Top News:
Rani Molla / Vox:
Parse.ly: article views grew ~50% this week with those on coronavirus making up 13% of all views; Chartbeat: time spent actively reading is up 30% this week — A San Francisco newspaper headline announces the closure of large events on March 13, 2020. Eric Risberg/AP
Discussion:
Digiday, Nieman Lab, Digital Content Next, @niemanlab, What's New in Publishing and Margins, Thanks:@amontalenti
Financial Times:
EU calls on streaming services such as Netflix and YouTube to limit broadband use and offer programs only in standard, rather than high, definition — Brussels tells streaming companies to limit services as Facebook says managing traffic is a “challenge” — The EU has called on streaming services …
Discussion:
CNN, CNBC, The Streamable, Engadget, Multichannel News, The Hill, @financialtimes, Reuters, CNET, @jmakamba, Fast Company, @realjdittmer, @joebeone and @sedyst, more at Techmeme »
RELATED:
Reuters:
Netflix says it will reduce its bit rates across all its streams in Europe for 30 days, in effect cutting traffic on its European networks by 25% — Netflix said on Thursday it would reduce its bit rates across all its streams in Europe, in effect cutting traffic on its European networks …
Discussion:
Business Insider, TechCrunch, Politico, @kylebrussell and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:
Alt-weeklies faced a double blow of ad revenue loss and distribution points closing this week; local magazines and news and arts sites will feel the pain too — COVID-19 is “a nearly perfect weapon against alternative weeklies.” In dozens of cities, papers are asking for donations …
RELATED:
Rachel Kurzius / DCist:
An overview of the effects of the pandemic on local DC outlets Washingtonian Magazine, Washington City Paper, Local News Now, and Brightest Young Things
An overview of the effects of the pandemic on local DC outlets Washingtonian Magazine, Washington City Paper, Local News Now, and Brightest Young Things
Discussion:
@curious_kurz, @nateclaydiller, @madsruns, @megreenwell, @c_cauterucci, @curious_kurz, @reporterjoe, @timcarman and Washington City Paper
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
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
Discussion:
@d_towski, @goldsbie, News Blog, Riverfront Times, News + Opinion …, @d_towski and News Blog, Riverfront Times
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
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
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
Detroit Metro Times lays off eight as most advertisers cease operation with quarantine measures going into effect; remaining staffers are taking pay cuts
Pulitzer Center:
Pulitzer Center announces the Coronavirus News Collaboration Challenge, a ~$5K-$30K grant for interstate or international approaches to reporting on COVID-19 — The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, a non-profit organization that supports independent global journalism …
Discussion:
Pulitzer Center, @womensmediacntr, @sulliview and @tabeszyk
Torsten Ingvaldsen / HYPEBEAST:
Report: the total streams for the top 200 most-streamed songs on Spotify dropped in Italy, the US, UK, France, and Spain, as users in the countries self-isolate — Data from Spotify may suggest that widespread self-isolation is to blame. — Olly Curtis/Getty Images
Lukas I. Alpert / Wall Street Journal:
Playboy magazine will stop publishing its print edition in the US with its spring issue, due to coronavirus; it will publish special print issues occasionally — After 66 years, magazine to continue publishing online, with an occasional special edition in print
Discussion:
Naked, Newser, @jimwaterson, @jbenton, The Guardian, @robcooperpr, @timothynoah1, The Independent, Reason, Fortune, New York Magazine, Vulture and Deadline
Helen Coster / Reuters:
Disney files a warning with the SEC about disruptive effects from the pandemic on its business, including the pause in sports events and film and TV production — (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) said on Thursday the spread of the coronavirus could lead to consumer behavior changes, further disrupting its business.
Discussion:
Disney Advertising Sales and @neilcybart
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Hulu is now available on Comcast's Xfinity Flex and will be available on X1 by the end of March; the deal doesn't include Hulu + Live TV — Hulu is at long last coming to Comcast Cable customers' set-top boxes. But the cable operator's distribution pact with Disney — which now controls Hulu …
Discussion:
The Streamable, Broadcasting & Cable, TechCrunch and MediaPost
Sahil Patel / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Disney is looking to sell adtech company TrueX, which Fox had bought in 2014; Disney hasn't integrated it into its sales or tech organizations — TrueX is best known for offering interactive ads — Walt Disney Co. is looking to sell TrueX, an advertising-technology company …
Discussion:
MediaPost and AdExchanger
Trip Adler / Scribd Blog:
Subscription-based Scribd opens its library of ebooks, audiobooks, magazine articles, and more to anyone for free over the next 30 days — At Scribd, we believe reading is the most powerful tool we have for connecting and sharing the human experience. — Today, with millions of people around …
Discussion:
@tripadler, @sdkstl and @tripadler, more at Techmeme »
Brittany Shammas / Washington Post:
A look at student journalists at campus news outlets across the US, diligently covering the pandemic even if they are unable to access their newsrooms — For the first time, the editors of the Cavalier Daily — the student newspaper at the University of Virginia — were having to plan out their issue via webcam.
Discussion:
@jennsmola, @eric_adelson, @ericaperel, @alexldeluca, @k_newberg, @omars81, @rachel_fradette, @josephsalvador_, @stephanymatat and @ericaperel