Top News:
Matt Wilstein / The Daily Beast:
Fox Business “parted ways” with Trish Regan; the move comes after Regan's on-air dismissal in early March of COVID-19 concerns as an attempt to impeach Trump — The Fox Business host was officially let go on Friday more than two weeks after she ranted against the “coronavirus impeachment scam.”
Ken Doctor / Nieman Lab:
Under the CARES Act, outlets with under 1,000 staff can apply to a $300B fund, while bigger chains compete with retailers and others for money from a $454B fund — The multi-trillion-dollar CARES Act should extend a lifeline to many small local publishers.
Discussion:
@jbenton, @jaredrutecki, @niemanlab, @jbenton, @kdoctor, @kdoctor, @jbenton, @lucasgrindley, @jbenton and @jbenton
Patrick Brzeski / Hollywood Reporter:
China shuts down all cinemas again, after reopening 600 of them over the past week, without providing an official explanation for the shut down — Over the past two weeks, movie theaters had begun to gradually reopen in the country. No reason was given for the abrupt reversal …
Discussion:
Deadline, Variety, @alanmcole, @irinatsukerman, @jeffdlowe, @zeitchikwapo, @frankpallotta, @variety, @brianpshea, Forbes, Business Insider, Vanity Fair, IndieWire and The Week
Kerry Flynn / CNN:
Digital media like BuzzFeed, Group Nine, and Vice were all expected to earn profits in 2020, but now executives warn staff of layoffs while publicly keeping mum — New York (CNN Business)2020 was supposed to be a banner year for digital media. BuzzFeed, Group Nine, and Vice each indicated …
Discussion:
@kerrymflynn, @kerrymflynn, @kerrymflynn, @aggancarski, @kerrymflynn and @nandoodles
Mehdi Jedinia / Reuters:
Iran has ordered media to use only official statistics when covering COVID-19, told journalists to avoid investigative reporting, and harassed those who do — As coronavirus spreads in Iran, authorities have moved swiftly and aggressively to contain independent reporting about it by harassing …
Discussion:
@jimfryvoa, @niemanlab and @penamerica
Cynthia Littleton / Variety:
ViacomCBS withdraws 2020 financial guidance, says it has a $3.5B credit facility, and expects 16M US streaming pay subscribers and 30M Pluto MAUs by end of 2020 — ViacomCBS on Friday became the latest media giant to warn investors about the grave threat to its business operations posed …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, @lizrhoffman, @asharma, @benmullin, TheStreet, ViacomCBS Inc. and Digital TV Europe
Ashley Carman / The Verge:
Facebook to add new features to make Live easier to use, including an audio-only mode, automatic closed captions, and letting logged-out users watch streams — Automatic closed captioning and an audio-only mode — COVID-19 and its resulting social distancing measures have inspired lots …
Kali Hays / WWD:
Podtrac: podcast downloads in the US have fallen ~10% and total unique listeners are down ~20% since the start of March, with true crime podcasts down the most — It seems everyone just wants the news, on TV and online, not a true crime podcast. — Since early March, when concerns around …
Discussion:
Podtrac Measurement Blog, @eshap and @carnage4life, more at Techmeme »
Lily Hay Newman / Wired:
Google removes Infowars app from Play Store, citing misinformation, after a video posted in the app disputed the need for measures to contain the coronavirus — Apple kicked Alex Jones out of the App Store in 2018. The Google Play Store has finally followed suit.
Discussion:
Gizmodo, The Verge, @reflectingman, @lilyhnewman, Newsweek, 9to5Google, @zackwhittaker, @oliverdarcy and Matt's Newsletter
Beatrice Verhoeven / The Wrap:
Disney closes California's Disneyland and Florida's Disney World indefinitely, after initially planning to close through March, will pay staff through April 18 — Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort will remain closed until further notice, a spokesperson for The Walt Disney Company announced on Friday.
Discussion:
Orlando Sentinel, Newsweek, Deadline, Los Angeles Times, Reuters, Fox News, Forbes, Variety, CNET and @lukemmoney
Sarah Scire / Nieman Lab:
Slate launches a metered paywall with an initial threshold of at least 10 articles/month, says CEO, after which readers will have to join Slate Plus — “Up till now, Slate has provided almost all of its written work for free. But going forward, we think the way we will truly thrive …
Discussion:
MediaPost and @katie_rayford
Jon Porter / The Verge:
Disney-owned digital movie locker service Movies Anywhere is launching its first smart TV app, on LG TVs — Making them the first smart TVs with a native app — Movies Anywhere — the Disney-owned movie locker service that combines your purchased films across digital stores including Apple TV …
Discussion:
Variety, Media Play News and The Streamable, more at Techmeme »