Tribune aims to offer the tablet for free, or at a highly subsidized price, to people who agree to sign up for extended subscriptions to one of its papers and possibly a wireless-data plan with a partner cellular carrier, said five people briefed on the project.

Good idea... it remains to be seen if they can pull it off. But this does seem like it's the future for the newspaper industry (or, at least, *a* future for the industry). There's also some promise in digital paper (or flexible LED screens, whichever you want to call them) that could be the substance used to deliver the news. And, as the story notes, if it's a colossal failure, at least it will be an interesting one.