and magazines," Kenneth A. Bronfin, president of Hearst Interactive Media was quoted Thursday by Apple Insider as saying. "We are going to create an entity by publishers for publishers."

Unfortunately, the focus on publishers might be misplaced since it is still up for debate whether readers are willing to pay for news online, much less be locked in to a preset spate of publications available through one particular portal. Hearst has purportedly entered partnerships with other unnamed news sources to be delivered on the application as well. It was not immediately apparent whether the contemplated partnerships were limited to the United States, where Hearst is based, or spanned the globe.