Mediagazer: Due to COVID-19, Sunday's debate between Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders will be held without an in-person audience, and CNN won't host a press center or spin room (Zach Montellaro/Politico)

7:05 AM ET, March 11, 2020

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Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:

While ad and event revenue declines due to COVID-19 may wound the news industry, choices by hedge funds and private equity in a recession could be catastrophic — Declines in ad revenue and all those canceled events might prove manageable. But the real risk would come with a virus-inspired recession …

Discussion: Poynter, @ylichterman, CNN, @darrendcarroll, @netaustin, @jbenton, @ellenroseman, @rickedmonds and CBC News

Zach Montellaro / Politico:

Due to COVID-19, Sunday's debate between Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders will be held without an in-person audience, and CNN won't host a press center or spin room — The debate will still be held, though there won't be a “spin room” or filing center for the press.

Discussion: @cnnpr, Mediaite, Newser, USA Today, @jbarro, @rachelnpr, @yashar, @connieschultz, Wall Street Journal, @jeneps, @jonlovett, @carloslozadawp, @kiminsley, Variety, @kellyaucoin77 and TVNewser

Doug Haddix / IRE:

An attendee of IRE's NICAR conference in New Orleans has tested presumptively positive for COVID-19, has mild symptoms, and is self-quarantining for 14 days — A person who attended the NICAR20 conference in New Orleans last week tested presumptively positive today with COVID-19.

Discussion: @ire_nicar, @danahull, @conarck, @nlinphoto, @katereports, @a_l, @mtdukes, @carla_astudi, @lisasorg, @mtdukes, @corbettsmithdmn, @jenny8lee, @ddpan, @doughaddix, @doughaddix, @dataeditor and @joeleastwood

Andrew Beaujon / Washingtonian:

In a memo to staff, WaPo is encouraging all of its employees to work from home until the end of the month, in response to the COVID-19 outbreak — The arrangement is in response to the coronavirus crisis. — The Washington Post has sent a memo to all its employees encouraging them to work …

Discussion: @oliverdarcy, @timaeppel, @hcjewell, @dataeditor, @bcrodriguez, @abeaujon, @abtran, @donnacassata, Washington Post, The Hill, @abeaujon, @abeaujon, @abarnardnyt and Vanity Fair

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Vox Media launches Concert Local, a local ad network pooling local news sites' ad inventories and funded, source says, by $1M+ from the Google News Initiative — Vox Media, the parent company to brands like The Verge, SB Nation, GrubStreet and more, is partnering with Google to create …

Discussion: @clockwerks, @hilmonstah, @clockwerks, @bankoff and @simonowens

Savannah Jacobson / Columbia Journalism Review:

How the “crying reporter” became a new genre of clickbait for news outlets like CNN; YouTube videos of anchors showing tearful emotion generate increased views — The Trump presidency works in symbiosis with the media. Television journalists dramatize the news, then mine that emotion for clicks.

Discussion: @matthewkeyslive, @baekdal and @cjr

Gretchen A. Peck / Editor & Publisher Magazine:

How local journalism is surviving under family-owned media companies, like Arizona-based Wick Communications, and newspapers like Charleston's Post and Courier — The stories are familiar now. A longtime newspaper family decides to sell off their publications to a larger public corporation …

Discussion: @raju, @mattderienzo and @editorpublisher

CNBC:

Trusted Media Brands, formerly Reader's Digest Association, has seen 98% digital revenue growth since rebranding in 2015 and is reaching 60M+ consumers monthly — - In 2013 Reader's Digest Association was going through its second bankruptcy in five years and was on life support, having failed to adapt to advances in technology.

Discussion: @raju and @mediavoicespod

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

Memo: NBC News will shift some employees to work on exploring streaming options for Today as the show continues digital expansion with plans to hire 30 staff — NBC News is considering whether its venerable “Today” morning show might also serve as an all-day streaming-video outlet.

Discussion: @bristei, TVNewser and The Streamable

Tom Kludt / Vanity Fair:

Coverage by pro-Sanders media, like Chapo Trap House, of Biden's fitness for office reveals both its reach and its limitations in shaping a broader media story — The Sanders camp is making a final swarming social media attack on Joe Biden, as Cenk, Taibbi, and Chapo guys and an army …

Discussion: Vox, @tomkludt, @tomkludt, @gmbutts, @david_darmofal, New York Post, @mlcalderone, The Smoke Eater, @britnidlc and The Intercept

Jon Allsop / Columbia Journalism Review:

As coronavirus affects how media tells and disseminates stories, its coverage decisions must avoid both scaremongering and complacency — On Friday, amid ever-rising fears about the spread of the coronavirus, President Trump traveled to Atlanta to visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Discussion: @cjr

Natalie Jarvey / Hollywood Reporter:

Sources: Disney+ executives are still struggling to define its brand identity, as several original series in development have been dropped in the past year — In his new role “getting everything right creatively,” the former CEO is likely to tackle the streaming service, which …

Discussion: @ashkan, Business Insider, io9, Engadget, The A.V. Club, Dark Horizons, The Playlist, @aaroncouch, Bleeding Cool and /Film

Bloomberg:
Ampere: ~55% of programming on Disney+ is 10+ years old, compared to 48% on Prime Video and 19% on Netflix; Disney has 54 series in production vs. Netflix's 287

Discussion: Dark Horizons

Ronan Shields / Adweek:

AT&T's ad-tech unit Xandr takes a minority stake in Infosum, a first-party data platform, as the industry shifts away from third-party cookies — Investment heats up competition in data onboarding sector — AT&T's ad-tech arm Xandr has taken a minority stake in InfoSum …

Discussion: Video Ad News