Mediagazer: Google brings its Podcasts app to iOS and unveils a redesign of Android app, with users' listening habits syncable across platforms via Google Podcasts for Web (Brian Heater/TechCrunch)

1:25 PM 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: Media Nation, Washington Post, Poynter, Hollywood Reporter, @oliverdarcy, Columbia Journalism Review, @oliverdarcy, @dougkass, @juddapatow, @ericboehlert, @sulliview, @speechboy71, The Wrap, Mediaite and New York Times

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Analyst estimates Facebook and Google could lose $44B+ in 2020 global ad revenue due to COVID-19; Facebook says its ad business has weakened in affected places — Ad spending is falling off a cliff amid the COVID-19 pandemic — and Facebook and Google, the two heavyweights in digital advertising …

Discussion: Ad Age, @dcnorg, @bobbycblanchard, @pkafka, @loudmouthjulia, @pkafka, The Verge and Hollywood Reporter, more at Techmeme »

Joyce Gannon / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Pittsburgh-area newspapers cut staff, suspend or combine print editions, and launch fundraising appeals, as a 175-year old weekly permanently closes — The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a harsh toll on news media in the Pittsburgh region including layoffs, suspension of print editions and, in at least one case, permanent closure.

Discussion: @timcast, @elysetoribio, @brianstelter, @pittsburghpg, @joyce_gannon, @charliedee71 and Fox News

Elaine Low / Variety:

Discovery withdraws its previous outlook for FY 2020 and will borrow $500M to “increase its cash position and maximize flexibility” during the pandemic — Discovery will borrow $500 million under its credit facility to boost its cash position the latest media company to scramble to deal the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

Discussion: ir.corporate.discovery.com, @benmullin and The Wrap

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, Twelve Thirty Six, @johngushue, @robertmmahoney, @mathewi and @jbenton

Brian Heater / TechCrunch:

Google brings its Podcasts app to iOS and unveils a redesign of Android app, with users' listening habits syncable across platforms via Google Podcasts for Web — Just in time for our collective house arrests, Google has unveiled a redesigned version of Podcasts.

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: Press Gazette, @craigsilverman, @pressgazette, @jimwaterson, @owen_g and @pressgazette

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

Discussion: @markdistef, @markdistef, @markdistef, @chrisburn_post and @markdistef

BBC:

BBC News has suspended plans, announced in January, to cut 450 jobs as it faces the demands of covering the coronavirus pandemic — BBC News has suspended plans to cut 450 jobs as it faces the demands of covering the coronavirus pandemic. — The job losses were announced in January …

Discussion: Press Gazette, @gazettepaul, @franklangfitt, @andycomfort and @jimwaterson

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

Alex Ritman / Hollywood Reporter:

UK's public service broadcasters call on the government to financially support freelancers working in the industry “as a matter of urgency” — The BBC, ITV and Channel 4 are among the signatories of a letter calling for income support to a beleaguered freelance community “as a matter of urgency.”

Maxwell Tani / The Daily Beast:

With some lawmakers testing positive for COVID-19, congressional reporters risk exposure to cover Congress passing one of the most expensive bills in US history — “The job is by definition high-risk for transmission of COVID-19. We bunch up around each other... and pile into press galleries," said one reporter.

Discussion: @maxwelltani, @maxwelltani, @maxwelltani and @politicsreid

Patricia Nilsson / Financial Times:

The Athletic COO says readership numbers fell in recent days and revenue growth is expected to slow but it still has a “clear line of sight to profitability” — US website valued at $500m drops paywall after loss of big events challenges its purpose

Discussion: @muradahmed and @dcnorg

ProPublica:

In the last two weeks, several US conservative radio hosts were telling millions of listeners that the coronavirus furor is a politically motivated overreaction — More than 160 million Americans have been urged to stay home in what the World Health Organization has declared a global pandemic.

Discussion: @doctoryasmin, @jackgillum, @jackgillum, @wendellpierce and Vox

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Part-time Editor, Remote — Techmeme

Home & Travel Reporter, Ireland — Newsweek

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Senior Editor - Visuals (Temporary), DC — NPR

Copy Editor, Remote US — ProPublica

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Food Reporter, CA — SF Standard

Staff Writer, NV — Las Vegas Weekly

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Investigations & Enterprise Ed., WI — Cap Times

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More News:

Jem Aswad / Variety:
Spotify unveils two initiatives to support the music community: matching donations up to $10M and plans to let artists fundraise directly from Spotify listeners

Discussion: Adweek, TechCrunch and Spotify

Keith J. Kelly / New York Post:
Esquire has quietly trimmed its print edition to six per year, down from eight, and says the reduction is not coronavirus-related but to improve print quality

Dani Deahl / The Verge:
Concert notification service Bandsintown partners with Twitch to let artists fast-track new Twitch accounts to Affiliate status, unlocking monetization tools

Discussion: @jimmywhis

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

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

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

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

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

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

Scott Nover / Adweek:
Pinterest introduces a new Today tab, a hub for curated topics and trending posts managed by an editorial team, as users flock to the service amid the pandemic

Discussion: VentureBeat and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »

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

Discussion: TVNewsCheck, @tvnewscheck and MediaPost

Earlier Picks:

Laura Baldwin / O'Reilly Media:
O'Reilly Media announces it is canceling all of its upcoming in-person conferences and permanently shutting down that portion of its business

Discussion: @benhammersley, @liztormato, @vmbrasseur, @knieriemen, @avibryant, @sarahm, @reza_zadeh, @ruv, @waxpancake, @krishnan, @lauraabaldwin and @lauraabaldwin, more at Techmeme »

Instagram:
Instagram to remove some coronavirus-related content and accounts from recommendations and Explore, with exceptions for credible health organizations

Discussion: About Facebook, CNET, MarTech Advisor, TechCrunch, @marklittlenews, @taylorlorenz, New York Times, XDA Developers, MIT Technology Review, Business Insider, Reuters, Android Central and Jezebel, more at Techmeme »

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

Discussion: Axios, Talking Biz News, TechCrunch, @dzalcman, @guyberger, @laurajaselle, @rifatorakzai, @brooklynmarie, @elanfear, @siobhan, @twitternews, @nedsegal, @nolabeth, @twitterforgood, @karlrobillard1, @vijaya, Adweek, The Wrap, VentureBeat and The Hill

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+

Discussion: @frankpallotta, International Olympic …, @niemanlab, @tvmojoe, @tiffkhsu, @zeitchikwapo, The Wrap, CNN, Axios, Axios, Bloomberg, Forbes, Broadcasting & Cable, Business Insider and Adweek

Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:
Mozilla launches Firefox Better Web with Scroll for Firefox tracking protection and Scroll's ad-free browsing experience for $2.50/mo. for the first six months

The New York Times Company:
NYT, WSJ, WaPo publishers call on China to reverse its expulsion of their journalists: “the media is collateral damage in a diplomatic dispute”

Discussion: Vox, Columbia Journalism Review, @austinramzy, @goldkorn, @meslackman, @gerryshih, @davidnakamura, @relevantorgans, The Hill, New York Times, @voanews, @raju, @kenroth, Reuters, The Wrap, Fox News and The Guardian

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

Discussion: @maggienyt, The American Independent, BuzzFeed News, The Guardian, @mattyglesias, @maggienyt and New York Times

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

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

From Techmeme:

Emilia David / The Verge:
Microsoft debuts Phi-3 Mini, a small 3.8B-parameter model about as capable as GPT-3.5, and plans Phi-3 Small and Phi-3 Medium models with 7B and 14B parameters

Counterpoint Research:
iPhone sales in China fell 19.1% YoY to a 15.7% share in Q1 2024; Vivo fell 0.4% YoY to 17.4%, Honor rose 11.5% YoY to 16.1%, and Huawei rose 69.7% YoY to 15.5%

Quentyn Kennemer / The Verge:
Apple schedules a “special Apple Event” for May 7 at 10am ET, where new iPads are expected; rumors suggest the iPad Pro will get an OLED display and an M3 chip

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