Top News:
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.
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:
Free Press, Press Gazette, Washington Post, @leigh_phillips, @psheppardtv, @kristenhare, @jim_edwards, @wturvill, @taykuy, @themadstone, @kyunglahcnn, @kerrymflynn, @slpng_giants, @damianradcliffe, @mmcphate, @christinajedra, @jilnotjill, @heersinkolivia, @dataeditor, @lalanewsman, @lifewinning, @daveyalba, @abbyhamblin, @nprinskeep, @kristenhare and @seungminkim
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:
@hypervisible, @hbwhbwhbw, @rasmus_kleis, @dnvolz, @kavehwaddell, @slpng_giants, @jason_kint and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
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 and C21Media
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 …
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, Seeking Alpha, Poynter, @brizzyc, @raju 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
Freddy Mayhew / Press Gazette:
Traffic to the Financial Times website has grown 250% YoY in the past month and it has seen a ten-fold increase in trial subscriptions in the past three weeks — Traffic to the Financial Times website has grown 250 per cent year-on-year over the past month as coverage of the coronavirus crisis …
Discussion:
Talking Biz News
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, @jimwaterson and @matthewwells
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:
Music Business Worldwide, @rollingstone, @suchnerve, Engadget, AppleInsider, 9to5Mac and Variety, Thanks:@millmanethan
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:
@michellemanafy
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:
@emmersbrown, @nycjim, @oliverdarcy and @kimmasters
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.
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Kristen Hare / Poynter:
The Philadelphia COVID-19 Community Information Fund says it will give newsrooms in the city $2.5M to cover COVID-19 — Several newsrooms in Philadelphia will get funds to help them cover the coronavirus pandemic. — The Philadelphia COVID-19 Community Information Fund will put $2.5 million …
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, @oliverdarcy, The Week, Defense One, @clydehaberman, @karaswisher, @niemanlab, Politico, @jeffzeleny, @johnfugelsang, @yamiche, @thepaulsryan, @ruthbenghiat, @jesselehrich, @hadas_gold, @philippereines, @tvietor08, 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
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, @maggienyt, Talking Points Memo, Poynter, Slate, @thedailybeast, @crampell, @kfile, @justinbaragona, @kylegriffin1, @normeisen, @maddow, @nicolledwallace, @maggieserota, @baratunde, CNN, @zararahim, @metaquest, Raw Story, Vanity Fair, Breitbart, Politico, Mediaite, The Hill, Newser, The Wrap, The Guardian, The Week and New York Post
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, @daveyalba, @sammyragland, @maximedwards, @tracyweber, @kenwardjr, @sisiwei, @hberkes, @robertfaturechi, @va4journalists, @niemanlab and @poynter
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