Mediagazer: Andrew Ross Sorkin: NYT's Mr. Controversy (Jon Friedman/MarketWatch)

How to Save the News — Plummeting newspaper circulation, disappearing classified ads, “unbundling” of content—the list of what's killing journalism is long. But high on that list, many would say, is Google, the biggest unbundler of them all. Now, having helped break the news business …

Discussion: BuzzMachine, Romenesko, Editors Weblog, Prof Chris Daly's Blog, Talking New Media, New York Magazine, MediaMemo and Kirk LaPointe's …

Discussion: Gawker

Megan Garber / Nieman Journalism Lab:

“Always collaborate”: Say hello to OpenFile, the local news site putting those new media maxims to the test — The thing about new media maxims is that, all too often, they remain just that — maxims. Smart ideas that guide our thinking, yes, but that don't get much tangible testing in the hectic, messy space where journalism lives.

Discussion: National Post, Romenesko, openfile.ca and eMedia Vitals

Canadian Press:

Group to acquire Canwest papers for $1.1 billion … TORONTO — Canwest Global Communications has approved the sale of its newspapers to a group led by National Post president and CEO Paul Godfrey in a $1.1-billion deal that preserves jobs and pays off the insolvent company's bankers.

Discussion: Globe and Mail and Guardian

Discussion: Toronto Star and Fitz & Jen

Jim Romenesko / Romenesko:

Lacey named New York Times Phoenix bureau chief — Just when you thought the red-hot news out of Arizona was getting pushed off Page One, we have a Grand Canyon State scoop of our own: The first New York Times Phoenix Bureau Chief will be.Marc Lacey. Read more in this note from Rick Berke.

Discussion: LA Observed

John Koblin / New York Observer:

Reuters, Politico Line Up for Newsweek — It has been only a week since Washington Post Co.'s chairman, Donald Graham, announced that Newsweek was on the block, but already a few big media players are taking an early look at the newsweekly. — Thomson Reuters and Politico owner Allbritton Communications …

Discussion: Gawker and The Wire

Stephanie Clifford / Media Decoder:

A Peek at Vanity Fair's iPad App — “Magazines are actually pretty brilliant concepts the way they are,” said Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter on Tuesday as he previewed his magazine's new iPad app. “At the same time, we have a few bells and whistles that a magazine cannot provide.”

Discussion: Mashable! and New York Observer

Alex Beam / Boston Globe:

Ye Olde Newsweek — When a being a journalist-on-the-rise was a glass half-filled job — My first job in journalism was at the now-foundering Newsweek magazine, which the Washington Post Co. has put up for sale. This was — gasp — more than 30 years ago, and my memories are grossly irrelevant …

Discussion: Romenesko

Shaila Dewan / New York Times:

CNN Contributor Erickson Draws Ire From All Sides — MACON, Ga. — In his seven weeks as one of CNN's newest contributors, Erick Erickson has made scarcely more than a dozen appearances on the network. — But his every utterance — every Twitter message, blog post and radio rant …

Discussion: Romenesko

Peter Kafka / MediaMemo:

Another Web Ad That Wants to Eat Your Screen (With Your Permission) — Another entrant from the giant-ad-that-takes-over-your-entire- screen competition: Firefly Video, which is launching an ad network today. — Firefly's ad unit is a mashup of lots of things we've seen in the past …

Discussion: MediaPost, NewTeeVee and TechCrunch

Tom Shales / Washington Post:

Tom Shales on PBS's ‘Need to Know’ — Suppose Charles Dickens were alive today and just sitting down at a keyboard to input the content of a new cybernovel. Here is how he might begin: “It was the worst of times, it was the worst of times.” — Not even Dickens at his most Christmassy …

Discussion: TVNewser, FishbowlDC, The Wire and New York Observer

Jennifer Valentino-DeVries / Digits:

Are Mobile Ads the Next Big Thing? Maybe Not — A lot of buzz among online advertising companies these days is focused on mobile ads delivered to smart phones. Google executives have even talked about becoming a “mobile first” company, and Apple and Google have both made recent moves into mobile advertising.

Discussion: MediaPost, paidContent, the Econsultancy blog, New York Times, Shaping the Future … and MediaPost

Meg James / Los Angeles Times:

NBC Universal exec's cable ties add to her pull — Bridget Baker, who has been negotiating to secure distribution deals for not only NBC but also CNBC, MSNBC, USA and Bravo, has moved to the forefront amid Comcast's proposed $30-billion takeover. — Bridget Baker's corner office …

Discussion: B&C and Company Town

Marc Brownstein / AdAge:

Overreliance on Social Media Will Damage Your Brand — It's Good for Maintaining Relationships, but How Will New Customers Find You? — Last year, a friend of mine who is the CEO of a successful retail apparel brand gleefully told me how he cut his $5 million advertising budget, in lieu of a 100% Facebook/social-media strategy.

Discussion: mUmBRELLA

Tony Ortega / Runnin' Scared:

MEMO TO FOSTER KAMER, RE: DICK JOKE — Hey, Kamer. — Ortega here. — I want you to do something for me. — I want you to stop apologizing for the damn dick joke. — I caught the mea culpa at your Tumblr, and frankly, I wish you'd knock that s**t off.

Discussion: Gawker, mediabistro.com and New York Magazine

David Kaplan / paidContent:

Disney Digital Narrows Losses As Revs Rise 20 Percent — The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) posted healthy gains this past quarter, and the company cited box office successes such as Alice In Wonderland and the acquisition of Marvel, which has the number one film at the box office with Iron Man 2, as the reasons for the growth.

Discussion: Media Decoder and rbr.com

Megan Garber / Nieman Journalism Lab:

Crowdsourcing goes global: The NYT's “Moment in Time” — Visit the New York Times' Lens blog today, and you'll find an image slightly different from the high-quality photographs that normally populate the outlet: a spinning globe, highly stylized, its surface popping with piles of pictures.

Discussion: Lens

Ryan Lawler / NewTeeVee:

Comcast to Revamp Its TV Everywhere Service — Comcast will soon streamline the authentication process for subscribers that want to log in and access premium, on-demand video content online, according to CEO Brian Roberts. In a conversation with former News Corp. chief Peter Chernin …

Discussion: paidContent, TVNewser, MediaPost, Company Town, Broadcasting & Cable and Media Decoder

Mark Fitzgerald / Editor & Publisher:

Burned by Bankruptcies, But Betting on Newspapers — CHICAGO — While JPMorgan Chase was negotiating with debtor newspapers where its investments went badly, such as bankrupt Tribune Co., it was also making a big bet on the business — tripling its holdings in the nation's largest newspaper publisher, Gannett Co.

Discussion: Gannett Blog, Romenesko, paidContent and Fitz & Jen

Doree Shafrir / New York Magazine:

Wisenheimers, Scary People, and Debate-Team Captains: A Taxonomy of Commenting Communities — Every online publication with a comments section develops its own culture of readers who gather every day to post funny one-liners, shout at each other, resume long-running debates …

Discussion: Tomorrow Museum

Don Babwin / Associated Press:

Playboy ‘readers’ get 3-D centerfold in June issue — CHICAGO - Playboy readers who can only imagine what it would look like if a centerfold jumped right off the page are getting new specs to help them see into Hef's world. — The magazine's June edition hits newsstands Friday equipped with 3-D glasses.

Discussion: FishbowlNY, Magtastic Blogsplosion, Speakeasy and The Awl

The Texas Tribune:

On the Records: Come and Take Our Data — Records in the Texas Tribune's data library are licensed under Creative Commons, which means you're free to download them, remix them and republish them — so long as you comply with our simple terms. — If you use our data to build an app or visualization …

Bill Mitchell / Newspay:

Spot.Us Experiments with User-Directed Sponsorship Revenue — In some ways, it seems like a no-brainer: Encourage consumer engagement with advertising by giving users a stake in deciding how the revenue gets spent. — As far as I can tell, though, Spot.Us is breaking some new ground with the …

Discussion: Spot Us

CNN:

Brown's quit offer sparks newspaper frenzy — London, England (CNN) — British premier Gordon Brown's offer to step down as part of a deal to entice the Liberal Democrats into a coalition government with Labour rather than David Cameron's Conservatives provoked a mixed reaction in the UK press Tuesday.