Mediagazer: 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 (Sarah Scire/Nieman Lab)

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, Business Insider, Forbes, @variety, Vanity Fair, @jeffdlowe, @alanmcole, @zeitchikwapo, The Week, @frankpallotta and IndieWire

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: @katie_rayford

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, TheStreet, @asharma, ViacomCBS Inc., Digital TV Europe and @benmullin

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 — Media companies including AT&T Inc. and ViacomCBS Inc. are pressing the pause button on asset sales worth more than $5 billion …

Jon Porter / The Verge:

Disney-owned digital movie locker service Movies Anywhere is launching its first smart TV app, on LG — 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, The Streamable and Media Play News

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 — Thursday's edition of the Waterbury Record will be its last. — In a front-page story announcing its own demise …

Discussion: @paulheintz

Manish Singh / TechCrunch:

Hooq, a streaming service backed by Singapore's Singtel, Sony Pictures, and Warner Bros, which had raised $95M, files for liquidation — On-demand video streaming service Hooq said on Friday it has filed for liquidation after it failed to grow rapidly and cover its increasing operating costs.

Discussion: Reuters

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 — His books on Kennedy, Nixon, Clinton and others could be as unsparing as his syndicated column. He was also a familiar face on PBS public-affairs programs.

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 — What you see in the aftermath of the California fires — On November 8, 2018, the day the Camp Fire broke out …

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

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 — At least until April 30, but possibly beyond even that, films can qualify for consideration by the HFPA even if they do not first screen in a theater.

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

Maura Church / Patreon Blog:

Patreon says 30,000+ creators signed up in the first three weeks of March; average new patron growth in 6 countries, including US and Italy, was 36.2% over Feb. — Right now is a stressful time to be a creator. In a time when so many around the world are deeply affected …

Discussion: @outoftheverse, Music Ally, @om, @glenngabe, @ranimolla, @randfish, @nwquah, TechCrunch, The Verge and bookforum.com

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 — The Facebook Journalism Project (FJP), the Lenfest Institute for Journalism and the Local Media Association (LMA) …

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