Mediagazer: How reporters at the Plain Dealer in Cleveland, Ohio are struggling with deep staff cuts while reporting on COVID-19's spread in the state (Margaret Sullivan/Washington Post)

2:30 AM ET, March 17, 2020

Top News:

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.

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, Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, @ecareyo, /Film, @variety, @ecnalhanid, Fortune, Mumbrella, @ewagmeister, CNN, The Guardian, The Playlist, MediaPost, Wired, Vanity Fair and KRON4

Hollywood Reporter:

Movie theater chains, including Regal Cinemas, Landmark Theatres, and Alamo Drafthouse, are temporarily closing their cinemas across the US until further notice — The move follows a federal government recommendation for U.S. adults to avoid public gatherings of more than 10 people.

Discussion: Deadline, @erik_hayden, @thr, @brianstelter, /Film, INSIDER, @carriecoon, @thr, @erik_hayden, The Verge and WFLA-TV

Washington Post:

Fox News hosts have quickly shifted their tone on the COVID-19 pandemic from media conspiracy to crisis, after Trump declared it a national emergency on Friday — For weeks, some of Fox News's most popular hosts downplayed the threat of the coronavirus, characterizing it as a conspiracy …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Gizmodo, CNN, @maggienyt, The Philadelphia Inquirer, @tedlieu, @mrbromwich, @timobrien, @charlesornstein, @juliettekayyem, @oliverdarcy, @slpng_giants, FTVLive and The Inquisitr

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 Keyword, Adweek, @ytcreators, Engadget, @youtubeinsider, Marketing Land, The Verge, @susanwojcicki, @mhbergen, Business Insider, Variety and 9to5Google, more at Techmeme »

Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:

How reporters at the Plain Dealer in Cleveland, Ohio are struggling with deep staff cuts while reporting on COVID-19's spread in the state — News organizations everywhere are under immense pressure as a pandemic sweeps the globe. — Reporters scurry to cover an eruption of breaking news …

Discussion: The Idea, @benpershing, @alanmillernlp, @annabruchez, @sulliview, @mmlederman1, @blmckean and CNN

Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet:

Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Reddit, Twitter, and YouTube say they're working with each other and healthcare agencies to tackle misinfo about COVID-19 — Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Reddit, Twitter, and YouTube put out joint statement promising to fight COVID-19 fraud and curb misinformation.

Discussion: About Facebook, TechCrunch, The Verge, USA Today, Reuters, Business Insider, Wccftech, The Verge, @dtunkelang, @alexschultz, Wccftech, @microsoft, @carnage4life, @shiraovide, @dangillmor and About Facebook, more at Techmeme »

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: @alizaslav, @davechensky, @blatchfordtr, @rachelabramsny, @goldsteinstreet, @ctguild, @rachelabramsny, @ylichterman, @jamesgeary, @davidakaye, @mackenziemays, @bymikebaker, @oliverdarcy, @mccanner, @rachelabramsny, @brianmrosenthal and @rachelabramsny

Pete Brown / Columbia Journalism Review:

Study of 13K+ stories on News Corp's Knewz between February 4 and March 2 shows that the news aggregator frequently defaults to Murdoch titles and Daily Mail — Knewz, News Corp.'s recently launched news aggregator—not to be confused with the polka band of the same name—debuted with a grand promise …

Discussion: @cjr, @dangillmor, @niemanlab, @jbenton and @cjr

Michael Schneider / Variety:

A look at Camel Rock Studios, a New Mexico film studio owned by a Native American tribe, as it capitalizes on the state's filming boom from Netflix and others — Last year, the Tesuque Pueblo tribe of New Mexico opened a new casino, moving out of a 75,000-square foot facility …

Discussion: @kmfdt, @phil_jackson, @dinemillennials, @alexjacobs, @kaelanisays and @keylimeburquena

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, @theintercept, @caseyjohnston, Business Insider, Gizmodo, Wccftech, @josephfcox, @cindygallop, @mattpostsayshi, @slooterman, @rose_catb, IT Management, @theintercept, @taylorlorenz, The Verge and PAPER, more at Techmeme »

Manori Ravindran / Variety:

Disney Plus has partnered with O2 as its exclusive UK mobile network distributor, a week ahead of its launch — Disney Plus has linked with O2 as its exclusive U.K. mobile network distributor, a week ahead of its highly anticipated launch. — New and upgrading monthly customers to O2 …

Discussion: The Streamable

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More News:

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

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
By lashing out at PBS's Yamiche Alcindor over questions about firing the Pandemic Response Team, Trump keeps trying to duck scrutiny for his own words and deeds

Discussion: @theplumlinegs, @theplumlinegs, @theplumlinegs and The Independent, more at Techmeme »

Brian Steinberg / Variety:
AMC Networks says it is planning to sell ad packages that accompany its shows even when they become available on ad-supported streaming outlets like Pluto TV

Discussion: Adweek, Broadcasting & Cable and Ad Age

Lata Jha / Livemint:
Discovery launches Discovery Plus in India, offering content from itself and others for ~$4 per year, available in eight languages

Discussion: Outlook India Magazine, BizAsia and Business Insider

BBC:
BBC says it will delay its plan to charge over-75s for license fees, originally set for June 1, until August 1 due to coronavirus

Discussion: @jimwaterson, @dianajohnsonmp, @paullewismoney, @mrjohnnicolson, @angelarayner, @bbcwalesnews, @kevinbrennanmp, @nicholashellen, @dehennadavison, The Independent, Telegraph and CityAM

Earlier Picks:

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

Discussion: @standamericanow, @hernandezjavier, @gijn, @hernandezjavier, @hernandezjavier, @hernandezjavier, @hernandezjavier, @ajenglish, @ewong and Fox News

Wall Street Journal:
TikTok says it will stop using ~100 moderators it had in China to monitor overseas content and shift that work to those outside China

Discussion: @elliottzaagman, @jchengwsj, @jchengwsj, Engadget and Gizmodo, more at Techmeme »

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

Discussion: @scottnover, @scottnover and @adweek

Poynter:
A licensed psychotherapist weighs in on how journalists can manage the stress of nonstop COVID-19 coverage

Discussion: @marinafang, @n_yang, @jimmacmillan, @firstdraftnews, @junkeranna and @ctardaguila

From Techmeme:

Raffaele Huang / Wall Street Journal:
Apple removes WhatsApp, Threads, Signal, and Telegram from its App Store in China, after orders from the country's regulators citing national security concerns

Ryan Morrison / Tom's Guide:
Microsoft researchers introduce VASA-1, an AI model that can create a realistic talking face video from a portrait photo and an audio file, in research preview

Foo Yun Chee / Reuters:
Sources: EU may accept Apple's proposal to open its NFC payments tech to rivals, and may close its antitrust probe in May, letting Apple avoid hefty fines

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