Mediagazer: Free commuter newspapers in the UK, like Metro that distributes 1.43M copies daily across the country, face print circulation collapse due to social distancing (Freddy Mayhew/Press Gazette)

7:15 PM ET, March 18, 2020

Top News:

Janelle Irwin Taylor / Florida Politics:

Layoffs hit the Tampa Bay Times, including longtime environmental reporter Craig Pittman; source says 11 employees were laid off — Tuesday saw the Tampa Bay Times newsroom gutted of essential staff in a series of layoffs that rocked the Tampa Bay media landscape. Wednesday followed with another gut punch.

Discussion: @craigtimes, @danuscripts, @jeffweineros, @davidovalle305, @neeneinnyetno, @bobbyhometeam, @roslehtinen, @jbenton, @mikesherman, @mikegrunwald, @mikesherman, @dianamoskovitz, @fitz_ly, @fineout and @fahrenthold

Jeremy Kohler / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

The Riverfront Times, an alt-weekly founded in 1977 in St. Louis, lays off most of its editorial staff and suspends publication of its weekly print edition — ST. LOUIS — The Riverfront Times laid off most of its editorial staff on Wednesday and was suspending publication of its weekly print edition, its editor said.

Discussion: @d_towski, @d_towski and News Blog, Riverfront Times

Jeff vonKaenel / SN&R Extra:

The Sacramento News & Review will suspend publication of its print edition next week and lay off nearly all of its staff, but will continue to post online — Over the last 30 years, we have financed SN&R with advertising, mainly from local businesses promoting social gatherings at concerts …

Discussion: Sacramento Bee, @bedwardstiek, @thisisreno, @nickmiller510, @genepark, @timothyorourke, @captain_hooks, @chris_macias, @chris_macias, @andyfurillo, @wordstospill, Talking Biz News and @jackshafer

Detroit Metro Times:
Detroit Metro Times lays off eight as most advertisers cease operation with quarantine measures going into effect; remaining staffers are taking pay cuts

Discussion: Plain Dealer, @jeffjarvis, @lexkuhne, Detroit Metro Times and Scene and Heard

Creative Loafing:
The alt-weekly Creative Loafing of Tampa Bay, owned by Euclid Media Group, lays off seven staff members in response to ad cutbacks due to COVID-19

Discussion: @koltenparker, @forrest4trees, @maryrduan, @nakedfoul, @monivettec, @peterschorschfl, @rlynch_obj and Florida Politics

Erik Hayden / Hollywood Reporter:

Fox Corp. says it is making Fox News Channel and its 29 local TV stations available for streaming free, without requiring a cable provider sign-in — While CNN and MSNBC offer full online viewing via sign-in through a cable provider, Fox Corp. properties will be made available free.

Discussion: Deadline, Fox News, Mediaite, @whatthebit, Raw Story and Los Angeles Times

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

The @FoxNews account begins tweeting again, after stopping in November 2018, promoting COVID-19 news on its website and Fox News Channel — Fox News is making a return to Twitter, more than a year after going silent on the social-media platform. — At 2:18 p.m. on Nov. 8, 2018 …

Discussion: The Hill, Radio & Television …, Broadcasting & Cable and Always Be Watching

Sarah Scire / Nieman Lab:

Google News Initiative teams up with LION Publishers, UNC, others to launch Project Oasis, with the aim of helping local news startups at key stages of growth — So you want to start a digital news organization for your community. Where would you go to look up the ownership structure of your favorite local outlet?

Discussion: The Keyword, MediaPost, @lionpubs, @ckrewson, LION Publishers, @deansusanking, Engadget, TechCrunch, @mediatwit and Center for Innovation …

Manish Singh / TechCrunch:

WhatsApp announces two initiatives to combat COVID-19 misinformation: an Information Hub in partnership with WHO and others, and a $1M grant to IFCN — Grappling with the spread of misinformation on the platform, WhatsApp today announced two initiatives to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Discussion: CNN, @facebook, Adweek, The Guardian, Engadget, Washington Post and About Facebook, more at Techmeme »

Freddy Mayhew / Press Gazette:

BBC announces new COVID-19 measures including making local radio stations hubs for helping the elderly, more educational content, pausing cuts to CBBC, more — The BBC has set out new changes to its output during the coronavirus pandemic, which include turning the One Show into a consumer programme for “all aspects of the crisis”.

Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:

LA Times publishes a video series on COVID-19, hosted by owner Patrick Soon-Shiong, without noting his role as CEO and owner of a company working on treatment — It's not unusual for newspaper owners to have, well, other interests. In the old days of family ownership …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, @jbenton, @pkafka and YouTube

Margaret Harding McGill / Axios:

TikTok announces the first members of its US content moderation committee, including experts in child safety, hate speech, and misinformation — TikTok on Wednesday unveiled a group of outside advisers with expertise in child safety, hate speech, misinformation and other areas that will help guide its content moderation policies.

Discussion: Newsroom | TikTok, Engadget and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »

Reuters:

Sources: Gray Television withdrew its $8.5B offer to acquire Tegna because of concerns about the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on US regional TV station operators — (Reuters) - Gray Television Inc (GTN.N) has withdrawn its offer to acquire larger peer Tegna Inc (TGNA.N) …

Discussion: The Streamable

Karlene Lukovitz / MediaPost:

Sling introduces Stay in & Sling!, a free service with access to streaming news channel ABC News Live alongside movies and shows for kids and families — Sling TV is looking to win some goodwill and attract new prospects for its paid streaming services by introducing a free …

Discussion: Broadcasting & Cable

Elizabeth Dwoskin / Washington Post:

Facebook says it is rolling out a COVID-19 information center placed atop all users' feeds to help surface news and resources — The portal aims to be a one-stop shop for its more than 2.5 billion users to find news and resources about the pandemic. — Facebook on Wednesday announced …

Discussion: CNET, @mikeisaac, @mikeisaac, @sarahfrier, @alexeheath and @mikeisaac, more at Techmeme »

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Climate Crisis Columnist — Prospect UK

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More News:

Freddy Mayhew / Press Gazette:
Free commuter newspapers in the UK, like Metro that distributes 1.43M copies daily across the country, face print circulation collapse due to social distancing

Discussion: @jimwaterson

Brent Lang / Variety:
Elisabeth Murdoch and Stacey Snider's Sister Global invested in AWA Studios, a new comic book company founded by Marvel alumni and ex-News Corp exec Jon Miller

NBC News:
Axios is partnering with Malcolm Gladwell's Pushkin podcast studio to launch a new daily news podcast in the summer, modeled after Axios AM morning newsletter

Discussion: @felixsalmon

Megan Graham / CNBC:
Cannes Lions, the ad industry's major awards festival and conference originally scheduled for June 22, postponed until October

Discussion: Variety, IndieWire, @kerrymflynn, The Playlist, Forbes and AdExchanger

Ty Pendlebury / CNET:
Digital locker service Movies Anywhere to launch Screen Pass, which will let customers share up to three movies a month with others, but without Roku support

Discussion: TechCrunch, AppleInsider and The Streamable

Katie Kilkenny / Hollywood Reporter:
Netflix postpones Netflix is a Joke Fest, its weeklong comedy festival, which was scheduled to begin in LA on April 27

Earlier Picks:

Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Google Discover users will now be able to report content as misleading or sensational, violent or repulsive, or hateful; the action isn't a removal request

Hanaa' Tameez / Nieman Lab:
With no sports to cover, sports journalists consider ideas like starting podcasts, while some reporters temporarily join news teams to help cover the pandemic

Discussion: @cnyari, @spj_tweets, @jwyllys, @htameez, @delfinomachin, @niemanlab, @niemanreports and @lenfestinst

Jay Peters / The Verge:
Facebook says it has fixed a bug in its anti-spam system that marked some legitimate COVID-19 news articles and information as spam on Tuesday

Tim Baysinger / The Wrap:
Fox is buying ad-supported streaming service Tubi in a $440M cash deal; Tubi will remain a separate company with founder and CEO Farhad Massoudi staying on

Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:
Conservative outlet The Dispatch says it has ~10K paying subscribers and $1M+ in annual revenue, plans to join Google's Play Me The News program for Google Home

Discussion: Nieman Lab, @adam_keesling, @jbenton and @jbenton

Marc Tracy / New York Times:
China requires American NYT, WSJ, and WaPo reporters whose press passes expire in 2020 to return them, bans them from working as journalists in China, HK, Macau

Discussion: New York Times, Bloomberg, @paulmozur, Press Gazette, Fox News, The Intercept, Foreign Policy, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Committee to Protect …, Trajectory, Columbia Journalism Review, CNN, Poynter, The Wrap, Fortune, @repmarkwalker, Talking Biz News, @max_fisher, @gerryshih, @gerryshih, @kristenmctighe, @ishaantharoor, @senrickscott, Mediaite, @sophiehrw, @alanmillernlp, @drewharwell, @annafifield, @repadamschiff, @hawleymo, @aaschapiro, @ezracheungtoto, @melissakchan, The Week, @murraymatt, @ajitxsingh, @repjimbanks, @cdeloire, @riegerreport, @sentomcotton, @laurie_garrett, @sam_vinograd, @ryn_writes, @katies, @rachel_cheung1, @ceciliakang, @ewong, @ryanl_hass, @melissakchan, @cliffordcoonan, @stephenmcdonell, @mims, @gadyepstein, @chinadaily, @onlyyoontv, Techdirt, The Guardian, NPR, Mediaite, Washington Post, New York Post, fmprc.gov.cn and Rehak/Stuebing Mostly Media

From Techmeme:

Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority:
Source: Google has canceled the development of a second-generation Pixel Tablet, planned for release in 2025, due to concerns that it wouldn't sell very well

The Information:
Sources: OpenAI considered making a browser, discussed deals to power AI features on Samsung devices and search on sites and apps from Condé Nast and others

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is testing a more conversational version of Siri, dubbed “LLM Siri”, with plans to release it in spring 2026 as part of iOS 19 and macOS 16

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