Top News:
Oliver Darcy / CNN:
Pence's office says it won't let public health officials appear on CNN unless the outlet airs the part of the briefing with the VP and other task force members — New York (CNN Business)Vice President Mike Pence's office has declined to allow the nation's top health officials to appear …
Justin Wise / The Hill:
18 US senators ask leadership to include aid in any future COVID-19 stimulus plan for recipients “who make a long-term commitment to high quality local news” — More than a dozen senators are calling for any future stimulus package addressing the economic fallout from the novel coronavirus …
Discussion:
Washington Post, The NewsGuild - CWA, @jonmurray, @jonmurray, @ariarmstrong, @stephenbeard, @jonmurray, @coreyhutchins, @jonmurray and @evertonbailey
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Zacc Ritter / Gallup:
Gallup: general US attitudes toward media are unchanged since 2018 with 34% having a favorable or somewhat favorable view thereof, largely correlated with party — As news about the novel coronavirus has gripped the country in recent weeks, a series of Knight Foundation/Gallup surveys finds …
Discussion:
The Hill, MediaPost, TVNewser, Mediaite, @brianstelter, @nickpwing and @timkmak
Paul Tassi / Forbes:
Quibi's Punk'd will air in parts of Fortnite, potentially setting the stage for other content deals, as Fortnite shifts to becoming a virtual meeting space — In yet another step forward to becoming the Metaverse, dataminers have pulled out information about a new playlist coming to Fortnite which will …
Discussion:
@emilybell and @peteschroeder
Patrick Frater / Variety:
Sony acquires a $400M, or 5%, stake in Bilibili, a Chinese online entertainment platform that spans video to mobile games and says it has 116M DAUs — Sony is to pay $400 million for a minority stake in Chinese online entertainment platform Bilibili. The deal values Bilibili at $8 billion.
Discussion:
The Wrap, TechCrunch and Hollywood Reporter, more at Techmeme »
Jim Waterson / The Guardian:
Leaked letter: UK culture secretary wrote ad industry leaders to urge them to stop blocking ads from running next to online trusted news stories about COVID-19 — Firms urged to abandon blocklisting as online stories generate record traffic but little revenue
Discussion:
@janemartinson, @sonnet_lumiere, @arvindhickman, @stephenkb, @ceylanwrites, @jimwaterson and Econsultancy
Jason Gurwin / The Streamable:
Disney says Disney+ has 50M+ paid subscribers globally, and that its April 3 launch in India accounts for 8M Disney+ subscribers — Disney announced that the company has surpassed 50 million paid subscribers, following their launch in India and eight Western European countries (UK, Ireland …
Discussion:
Variety, @lucas_shaw, /Film, Hollywood Reporter, The Week, MediaNama, @xpangler, @trengriffin, @edmundlee, @xpangler, @xpangler, @edmundlee, MediaPost, AppleInsider, Adweek and Hollywood Reporter, more at Techmeme »
Rick Edmonds / Poynter:
Sources: Hearst CEO Steven Swartz told publishers and editors that Hearst is giving a 1% bonus to employees and plans no furloughs or pay cuts amid the pandemic — The company's CEO instead announced raises and a bonus merit pool and eliminated budget targets for executive bonuses
Clara Hendrickson / Brookings:
Half of the US counties that have reported COVID-19 cases are news deserts and 57% lack a daily paper — While the coronavirus may be a global pandemic, the public health crisis has revealed the critical role of local news outlets currently working tirelessly to cover the impact of the coronavirus on their communities.
Discussion:
The Guardian and @clarajanehen
Gaspard Sebag / Bloomberg:
France orders Google to pay publishers to display article snippets, starting from October of 2019, and gives three months to come to terms with publishers — - Watchdog says Google may have caused ‘serious’ harm to press — Antitrust agency issues interim measures after press complaint
Discussion:
Reuters and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
Jesper Doub / Facebook Journalism Project …:
Facebook provides $3M in funding to the European Journalism COVID-19 Support Fund in partnership with the European Journalism Centre, which will disburse funds — Facebook invests $3 million in new European Journalism COVID-19 Support Fund — The news industry is working under extraordinary conditions …
Discussion:
HoldtheFrontPage and Fox News
Kerry Flynn / CNN:
Ten health reporters from across the globe discuss dropping their other assignments to cover the biggest story of their careers while also trying to stay safe — New York (CNN Business)In 2017, The Washington Post health reporter Lena Sun wrote, “The Trump administration is ill-prepared for a global pandemic.”
Discussion:
@cj_teague, @armstrongdrew, @baldwin_sydney, @jennpaganelli, @stephaniemlee and @kerrymflynn
Tristan Greene / The Next Web:
A look at the racist, right-wing conspiracy blog that Kayleigh McEnany, the new White House press secretary, ran until 2016 — I'm about three hours into a deep wallow in new US Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany's blog and - spoiler alert - it's a hot mess full of racism, Islamophobia, and right-wing conspiracy theories.
Discussion:
Washington Post, @waybackmachine, @jamesgleick, @sulliview and Washington Post
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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
Discussion:
Columbia Journalism Review, @emmersbrown, @kimmasters, @nycjim, Vanity Fair, The Daily Beast, @oliverdarcy, @justinbaragona and @yamiche
Jack Hough / Barron's Online:
Interview with Bob Iger on how the entertainment industry and Disney might change after the pandemic, the mood at Disney, and more — Walt Disney has been hit hard by the pandemic. Shutdowns of theme parks, movie theaters and cruise lines have laid low business units that just months ago were enjoying record profits.
Discussion:
Reuters, @marketwatch, Back From The Crash, @pwansly, @antovolk, @mousterpiece, @richlightshed, New York Times, Variety, Forbes, Business Insider and The Streamable
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