Mediagazer: In the last two weeks, several US conservative radio hosts were telling millions of listeners that the coronavirus furor is a politically motivated overreaction (ProPublica)

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

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

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: @jimwaterson, @pressgazette and @pressgazette

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: Vox

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

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

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 — Popular men's magazine Esquire has quietly trimmed its print edition to six per year — down from eight, Media Ink has learned.

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 — Bandsintown artists with 2,000 trackers or more are eligible — Concert notification service Bandsintown has partnered with Twitch …

Discussion: @jimmywhis

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 »

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

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

Vijaya Gadde / Twitter:

Twitter is donating $500K each to the Committee to Protect Journalists and the International Women's Media Foundation — All around the world, we've seen our service connecting people with the authoritative health information they need to protect themselves and their loved ones.

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