Top News:
Rebecca Rubin / Variety:
North American box office plunged to around $55.3M this weekend, its worst weekend since sales of $54.5M from September 15 to 17 in 2000 — Much of public life in the United States essentially ground to a halt this week. In the entertainment world, theme parks shut down, Broadway went dark …
Discussion:
Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, CNN, MediaPost, New York Post, Wired, Vanity Fair, The Guardian, @ecareyo, @variety, KRON4, @ecnalhanid, The Playlist and @ewagmeister
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Jason Gurwin / The Streamable:
Universal Pictures to make digital rentals of some new movies now in theaters available for $20 from March 20, and upcoming Trolls World Tour on its release day — In light of the movie theaters being brought to a standstill, Universal Pictures is changing the game.
Discussion:
Hollywood Reporter, /Film and The Atlantic
New York Times:
As the COVID-19 outbreak discourages moviegoers and theatrical releases get delayed, the ascendancy of streaming services may be accelerating — Cinemas, already contending with streaming services, are now facing the prospect of no audiences and no new films because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Discussion:
@ennisnyt and @rossdawson
Rachel Abrams / New York Times:
Inside The Seattle Times' COVID-19 coverage, as nearly all of its 58 reporters cover a pandemic affecting their neighbors and friends while trying to stay safe — “That's what local papers are meant to do”: The journalists at The Seattle Times have been aggressively covering the coronavirus as it affects their neighbors and friends.
Discussion:
@rachelabramsny, @rachelabramsny, @rachelabramsny, @oliverdarcy, @davechensky, @bymikebaker and @brianmrosenthal
The Intercept:
Leaked docs: TikTok told moderators to suppress posts from those deemed “ugly”, poor, or disabled, and censor political speech in livestreams, to attract users — The makers of TikTok, the Chinese video-sharing app with hundreds of millions of users around the world …
Discussion:
@panzer, Gizmodo, @caseyjohnston, The Verge, @josephfcox, @theintercept, @taylorlorenz, @cindygallop, @rose_catb, @mattpostsayshi and @slooterman, more at Techmeme »
Sarah Scire / Nieman Lab:
Publications dependent on revenue from event ads, like alt-weeklies, are hit hard by coronavirus; Seattle's The Stranger says it's lost ~90% of its income — In a memo to staff, The New York Times called the coronavirus “an enormous story, a once-in-a-generation crisis that inevitably touches everyone's lives.”
Variety:
Sources: Universal Music Group chief Lucian Grainge has been hospitalized after a positive COVID-19 test — Universal Music Chairman and CEO Lucian Grainge has been hospitalized after testing positive for coronavirus, multiple sources exclusively told Variety.
Discussion:
Billboard, Los Angeles Times, AppleInsider, @mattloverera, @jeff__benjamin, @thebrentsmith, @billboard, @timlarew, Music Ally, @yashar, @mattdonnelly, UPROXX, The Wrap, NME, The Loop and Music Business Worldwide
Javier C. Hernández / New York Times:
Chinese journalists, usually muzzled, are publicly pushing back against the government's positive coronavirus spin, buoyed by widespread calls for free speech — The Communist Party is trying to fill the airwaves with positive stories about its battle against the virus.
Discussion:
@ajenglish, @hernandezjavier, Fox News, @hernandezjavier, @hernandezjavier, @ewong, @hernandezjavier and @hernandezjavier
YouTube Creator Blog:
YouTube says it will be relying more on automated systems as content moderators stay home, and creators may see fewer strikes against videos but more removals — Today, as the unprecedented COVID-19 situation continues, Google outlined how it's reducing the need for people to come …
Discussion:
TechCrunch, The Verge, Engadget, 9to5Google, @ytcreators, @youtubeinsider and The Keyword, more at Techmeme »
Poynter:
A licensed psychotherapist weighs in on how journalists can manage the stress of nonstop COVID-19 coverage — 9 ways journalists can push back against the stress of an always-on story — I have been hearing from journalists who are stressed out by this nonstop COVID-19 coverage.
Discussion:
@marinafang, @junkeranna, @jimmacmillan, @firstdraftnews, @ctardaguila and @n_yang
Elsa Keslassy / Variety:
French pay TV group Canal Plus says it will be free for the next few weeks or months during the country's lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak — French pay TV group Canal Plus will be free for the next few weeks or months during the country's lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Scott Nover / Adweek:
MediaRadar: TikTok is the biggest advertiser on Snapchat, with about 80% of TikTok's US ad spend between 2018 and 2019 going to Snapchat — Multiple sources indicate that TikTok has invested heavily on Snapchat — Key Insights: — While Snapchat and TikTok compete for the attention …
Discussion:
@scottnover, @scottnover and @adweek
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