Mediagazer: New York Times turns readers into beta testers with Test Drive (Justin Ellis/Nieman Journalism Lab)

10:35 AM ET, June 3, 2012

Top News:

Richard Mullins / Tampa Bay Online:

Tampa Bay Times' parent, Poynter, facing financial squeeze — Newspaper no longer a ‘viable’ source for support, media institute says — TAMPA — The renowned Poynter Institute for Media Studies in St. Petersburg is turning to new funding options as officials acknowledge their traditional source …

Discussion: Poynter, Examiner, @romenesko and JIMROMENESKO.COM

Jonathan Berr / InvestorPlace:

Bloomberg Can't Save New York Times Co. — Why the mayor's media company isn't the Gray Lady's answer — New York magazine's recent profile of New York Times Co. (NYSE:NYT) Chairman Arthur Sulzberger does a great job portraying the family drama and economic pressures that led to the ouster of his one-time friend CEO Janet Robinson.

Ken Doctor / Nieman Journalism Lab:

The newsonomics of majority reader revenue — Who would you rather support journalism, advertisers or readers? — It's a new question, one that made less sense to pose just three years ago. Now, though, with major shifts in the news market, it's one to think about.

Discussion: JIMROMENESKO.COM

Justin Ellis / Nieman Journalism Lab:

New York Times turns readers into beta testers with Test Drive — Congratulations, New York Times readers: You can now think of yourself as beta testers. — The Times has released a new browser tool that will let readers test experimental features on NYTimes.com in real time.

Discussion: Journalism.co.uk and beta620

Rosa Ramirez / MediaShift:

Tobacco Underground: A Lesson in Collaborating Across Borders — As the most high-profile international collaboration, WikiLeaks offers some interesting lessons about working with news organizations abroad. But it can be difficult to untangle those lessons from the drama that surrounded the story.

Emma Bazilian / Adweek:

Condé Nast Finds Magazine Readership Growing Among Millennials — It's a fairly common assumption that millennials don't read print media because they're all too busy browsing blogs, clicking on Facebook links and watching YouTube videos to crack open a physical magazine.

Julie Bosman / Media Decoder:

The Return of Oprah's Book Club — Oprah Winfrey, the publishing industry's unrivaled tastemaker, will revive her popular book club next week after a two-year hiatus, promising the book business some of the sales and publicity it thought had vanished along with her weekday talk show.

Discussion: The Rumpus.net, Engadget, TVbytheNumbers, paidContent, GalleyCat, Mashable! and The Huffington Post

Robert Andrews / paidContent:

FT's Grimshaw: Digital subs will soon beat print circulation — FT.com managing director Rob Grimshaw talked to me about the end of print, HTML5, Windows 8 and social sharing in this short video on the fringes of last week's paidContent 2012 conference: — Watch this video for free on paidContent

Jim Romenesko:

More NYT journalists ask for a fair contract — Here's the New York Newspaper Guild's fourth video featuring Times journalists appealing for a fair contract. In this one, Dan Wakin, Ralph Blumenthal, Clyde Haberman and John Schwartz “describe their devotion to The Times …

Los Angeles Times:

Kathleen Kennedy to succeed George Lucas atop Lucasfilm — Kathleen Kennedy has been named co-chair of Lucasfilm. — Kathleen Kennedy has been named co-chair of Lucasfilm, positioning her to take over the legendary San Francisco studio, home of the “Star Wars” movies, as its founder George Lucas prepares to retire.

Discussion: Variety, Associated Press and Media Decoder

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

GOOD magazine lays off most of its editorial staffers — Thursday night Good Magazine had a launch party for its newest issue. On Friday it laid off most of its editorial staff, according to multiple sources. At least some of the layoffs occurred at the magazine's Los Angeles headquarters.

Discussion: LA Observed, FishbowlLA, @thegarance, @bydanielvictor, @joepompeo and The Informer

Julie Bosman / Media Decoder:

Rielle Hunter to Publish a Memoir This Month — Only one day after former Senator John Edwards escaped conviction in federal court on six corruption charges, Rielle Hunter announced some news of her own: she has written a memoir. — BenBella Books, a boutique publisher …