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 »

Archived Page Info:

This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 7:15 PM ET, March 18, 2020.

View the current page or another snapshot:

Who's Hiring in Media?

Bureau Reporter - Vietnam, HCMC — Bloomberg

Curation Editor (Contract), NY — Apple News

Business Editor, CA — TheWrap

Executive Ed. - Tech & Electronics, AZ — AspenCore

Economy & Industry Reporter, TX — Texas Tribune

Deputy Editor - Health Care, VA — Politico

Political Enterprise Editor, DC — Guardian US

Housing & Real Estate Reporter, ME — BDN

Associate Reporter - Yahoo Finance — Yahoo

Senior Editor, Remote — Raw Story

Deputy Politics Editor, CA — Sacramento Bee

Alphaville Reporter, London — FT

See Also:

Mediagazer: site main

Mediagazer River: reverse chronological Mediagazer

Mediagazer Mobile: for phones

Mediagazer Leaderboard: Mediagazer's top sources

Subscribe:

Mediagazer RSS feed

Mediagazer on X

Mediagazer on Mastodon

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:

CNBC:
OpenAI closes a $40B funding round, the most ever raised by a private tech company, at a $300B post-money valuation; SoftBank led the round with $30B

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Sam Altman says OpenAI is planning to “release a powerful new open-weight language model with reasoning in the coming months”

Ian King / Bloomberg:
At the Intel Vision conference, CEO Lip-Bu Tan says Intel plans to spin off non-core assets, create new products including custom semiconductors, and more

Sister Sites:

Techmeme
Top news and commentary for technology's leaders, from all around the web

memeorandum
What US political commentators are discussing online right now

WeSmirch
The top celebrity news from all around the web on a single page