Mediagazer: Atlantic Canada's largest newspaper chain SaltWire Network says it is temporarily laying off 40% of its staff and shutting down all its weekly publications (Anjuli Patil/CBC News)

8:55 AM ET, March 25, 2020

Top News:

Oliver Darcy / CNN:

Fox News anchors, from its supposedly hard-hitting news division, failed to challenge Trump as he repeatedly misled viewers during the coronavirus town hall — New York (CNN Business)Anchors at Fox News failed to meaningfully challenge President Trump as he repeatedly misled …

Discussion: New York Times, Columbia Journalism Review, Hollywood Reporter, @dougkass, @juddapatow, @speechboy71, @oliverdarcy, The Wrap and Mediaite

Ted Johnson / Deadline:
Fox News will hold a two-hour virtual town hall today with Trump and members of the coronavirus task force; there will be no White House briefing today

Discussion: @tvietor08, @morningmika, @miriamelder, Fox News and The Hill

Anjuli Patil / CBC News:

Atlantic Canada's largest newspaper chain SaltWire Network says it is temporarily laying off 40% of its staff and shutting down all its weekly publications — All SaltWire weeklies temporarily shutting down amid loss of ads due to COVID-19 — Atlantic Canada's largest newspaper chain …

Discussion: CBC News, @robertmmahoney, @johngushue, @mathewi and @jbenton

Patrick Frater / Variety:

The Olympics postponement means hundreds of hours of lost programming and lost revenue for NBCU, which had sold 90%+ of its ad inventory, valued at $1.25B+ — The Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo will be postponed for a year, until 2021, Japan's Prime Minister Abe Shinzo announced Tuesday.

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Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:

YouTube will change the default video resolution to standard definition worldwide for a month starting today to ease internet traffic — - Videos will default to standard definition worldwide — YouTube, Netflix already reduced video quality in Europe

Discussion: USA Today, XDA Developers, @psilosophy, Wired, TechCrunch, Variety, Android Central, Business Insider, 9to5Google, Fast Company and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Jim Waterson / The Guardian:

Some major towns in the UK lose their only print newspaper, leaving self-isolating older people without trusted news sources, as JPI Media suspends 12 titles — Many self-isolating older people left without trusted news source as presses stop rolling — Major towns including Milton Keynes …

Discussion: @pressgazette, @pressgazette and @jimwaterson

HBO PR:

HBO says time spent with HBO Now since March 14 is up 40% from its four-week average; overall viewing across its portfolio grew nearly 20% during the same time — This post is by Cheryl Idell, Chief Research Officer, WarnerMedia Entertainment & Direct-to-Consumer.

Discussion: @dylanbyers, @nickwingfield, @koblin, IndieWire, @lucas_shaw, The Streamable, The Wrap and CNET

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

ABC, known for drama, is placing a heavier focus on news as broadcast networks see viewers of most-watched cable news anchors rise ~25% over past two weeks — ABC, best known for soapy programs like “Grey's Anatomy” and “Station 19,” has in recent days been more focused on the drama of real life.

Discussion: New York Times, Axios, @nrothschild3, @charliecookdc, @donlday, @koblin and @bristei

Lucinda Southern / Digiday:

Subscription tech service Piano says US digital subscriptions rose 63% YoY in the past week while European newspaper subs across its network grew 267% YoY — Publishers are seeing a spike in subscriptions over the last four weeks in the U.S. and Europe, fueled by readers' appetite to stay …

Discussion: American Press Institute, @simonowens, @jason_kint, @kerrymflynn, @larakiara, @durgaraghunath and What's New in Publishing

Jon Lafayette / Broadcasting & Cable:

Nielsen says local news viewing in the top 25 markets was up 6.9% for the week of March 9 compared to the previous week, with about a 10% increase in ages 18-54 — Nielsen said even kids are watching newscasts — Local news is seeking an increase in viewing as people seek the latest information on the Coronavirus crisis.

Discussion: Broadcasting & Cable, TVNewsCheck, @tvnewscheck and MediaPost

Michael McCarthy / Front Office Sports:

Newsrooms adjust to the absence of sports with suspended or diminished sports sections, reporters redeployed to new beats, and creative story ideas — - Washington Post redeploying some sports reporters to Coronavirus coverage, while Boston Globe goes to the well for story ideas.

Discussion: @mmccarthyrev, @mmccarthyrev and @frntofficesport

Erik Wemple / Washington Post:

Anthony Fauci conceding in an interview that Trump often provides inaccurate information is the best argument for not airing Trump's briefings on live TV — During a Saturday news briefing, President Trump fielded a question about the coronavirus timeline.

Discussion: @maggienyt, BuzzFeed News, Vox, @mattyglesias, The Guardian, @maggienyt, Wired and Science

Laura Mallonee / Wired:

Photojournalists on the front lines in China, Italy, and the US share their experiences of documenting life amid COVID-19 while trying to stay safe and sane — During a war waged by an invisible enemy, photographers on the frontlines share images of solitude and separation.

Discussion: @wired, @janisfrayer, @mattmckibben and @davidmryder

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Laura Baldwin / O'Reilly Media:
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Discussion: @lauraabaldwin, @benhammersley, @avibryant, @liztormato, @sarahm, @ruv, @vmbrasseur, @lauraabaldwin, @waxpancake, @knieriemen, @krishnan and @reza_zadeh, more at Techmeme »

Freddy Mayhew / Press Gazette:
UK's Newsquest, with ~200 newspapers and magazines, is furloughing a “significant number” of staff, who will get 80% of their salaries; others get pay cuts

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Instagram:
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Vijaya Gadde / Twitter:
Twitter is donating $500K each to the Committee to Protect Journalists and the International Women's Media Foundation

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Ted Johnson / Deadline:
WHCA says a member of the press corps has a suspected case of coronavirus and reduces briefing room to a pool of 14 reporters

Discussion: @hradzka, Reuters and NPR

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The New York Times Company:
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Peter Kovacs / The Advocate:
The Times-Picayune and The Advocate to temporarily furlough about a tenth of their 400-member workforce with the rest on four-day workweeks

Todd Spangler / Variety:
Amazon opens up free streaming access to more than 40 children's shows, including its original series, to all customers worldwide with an Amazon account

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Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
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Wall Street Journal:
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Kevin Roose / New York Times:
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