Top News:
Kristen Hare / Poynter:
An updating list of layoffs, furloughs, and closures in journalism attributed to COVID-19's impact on the economy and media — It's getting hard to keep track of the bad news about the news right now. But we have to. Here's our attempt to collect the layoffs, furloughs …
Discussion:
Freedom of the Prez, Free Press, @psheppardtv, @leigh_phillips, Press Gazette, @kristenhare, @jim_edwards, @wturvill, @taykuy, @themadstone, @kyunglahcnn, @kerrymflynn, @slpng_giants, @damianradcliffe, @mmcphate, @christinajedra, @jilnotjill, @heersinkolivia, Washington Post, @dataeditor, @lalanewsman, @lifewinning, @daveyalba, @abbyhamblin, @nprinskeep, @kristenhare and @seungminkim
Financial Times:
Sources: Will Lewis is stepping down as chief executive of Dow Jones, in a departure described as “amicable” — British media executive is leaving ‘amicably’ — Will Lewis is stepping down as chief executive of Dow Jones, the Rupert Murdoch-owned publisher, according to people familiar with the matter.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, @markdistef, @markdistef, @markdistef and @mattgarrahan
Jim Waterson / The Guardian:
UK's Jewish Chronicle and Jewish News, which agreed to be merged under a charitable trust in February, will be liquidated and the staff made redundant — Sources say staff have been told parent company has run out of money during UK lockdown — The Jewish Chronicle and Jewish News …
Tim Dams / Variety:
COVID-19 fund for Film and TV freelancers in UK launches, with donations totaling £2.5M from Netflix, BFI, BBC Studios, others, and offering grants up to £2,500 — The COVID-19 Film and TV Emergency Relief Fund has opened for applications in the U.K., as research shows that 93% …
Discussion:
Film and TV Charity, @bafta, @bfi, C21Media and @dannykirrane
New York Times:
SimilarWeb: traffic to partisan sites and even foxnews.com has stagnated during the crisis while local news and large media orgs have seen huge jumps — Stuck at home during the coronavirus pandemic, with movie theaters closed and no restaurants to dine in, Americans have been spending more of their lives online.
Kaveh Waddell / Consumer Reports:
In a small experiment, Facebook approved seven scheduled ads with content that violated company rules about COVID-19, indicating flaws in automated ad screening — A CR experiment raises questions about how the social media giant screens ads on its platform
Discussion:
TechCrunch, @rasmus_kleis, @hypervisible, @hbwhbwhbw, @dnvolz, @kavehwaddell, @slpng_giants, @jason_kint and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Hyperlocal news platform Patch says it had its strongest revenue and traffic month ever in March and added 150,000 email subscribers, for a total of 2.3M — Patch, the hyperlocal (and profitable) digital news platform, had its strongest month ever in March for both revenue and traffic, according to president Warren St. John.
Discussion:
@noahmanskar, @mayakauf and @michellemanafy
David Cuillier / Nieman Lab:
Governments around the world are using tactics like barring reporters from meetings and denying record requests to hide facts about their response to COVID-19 — Students at the University of Florida who want to know how they are being protected from the COVID-19 pandemic can't find out.
Discussion:
@kubremner, @mattdrange, @documentally, @mariaressa and American Press Institute
Mike Kanin / The Texas Observer:
Texas Observer names Tristan Ahtone, formerly indigenous affairs editor at High Country News, as editor-in-chief; he has worked for Al Jazeera America and NPR — These past few weeks have been rough. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold in Texas, we're seeing the horrifying impacts …
Discussion:
@tahtone, @michaelsbarajas and @mkanin
Ethan Millman / Rolling Stone:
Apple started a $50M fund to pay advance royalties to indie labels earning at least $10K in quarterly Apple Music revenue, as per a letter sent to the labels — Apple Music is the latest company to offer industry relief amid the coronavirus pandemic. It told independent record labels Tuesday …
Discussion:
RAIN News, Music Business Worldwide, @rollingstone, Engadget, @suchnerve, AppleInsider, 9to5Mac and Variety, Thanks:@millmanethan
Oliver Darcy / CNN:
Some of the biggest names in right-wing media are questioning the official COVID-19 death toll, suggesting the numbers are inflated to make Trump look bad — Some of the biggest names in right-wing media are questioning the official Covid-19 death toll. Indeed, they're suggesting …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, @nycjim, @emmersbrown, @oliverdarcy, @kimmasters and The Week
Jake Kanter / Deadline:
Channel 4 to furlough around 10% of staff, cut 2020 content budget by £150M, and draw from £75M emergency credit, as ad revenue is down 50%+ in April and May — Channel 4 has outlined an emergency cost-cutting plan in its bid to weather the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic.
Discussion:
@jake_kanter, @coasttv, @jimwaterson and @matthewwells
Nathan Bomey / USA Today:
Gannett board adopts a poison pill, aimed at blocking any hostile takeover attempts, after announcing cost cuts and a dividend suspension on April 1 — Gannett, the owner of USA TODAY and more than 260 other daily publications, announced Tuesday that its board had implemented a plan to ensure …
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, @mathewi, @jbenton, @brizzyc, Poynter, @raju, Seeking Alpha and Gannett
Patrick Frater / Variety:
Report accuses Baidu's streaming site iQiyi of fraud “well before its 2018 IPO”, says it inflated 2019 revenue by ~$1.13B to $1.98B by overstating user numbers — U.S.-based securities analysis firm and activist investor Wolfpack Research has publicly accused Chinese streaming platform iQIYI of fraud.
Discussion:
Wolf Pack Research, CNBC and @wolfpackreports, more at Techmeme »
Catherine Sweeney / Poynter:
Journalists and unions in the US are starting fundraisers to help laid-off and furloughed journalists, with one fund raising $38K+ from which 110 requested aid — After many of the country's most prominent newspaper companies implemented furloughs, journalists sprung to action to help their colleagues.
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, @sisiwei, American Press Institute, @zielina, @daveyalba, @maximedwards, @tracyweber, @kenwardjr, @sisiwei, @hberkes, @sammyragland, @robertfaturechi, @va4journalists, @niemanlab and @poynter
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CNN:
Stephanie Grisham is leaving her job as press secretary, having never held a briefing, and returning to her previous job as Melania Trump's chief of staff — (CNN)White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham is leaving the job without ever having briefed the press.
Discussion:
Columbia Journalism Review, Vanity Fair, Washington Post, Washington Post, The Week, @oliverdarcy, Defense One, @clydehaberman, @karaswisher, @niemanlab, @jeffzeleny, @johnfugelsang, @yamiche, @thepaulsryan, @ruthbenghiat, @jesselehrich, @hadas_gold, @philippereines, @tvietor08, Politico, The Daily Dot, The Daily Beast and Editor & Publisher Magazine
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New York Times:
Trump campaign spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany has been named press secretary; sources: the chief of staff wants her to focus on defending the president on TV
Trump campaign spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany has been named press secretary; sources: the chief of staff wants her to focus on defending the president on TV
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Daily Beast, @maggienyt, @kfile, Talking Points Memo, @thedailybeast, Poynter, @crampell, @justinbaragona, Slate, @normeisen, @kylegriffin1, @maddow, @nicolledwallace, @maggieserota, @baratunde, @zararahim, @metaquest, CNN, Raw Story, Vanity Fair, Breitbart, Politico, Mediaite, The Hill, Newser, The Wrap, The Guardian, The Week and New York Post
NPR:
Interview with Campbell Brown about Facebook's grants for local news and how it identifies the recipients with help from the Local Media Association and others — • Campbell Brown, Facebook's head of news partnerships, describes the company's $100 million investment in local news agencies.
Discussion:
Fox News
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