Mediagazer: 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 (Kerry Flynn/CNN)

3:55 AM ET, March 28, 2020

Top News:

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 …

more at Techmeme »

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 »

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Senior Data Journalist, NY — WSJ

Manager - Publishing Editorial, Manila — Reuters

Oil Reporter, Singapore — Bloomberg

Newsperson - State Govt. & Politics, CA — AP

Business Reporter, SC — Post & Courier

State Government Reporter, WA — Seattle Times

Climate Crisis Columnist — Prospect UK

Multimedia Journalist, CA — Paramount

Community Engagement Mgr., DC — Freedom Forum

Senior California Politics Reporter, CA — SFGATE

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Team Editor - Opinion, ON — Toronto Star

Assistant Correspondent, DC — Kyodo News

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City Correspondent, London — Financial News

Legislative Reporter, CA — Sacramento Bee

Reporter, PA — Tribune-Review

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More News:

Matt Donnelly / Variety:
Internal memo: WarnerMedia commits to $100M+ relief fund for its workers affected by production shutdowns across WarnerMedia; HBO Max on schedule for May launch

Discussion: The Wrap, @loudmouthjulia, @mattdonnelly and Hollywood Reporter

María Ramírez / Nieman Reports:
A look at eldiario.es in locked-down Madrid, an outlet founded by journalists in 2012 with no paywall, supported by memberships that provide a third of revenue

Discussion: @mariaramirezny, @niemanfdn, @mariaramirezny, @hollyvhays, @rasmus_kleis, @mariaramirezny, @mariaramirezny, @marklittlenews, What's New in Publishing, @janebsinger, @marklittlenews and American Press Institute

National Geographic Society:
National Geographic Society launches a global fund for journalists covering COVID-19, with an emphasis on underserved groups and funding from $1,000-$8,000

Discussion: @penguinsix, @bradfordpearson, @opennews and @bradfordpearson

Paul Heintz / Seven Days:
In the past two weeks in Vermont, one newspaper shut down, three suspended print editions, three reduced print frequency, seven announced layoffs and furloughs

Discussion: @paulheintz

Bloomberg:
Sources: Media M&As worth $5B+ are on hold with ViacomCBS pausing the sale of Simon & Schuster, AT&T of 4 RSNs, and Black Diamond of Ion Media

Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
Hooq, a streaming service backed by Singapore's Singtel, Sony Pictures, and Warner Bros, which had raised $95M, files for liquidation

Discussion: @ianjsikora and Reuters

Earlier Picks:

Lauren Markham / Columbia Journalism Review:
Profile of Lizzie Johnson, the San Francisco Chronicle's first full-time fire reporter, who depicts fires as a “supporting character” in a nuanced human story

Discussion: @colleenhagerty, Voice of San Diego, @laurenmarkham_ and @lizziejohnsonnn

Facebook Grant Program:
The Facebook Journalism Project announces first round of $5,000 grants to North American local newsrooms for costs associated with COVID-19 pandemic coverage

Discussion: @bobmoorenews, @ryan_belmore, @jason_w_white, @tomnovelly, @mediatwit, @lizzyhazeltine, @brdraper, @karanormal and @ckrewson

David Stout / New York Times:
Richard Reeves, a nationally syndicated columnist and author of books on presidents Kennedy, Nixon, Reagan, Clinton, and others, has died at 83

Toni Gidwani / The Keyword:
Google sent users 40K warnings about phishing or malware attempts from nation-states in 2019, a 25% drop YoY; journalist and news outlet impersonations up

Discussion: Gizmodo, @camillefrancois, Wired, CNET, @yoyoel, @campuscodi and @freedomofpress

Scott Feinberg / Hollywood Reporter:
Films can qualify for the Golden Globes without being screened in a theater, organizers announce; a special screening process will be in effect until April 30

Discussion: @slashfilm, The Wrap, Variety and The A.V. Club

From Techmeme:

Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority:
Source: Google has canceled the development of a second-generation Pixel Tablet, planned for release in 2025, due to concerns that it wouldn't sell very well

The Information:
Sources: OpenAI considered making a browser, discussed deals to power AI features on Samsung devices and search on sites and apps from Condé Nast and others

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is testing a more conversational version of Siri, dubbed “LLM Siri”, with plans to release it in spring 2026 as part of iOS 19 and macOS 16

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