• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, May 20, 2010

Magazine publishers are determined to avoid future digital missteps. Free Web distribution may have created an irreversible template; now, they seem determined not to offer e-readers material gratis.

On Wednesday, Meredith Corp. CEO Stephen Lacy spoke about growing the top line with Kindle and iPad. But he also addressed the potential cost savings from new devices.

Consumer uptake will be slow, he acknowledged, but he laid out a scenario in which adoption could save Meredith, which publishes Ladies' Home Journal and Family Circle, about $60 million a year.

Lacy told analysts the publisher spends about $150 million annually on paper, $80 million in printing costs and $80 million for mailing. If audience migration to an e-reader allows 20% of that $310 million to be trimmed, "that could really be meaningful to us from a financial point of view."

Lacy added that he is "confident" a postal-rate increase will come early next year as the Postal Service struggles, further upping the traditional expense calculations.

The $60 million would-be yearly savings will not materialize for five or more years, Lacy indicated. It is predicated on Meredith's female target being willing to pay for e-reader content.

But in addition to cost-trimming, Lacy indicated it is crucial for Meredith to lay the groundwork on the new screens as it looks to appeal to a next-generation of readers, who start to buy homes (Better Homes & Gardens) and have kids (Parents and American Baby).

"When you really think about the next big generation of female consumers coming along, Gen Y," he said, "having those brands be relevant and vibrant as she starts to have her children and starts family formation is really important. We might be able to do a better job of that in that sort of visual technology."

E-readers could offer a more interactive opportunity than the printed page, transforming the magazine experience. "It might be an enriched product -- it could have video embedded in it," Lacy said.

Still, he is unsure whether an "eight-inch screen" will offer a more "compelling" experience with the "lush, spread photography that we tend to create."

Partly referring to a consortium of publishers, including Meredith, looking to develop new models for digital distribution, he said: "The one thing media companies in particular have learned from the Web is to find a way not to give the content away for free."

For now, Lacy said, Meredith must to be "part of setting the rules of engagement."