Mediagazer: Pulitzer Center announces the Coronavirus News Collaboration Challenge, a ~$5K-$30K grant for interstate or international approaches to reporting on COVID-19 (Pulitzer Center)

3:25 PM ET, March 19, 2020

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, What's New in Publishing, Digital Content Next, @niemanlab and Margins, Thanks:@amontalenti

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 …

Discussion: American Press Institute, @glecharles, @c_cauterucci, @jasonwbade, @jasonwbade, @jasonwbade, @jasonwbade, @scenesallard, Pittsburgh City Paper, @lafrancois_j, @lafrancois_j, @lafrancois_j, @lafrancois_j, CityBeat Cincinnati, News+Opinion … and @jeffreybillman

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 — Even as local news outlets are seeing record traffic on their websites, one of their main revenue sources is drying up.

Discussion: @curious_kurz, @nateclaydiller, @madsruns, @megreenwell, @curious_kurz, @reporterjoe and Washington City Paper

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: @jbenton, @jbenton, @dsquareddigest, @sigepcory, @nbj914, @abeaujon, @maxwelltani, @koltenparker, @forrest4trees, @maryrduan, @nakedfoul, @monivettec, @peterschorschfl, @rlynch_obj, Florida Politics, News, San Antonio Current, Orlando Weekly and Florida Politics

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: Detroit Metro Times, @lowesays, @scenesallard, Scene and Heard, @ssuttell, @jeffjarvis, @lexkuhne, @davidshepardson, @jerilynjordanc, @chadlivengood, @paulegan4, @leedevito, @ckrewson and Plain Dealer

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

Discussion: @d_towski, News Blog, Riverfront Times, @goldsbie, News + Opinion …, @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

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

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, Multichannel News, Variety, Engadget, @joebeone, CNET, @financialtimes, Reuters, @jmakamba, Fast Company, @realjdittmer and @sedyst, more at Techmeme »

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: Reuters, TechCrunch, Politico and Engadget, more at Techmeme »

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, @sulliview and @tabeszyk

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, Fortune, New York Magazine, Reason, @robcooperpr, @timothynoah1, The Independent, Vulture and Deadline

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, @tripadler and @sdkstl, 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

Pew Research Center:

Pew study: 70% of Americans say the news media are doing fairly well covering the COVID-19 pandemic, while 37% say news media have greatly exaggerated the risks — About half say they have seen at least some made-up news about the coronavirus; 29% think it was created in a lab

Discussion: @gelliottmorris, @patrick_hruby, @davidfrum, @klasfeldreports, @conradhackett, @pewresearch, CNN, Fox News and Pew Research Center

Washington Post:

Nielsen: the most-watched TV program in the US last week was ABC's “World News Tonight”, which attracted 10.8M viewers, up 21% over its average for the year — In a typical week, ABC counts on shows like “The Bachelor” and “American Idol” to deliver its biggest ratings.

Discussion: RAIN News, The Week, @sarahellison and Adweek

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

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

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

Janelle Bitker / San Francisco Chronicle:

Employees of lifestyle magazine Sunset have been put on unpaid leave until April 3 as advertisers pull out, casting further doubt on the publication's future — Sunset magazine has been a California lifestyle icon for more than 120 years — but now that its parent company has laid off …

Discussion: @janellebitker and @voodoolily

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More News:

Sarah Whitten / CNBC:
National Association of Theater Owners asks Congress for relief for its 150K employees, authorizes withdrawal of $1M from its reserves to aid theater employees

Discussion: Reuters and Vanity Fair

Katie Kilkenny / Hollywood Reporter:
As Hollywood suspends or pauses most TV and film productions, “below-the-line” crew members who are gig workers, are feeling the brunt of the industry slowdown

Discussion: Observer, @rephankjohnson, @kristynburtt, @katiekilkenny7, @pattilupone and Velvet Couch Dispatch

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: @pressgazette and @jimwaterson

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

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

Earlier Picks:

Janelle Irwin Taylor / Florida Politics:
Layoffs hit the Tampa Bay Times, including longtime environmental reporter Craig Pittman; source says 11 employees were laid off

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

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

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

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

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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