Mediagazer: Quality, expensive TV shows need more viewers to be sustainable, but audiences are dwindling (Gerry Smith/Bloomberg Business)

3:18 AM ET, May 31, 2015

Top News:

Ravi Somaiya / New York Times:

Barred from reporting on Hollywood by a legal settlement, combative Nikki Finke turns to entertainment fiction with her upcoming site Hollywood Dementia — Feared Hollywood Reporter Turns to Fiction — LOS ANGELES — If Nikki Finke had not been a journalist, she says she could have been a detective.

Discussion: @williamcohan, Gawker, @jackhites, @jayrosen_nyu and @fmanjoo

Tyler Falk / Current.org:

WNYC to self-distribute Radiolab, On the Media — WNYC is breaking its distribution ties with NPR to self-distribute its terrestrial radio shows Radiolab and On the Media starting Oct. 1. It will also self-distribute its new show with the New Yorker when it launches this fall.

Discussion: @jayrosen_nyu

Gerry Smith / Bloomberg Business:

Quality, expensive TV shows need more viewers to be sustainable, but audiences are dwindling — TV's ‘Golden Age’ Won't Last Because You're Not Watching Enough — The entertainment industry will air more than 400 original TV shows this year, lavishing hundreds of millions of dollars …

Discussion: TV[R]EV, Thanks:@gerryfsmith

John Koblin / New York Times:

A look at Bob Schieffer as he signs off of Face the Nation on Sunday after 24 years as host and 46 with CBS — Bob Schieffer of ‘Face the Nation’ Prepares to Sign Off — Bob Schieffer tried to retire a decade ago. CBS asked him to stay. Mr. Schieffer tried again a few years later.

Discussion: @bobschieffer and NOLA River

New York Times:

Irish media silenced by legal threats from reporting claims in Ireland's parliament about media mogul Denis O'Brien's favorable loan rates — Clash Between Irish Billionaire and Broadcaster Reopens Wounds — LONDON — When the financial crash hit in 2008, it plunged Ireland …

Janko Roettgers / Variety:

How Google and director Justin Lin created Help, a mobile only 360-degree video film that can be freely explored by the viewer — How Google and Justin Lin Are Reinventing Movies For Mobile (Exclusive) — A day after leaving the “Fast and Furious” franchise, Justin Lin got a curious phone call.

Discussion: Business Insider, The Verge, Hollywood Reporter, The Verge, Business Insider and The Verge

Lucia Moses / Digiday:

Only 17% of BuzzFeed's 76.7M unique visitors in April came for news — Only 17 percent of BuzzFeed's traffic goes to news — Over the years, BuzzFeed has labored hard to change its perception as a cat GIF and listicle farm. It hired star blogger Ben Smith away from Politico in 2011 …

Discussion: @raju, metamedia, @maxwellstrachan, @bydanielvictor, @pbump, @bendreyfuss, @jbouie, @attackerman, @thestalwart, @antderosa and @digiday

Chris Lee / Ars Technica:

Creating fake research to show gullibility of science journalism is ethically wrong — Is it OK to generate a fake news story to make a point? No — Op-ed: Journalist thinks it's fine to fool millions in order to make a point. — It may come as a surprise to regular readers, but I like the modern era of science.

Discussion: The Drum, Techdirt and NPR

Alan Rusbridger / Guardian:

Alan Rusbridger reflects on 20 years as editor of the Guardian — ‘Farewell, readers’: Alan Rusbridger on leaving the Guardian after two decades at the helm — After 20 years as editor, Alan Rusbridger is stepping down. Here he reflects on two decades of sweeping change …

Discussion: @jayrosen_nyu, The Drum, @bernardchickey, Press Gazette, @jayrosen_nyu, @janinegibson, Guardian, @johncbaron, Hindustan Times, @mattdpearce, @susborne, @sulliview, The Independent, @emilybell, @jeffjarvis, @jayrosen_nyu, @attackerman and @arusbridger

Quinn Norton / Medium:

Security journalist admits to hypocrisy of enabling tracking visitors, but holds hope for a better Internet through collective pushback and digital literacy — The Hypocrisy of the Internet Journalist — I'm selling you out as hard as I can, — and I'm sorry.

Discussion: @kdurrani and @russpitts

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

CBS News' Erin Moriarty Spent 16 Years On Murder Case For ‘48 Hours’ — Most reporters spend days, maybe a few weeks, on an important story. Erin Moriarty worked more than 16 years. — Moriarty will present new information on CBS' “48 Hours” Saturday night that she hopes will prompt officials …

Discussion: TVNewser

Romain Dillet / TechCrunch:

Glose Brings Its Social Ebook Reader To Android, Adds Free Excerpts — Glose is a brand new take on ebook reading for phones and tablets. Yet, until today, one thing was crucially missing — Android support. Today, the company is launching its app on Android phones and tablets.

Discussion: GalleyCat, Ink, Bits, & Pixels and The Next Web