Mediagazer: GeekWire is laying off or furloughing 5 staffers, or about 30% of its 16-person team, primarily in business and sales, and reducing salaries for remaining staff (Todd Bishop/GeekWire)

2:35 PM ET, April 12, 2020

Top News:

Andrew Bucholtz / Awful Announcing:

Sports Illustrated owner Maven has fired longtime soccer journalist Grant Wahl, following Wahl's public criticism of company plans for a permanent staff pay cut — Grant Wahl is far from the only person to criticize Maven's operation of Sports Illustrated, but he may be the first to lose his job after offering those criticisms.

Discussion: @byianthomas, @si_union, @grantwahl, The Ringer, @awfulannouncing, @grantwahl, @dave_schilling, @bobbyburton247, @thesagerbomb, @adamzagoria, @woodywhitehurst, @mark_j_boyle, @joebanner13, @rwilliams1947, @dannyoneil, @awfulannouncing, @griffinporter97, @dmccomasob, @nytimesguild, @maggiegray, @liam_twomey, @citizen_kay, @alex_kirshner, @grantwahl, @grantwahl, @rohannadkarni, @conororr, @jessica_smetana, @jennyvrentas, @chrischavez, @lmechegaray, @jmkliegman, @grantwahl, @dave_schilling, @lfcny, @jduffyrice, @ollieholt22, @nickcarboniwcnc, @rohannadkarni, @seidelumbc, @larsanderson71, @davisjsn, @c_stillitano, @annkillion, @nwbaird, @dylanbyers, @jasongay, @itsmeglinehan, @timmarchman, @kami, @nicoleauerbach, @luisomartapia, @dyoungrivals, @lacrimes, @jasonschreier, @slmandel, @lizroscher, @pacificpdx, @gabepirlo, @bydavidgardner, @jeremymbarr, @enswelljones, @kylecoche, @bykevinclark, @molly_knight, @maxwelltani, @jasonschwartz, @richarddeitsch and The Big Lead

Marc Tracy / New York Times:

An estimated 28,000 workers at US news companies have been laid off, furloughed, or had their pay reduced since the COVID-19 crisis began — Roughly 28,000 workers at news companies nationwide have been laid off, furloughed or had their pay reduced. Some publications that rely on ads have shut down.

Daniel Chang / Miami Herald:

The Miami Herald says FL governor's aide pressured its law firm into not filing a public records lawsuit to disclose COVID-19 data; Herald to file with new firm — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' general counsel called a representative of the Miami Herald's law firm seeking to quash …

Discussion: @jkbjournalist, @bruno_j_navarro, @shawnboburg, @davidcorndc, @jpanzer, @weinsteinlaw, @jkbjournalist, @billybaldwin, The Hill, @joparkerbear, @jason_kint, @jasonleopold, @radleybalko, @miamiherald and Raw Story

Rachel Nuwer / New York Times:

Netflix's Tiger King is a product of a changing film industry in which the lines between documentary and reality TV are blurring — Critics say the popular Netflix series and its directors lost sight of the conservation and animal welfare problems at the heart of the story of Joe Exotic.

Discussion: Tampa Bay Times, @markkatches, @laurenbeukes, @nytimes, @nytscience, @nytimes, @nytimes, NME and Tiffany's Newsletter

Carrie Sheffield / Just The News:

Voice of America EIC defends its coverage of China after WH newsletter accuses it of speaking for “America's adversaries” by calling Wuhan lockdown a success — VOA chief fires back after official White House newsletter declares: “VOA too often speaks for America's adversaries—not its citizens.”

New York Times:

In response to the pandemic, fashion magazines adjust to reduced ads, no photoshoots, and walking the line between selling fantasy and reflecting the crisis — Glossy magazines sell fantasy. Now they have to reckon with reality. It's complicated. — Last week, Vanity Fair Italy's cover star …

Discussion: @kerrymflynn, @laurasnapes, @maxapotter, @steve_salter and @lizziepaton

Ariel Zirulnick / The Membership Puzzle Project:

How 15+ news orgs adjusted their membership programs to respond to the pandemic by making membership appeals, recreating in-person events online, and more — The world has changed dramatically since we published our case study on Zetland's successful member ambassador campaign in mid-March.

The Wrap:

Source: Valence Media plans staffing cuts of up to $10M at The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard next week, as the media company's losses are ~$18M-$19M a year — The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard are set for deep staffing cuts next week by parent Valence Media in an effort to reduce personnel …

Discussion: @ashleyyspencer, @benjamingoggin and MediaPost

Sara Guaglione / MediaPost:

CNBC Digital unique visitors in March doubled since Feb., CNBC site reached 1B monthly page views for the first time, while CNBC Pro subs were up 189% since Jan — CNBC Digital hit a record number of unique visitors in March, more than doubling its February record.

Discussion: @christinawilkie, @laurenthomas, @sherman4949 and Talking Biz News

Mia Galuppo / Hollywood Reporter:

SXSW filmmakers voice concerns over SXSW's Amazon Prime Video free streaming offer, saying it may hurt their film's distribution chances and future sales — “Showing things for free isn't going to make a dent,” says one producer of a project that has opted out of the tech giant's festival collection.

Discussion: @thr, @sarahmegant, @thr, @kimmasters, @thr, @filmcollab, @tatianasiegel27 and The Playlist

Luke Mullins / Washingtonian:

Memo: Washington Post local government and politics reporter Darran Simon was found dead in his apartment Thursday; Simon joined WaPo last month from CNN — No cause of death has been announced. — Washington Post reporter Darran Simon was found dead in his apartment on Thursday …

Todd Bishop / GeekWire:

GeekWire is laying off or furloughing 5 staffers, or about 30% of its 16-person team, primarily in business and sales, and reducing salaries for remaining staff — For the past few weeks, GeekWire has been chronicling the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the Seattle tech community and the world …

Discussion: @geoffentress, @jseattle, @frankcatalano and @kslosh

Archived Page Info:

This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 2:35 PM ET, April 12, 2020.

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Who's Hiring in Media?

Commissioning Editor - Practical Law — Reuters

Energy Markets Reporter, London — WSJ

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

Staff Writer - Business, NY — WIRED

Editor, MA — Nieman Reports

Team Editor - Breaking News, ON — Toronto Star

Senior Reporter & Event Host, NY/CA — Newcomer

Climate & Weather Reporter, MN — Star Tribune

Senior Tech Editor, Remote US — The Verge

News Reporter, MA — Berkshire Eagle

Multimedia Journalist, PA — Observer-Reporter

Managing Editor, WA — Everett Herald

Private Credit Reporter, NY — Debtwire

Legislative Reporter, CA — Sacramento Bee

Reporter, PA — Tribune-Review

Visual Editor, Remote — Rest of World

Staff Writer, MI — Watershed Voice

California Playbook Writer, CA — Politico

Senior Media Editor — Digiday

National Investigative Reporter, NY — HuffPost

Business & Gaming Reporter, NV — Las Vegas Sun

Coastal Climate Reporter, SC — Island Packet

Environment & Energy Reporter, CT — CT Mirror

Coordinating Editor, OR — OPB

Staff Reporter, CA — Daily Kos

Data Editor, NY — ProPublica

Editor-in-Chief, AZ — Phoenix New Times

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More News:

Alex Thompson / Politico:
The Young Turks employees voted to unionize on Thursday; in a note to staff, CEO Cenk Uygur continued to oppose the union, but “would respect their choice”

Discussion: @alxthomp, @mghughesnc, @laurenthehough, @cmargaronis, @josecanyousee, @politico, @rmc031, @fawfulfan, @briantashman, @politicoryan and @treeaston

Ali Younes / Al Jazeera:
Jordan military arrests the owner and news director of satellite TV station Roya TV for a news report on economic difficulties due to lockdown

Discussion: @zoe_flood, @leila_ma, Mediaite and Committee to Protect …

Jason Lynch / Adweek:
NBCU, Fox, Discovery, and Disney won't hold their events during upfronts week in May nor will, sources say, WarnerMedia; none have set replacement dates

Discussion: @ashkan, @jasonlynch, @adweek and Variety

Joe Mandese / MediaPost:
Gupta Media: Facebook's worldwide CPM hit an all-time low of $1.95 on Tuesday; the average US CPM has remained below $3 since March 22, its lowest in two years

Discussion: @ashkan, @jason_kint and @ericjhonsa

David Bauder / Associated Press:
Liberty University pressed charges for trespassing against a ProPublica reporter and NYT photographer; a magistrate has signed misdemeanor warrants against them

Discussion: @amy_siskind, Columbia Journalism Review, @amandamarcotte, @vanitaguptacr, @c_stroop, @dellcam, @shahidforchange, @grace_panetta, @erickleefeld, @jzfriedman, @craigsilverman, Reason and Techdirt

Earlier Picks:

Todd Spangler / Variety:
Amazon opens up Watch Parties to its top US Twitch creators with Prime memberships who can now livestream and comment on a selection of Prime Video content

Discussion: @xpangler, @xpangler and @xpangler

Issie Lapowsky / Protocol:
Study shows that despite efforts by Facebook and Google, true sources of funding behind political ads are hard to track

Discussion: @issielapowsky, @yesthatabbywood, @brendan_fischer, @campaignlegal, @issielapowsky, @emilydreyfuss, @thetrevorpotter and @brendan_fischer

Elizabeth Grieco / Pew Research Center:
Pew: between 2008 and 2018, the number of newsroom employees aged 35-54 fell 42%, from 52.9K to 30.8K, as share of those aged 55+ rose 31% from 16.4K to 21.4K

Discussion: @rossdawson

Kerry Flynn / CNN:
Memo: McClatchy will furlough 4.4% of employees, lay off 4 executives, and reduce some executive pay; CEO Craig Forman will take a 50% cut to total compensation

Discussion: @kerrymflynn, @tmorris504, @raju, @isabellacueto, @robyntomlin, @samanthajgross, @jbenton, @sarafischer, @davidshepardson, @rl_bynum, @rl_bynum, @kerrymflynn and @kerrymflynn

Barbara Allen / Poynter:
Tribune Publishing CEO announces 2%-10% permanent pay cuts for non-union employees making $67,000/year or more, will pursue cost savings among unionized workers

From Techmeme:

Financial Times:
Sources: the US FTC plans to investigate allegations that Microsoft is abusing its market power in productivity software to prevent customers from leaving Azure

Maxwell Zeff / TechCrunch:
OpenAI says the ChatGPT desktop app for macOS can now read code from some developer-focused apps, including VS Code, Xcode, TextEdit, Terminal, and iTerm2

Decrypt:
Eighteen US states, led by Kentucky, sue the SEC and its commissioners, including Chairman Gary Gensler, over its crackdown on the crypto industry

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