Boost for long-form journalism? Kindle to bring back the pamphlet

This has been an eventful week in the world of publishing and what new technology could mean for the future viability of publications.

Today Apple announced it will sell subscription "apps" with publishers getting 70 percent of the revenue and Apple getting a 30-percent slice for subscriptions sold through its iTunes online store. Publishers are eager to earn money for subscriptions that will be read on devices like the iPad -- but don't like to have to go through an intermediary, without direct contact with their customers.

On another front, Amazon announced today that it will be offering what essentially used to be pamphlets back in the very early days of journalism -- long-form narrative or explanatory pieces that are shorter than books, but longer than, say, a feature in The New Yorker.

Some are embracing this announcement as a good sign for the future of long-form journalism. A piece cited as an example sold 1,900 copies at 99 cents. Not a fortune, by any means, but something.

Does this pose intriguing possibilities for self-publishing?

Here's a piece from a tech blog:

Amazon's Kindle a boost for long-form journalism?