News Corp's Richard Murdoch has announced that the organisation is planning a digital newspaper for consumption on tablets and smartphones. The paper would offer brief, easily digested stories and would come under the umbrella of the New York Post.

Murdoch wants to target younger readers, and says the digital offering is "a real game changer in the presentation of news". The announcement comes quickly after another of Murdoch's titles, The Times, has begun to demand payment for online content - and in doing so lost a substantial number of readers.

The steady rise of the e-reader continues, with manufacturers and content providers pushing new devices and business models into the market.

At the end of last month Amazon announced the launch of its new Kindle device, and Kobo of Toronto, which sells its e-reader through US Borders stores, has recently announced that it will provide free e-readers and content to guests at 10 Fairmont hotels in Canada and the US. The devices will be loaded with work by Bret Easton Ellis, Sophie Kinsella and Alexander McCall Smith, among others.

Meanwhile, in June, Barnes and Noble in the US cut the price of its proprietary Nook device, making it the cheapest e-reader on the market.

However, Plastic Logic has cancelled the launch of its Que device – in response to the recent price cuts on other devices, commentators believe. The Que’s price point was higher than most other e-readers and even than the iPad, which has much more functionality.  

In a parallel move, e-reader vendors are also making reading apps available on smart-phones and tablet devices.

In response to these hardware developments eBooks are becoming evermore available. The UK has seen two new eBook store launches in the past week – Amazon’s Kindle store, offering more than 40,000 titles, and Mobcast’s new eBook store, available on T-Mobile and Orange.

President Obama has signed into law a statute designed to protect US writers against foreign libel laws. The Act is reported to be the first time since the Boston Tea Party that a judgement made in the UK will not be enforceable in the US.

Free speech campaigners in the UK believe the SPEECH Act highlights the UK’s onerous libel and defamation laws. The UK's coalition government intends to table a draft bill addressing the concerns of the campaign for free speech led by English PEN, Index on Censorship and Sense About Science. The draft bill is due to be tabled in January 2011.  

Free speech groups urge supporters to maintain pressure on the UK Government to reform the country's 'aberrant' defamation laws. 

Edinburgh looks set to see a new, permanent centre for publishing, literature and writers. According to council leaders the former North Canongate Infant School, situated just off the Royal Mile, which was set to be demolished to make way for a five-star hotel and conference centre, has now been saved.

The proposed new use for the site is a hub for publishers, literary organisations, writers & illustrators, and performing artists. A reading and rehearsal room is envisaged, as well as a cafe and bookshop.

The centre would be part of the city's growing literary quarter, which includes the Scottish Storytelling Centre, publisher Canongate, and the Scottish Poetry Library.