Mediagazer: Will the iPad tablet really be the cure for newspapers' ills? (Peter Preston/Guardian)

2:05 PM ET, June 5, 2011

Top News:

The NYT rewards its paying users with subscriber-only content — Subscribers to The New York Times got a surprise in their inboxes this afternoon: a story-behind-the-story about the paper's coverage of the death of Osama bin Laden, penned by the weekend editor who'd been helming …

James Rainey / Los Angeles Times:

On the Media: The task ahead for the New York Times' Jill Abramson — The first female editor of the 160-year-old paper will be under the microscope as she navigates her public role. — The ascension of Jill Abramson to the editor's chair of the New York Times will make the history books.

Mallary Jean Tenore / Poynter:

Abramson tells Poynter: Completing digital transition ‘is probably the most important challenge that I face’ — When Jill Abramson becomes The New York Times' first female executive editor in September, she takes over a more diverse staff than the average U.S. newsroom.

Discussion: Future of Journalism, MIJE.org, Future Journalism Project and Vanity Fair

Peter Preston / Guardian:

Will the iPad tablet really be the cure for newspapers' ills? — Murdoch backed the Daily on iPad with $30m, but no one knows how this page-turner will end — Only a few months ago they seemed to offer salvation. As print newspapers and magazines faded, so tablets (led by the iPad) …

Sarah Brumfield / Associated Press:

US writer among journalists missing in Libya — BALTIMORE (AP) — As the uprisings of the “Arab Spring” began to unfold, writer Matthew VanDyke was at home in Baltimore, editing a book and film about his trips across the Middle East by motorcycle. An email from a friend in Libya convinced VanDyke …

Cory Bergman / Lost Remote:

MTV trying a Twitter TV first for Movie Awards — MTV has led the way with social TV integration during live events, and this Sunday's Movie Awards will be no different. In fact, MTV believes its Twitter trend use will be a first for TV. — “Twitter's allowing us to switch the promoted trend …

Discussion: MTV Movies Blog, gigaom.com and MTV Buzzworthy Blog

Mathew Ingram / GigaOM:

Is Twitter Like Speech or Like Writing? The Answer Is Yes — Is Twitter like a spoken conversation, the kind you would have with friends and/or strangers in a bar? Or is it more like a written discussion — like online forums or chat rooms used to be in the early days of the Internet?

Discussion: Future of Journalism

Elizabeth A. Harris / The Lede:

As Web Returns, Syrians Post More Video of Friday's Protests and Clashes — On Saturday, after Syria's government restored the Internet access it had cut off on Friday, in an attempt to disrupt the communications of protest organizers, Syrian activists were able to upload video of Friday's demonstrations and clashes to the Web.

Discussion: Future of Journalism, The Atlantic Wire, New York Times and ONI, more at Techmeme »

Los Angeles Times:

Film directors are embracing TV — Let the major movie studios have their superheroes and pirates. Cable TV has become more innovative, and top moviemakers such as Martin Scorsese, Michael Mann and Gus Van Sant are taking advantage. — Director Curtis Hanson, standing, with Paul Giamatti …

Mathew Ingram / gigaom.com:

What Media Companies Need to Learn From Startups — By now, there are plenty of examples of mainstream media companies pumping out newspaper and magazine iPad apps that look exactly like their printed product — the San Francisco Chronicle just joined the crowd — as well as putting up paywalls, and so on.

Discussion: Anil Dash, Thanks:mathewi

Wall Street Journal:

Hottest Olympic Event: Wrestling for TV Rights — The escalating fight over TV sports rights reaches its biggest battlefield next week, as NBCUniversal pushes to extend its track record of Olympic broadcasting wins, and ESPN and Fox aim to spoil it. — New York Times Names Abramson Top Editor

Discussion: Adweek, Forbes.com and Company Town

Amy Gahran / Knight Digital Media Center All-Site Feed:

The Lego approach to storytelling — The cutting room floor of journalism is a sad place: all those facts, interviews, asides, anecdotes, context, insights, and media gathered during reporting which, while relevant and interesting, just doesn't fit comfortably into the narrative flow or length/time limits of the finished story.

Discussion: (Re)Structuring Journalism, Nieman Journalism Lab and Poynter

Sam Schechner / Wall Street Journal:

Couric, ABC to Announce New Syndicated Show as Early as Monday — Katie Couric is finalizing a deal with Walt Disney Co.'s ABC to create her own syndicated talk show, and is likely to announce the program as early as Monday, according to people familiar with the negotiations.

Discussion: The Wrap, The Atlantic Wire, New York Magazine and Deadline.com

Joe Flint / Company Town:

No lack of candor from Steve Bornstein in new ESPN book — While the antics of Keith Olberman and Chris Berman and old stories of bad boy behavior are getting all the attention, there's a lot of good business dirt in the new book “Those Guys Have All The Fun” about the creation of the ESPN sports empire.