Mediagazer: Macmillan's Tor/Forge will launch DRM-free digital bookstore this summer (Laura Hazard Owen/paidContent)

4:20 PM ET, June 4, 2012

Top News:

Christine Haughney / New York Times:

As Newspapers Cut, Analysts Ask if Readers Will Remain — The news waits for no one. But newspapers might start asking readers to — at least for print copies. — Almost two weeks ago, The Times-Picayune in New Orleans, which is owned by Advance Publications, announced it would cut …

Discussion: Media Decoder, Capital New York, Free Press, eMedia Vitals, Poynter, Big News Network.com and bizjournals

Jaquetta White / New Orleans Times-Picayune:

Times-Picayune Citizens' Group aims to stop publication changes at newspaper — About 50 business and civic leaders and organizations have joined together to express frustration at a recently announced plan to reduce print publication of The Times-Picayune.

Discussion: JIMROMENESKO.COM, Blog of New Orleans, @mathewi, Gambit New Orleans News … and theind.com

Gabriel Sherman / New York Magazine:

The Mayor of All Media — As Michael Bloomberg prepares for his post-mayoralty, his media company is also evolving. For decades, Bloomberg LP saw profits soar by selling just-the-facts journalism and financial information to Wall Street traders. That vision, while still wildly profitable …

Discussion: FishbowlNY, TVNewser, The Atlantic Wire, New York Magazine, paidContent, Los Angeles Times and Inside Cable News

Dylan Byers / Politico:

Will Bloomberg buy the New York Times? — New York Magazine's Gabriel Sherman has taken a long, well-reported look at what's next for Michael Bloomberg following his tenure as mayor of New York. — Central to whatever lies ahead is the expansion of his media empire, Bloomberg News …

Discussion: Poynter, Capital New York, FishbowlNY and City Room

Amy Chozick / New York Times:

Sales of Murdoch's New British Sunday Paper Slip — LONDON — Rupert Murdoch has endured a litany of blows in the unending phone-hacking scandal at his British tabloids. But one setback isn't happening in Parliament, but on Britain's newsstands. The Sun, a brash daily tabloid …

Discussion: Media Decoder and The Huffington Post

Jim Romenesko:

Fired U-T San Diego sports columnist: I wasn't told my job was in danger — U-T San Diego sports columnist Tim Sullivan was fired on Friday after working at the paper for a decade. “I was advised that my services were no longer required,” Sullivan tweeted. “Simple as that.”

Erik Wemple:

Roger Ailes wife's newspaper in state of denial — Elizabeth Ailes has a message for journalist Gabriel Sherman. He's welcome to schlep to a local newsstand to buy a copy of her Putnam County News and Recorder. But that's the only way he's going to get his hands on the community paper.

David Carr / New York Times:

CNN Hires Bourdain, in a Bet on Lifting Stalled Ratings — Michael K. Williams played Omar Little, the righteous stickup man in “The Wire,” and now plays Chalky White, the bootlegger on “Boardwalk Empire,” so he is a big deal in the Brooklyn housing projects where he grew up.

Discussion: TVNewser, Erik Wemple, Inside Cable News, Chickaboomer and Prof Chris Daly's Blog

Mike Masnick / Techdirt:

AOL Threatens Blogger With Copyright Infringement Charge... For Doing The Exact Same Thing AOL Has Done On A Large Scale — There have been plenty of accusations made against AOL's the Huffington Post concerning its habit of “over aggregating” content from other sites.

Henry Blodget / Business Insider:

Don't Mean To Be Alarmist, But The TV Business May Be Starting To Collapse — In the first decade of the commercial Internet—the 1990s and early 2000s—there were frequent murmurings that newspapers were screwed. — The digital audience didn't read newspapers, people pointed out. They visited web sites.

Discussion: SplatF, Fortune and The Daily Caller

Laura Hazard Owen / paidContent:

Macmillan's Tor/Forge will launch DRM-free digital bookstore this summer — Macmillan's science-fiction/fantasy imprint, Tor/Forge, will launch a DRM-free digital bookstore this summer. Fritz Foy, Macmillan's EVP of digital publishing, made the announcement at the Publishers Launch BEA conference today.

Discussion: Digital Book World

Noah Rothman / Mediaite:

Radio Host Neal Boortz To Retire, Will Be Replaced By Herman Cain — Long-time conservative radio talker Neal Boortz will announce his retirement today, according to a report. The announcement that contains Boortz's retirement also says that former GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain will replace him early next year.

Discussion: Media Decoder, Radio & Television … and The New Yorker Blog