Top News:
Ben Smith / New York Times:
Sources: after handing over to the new CEO, Bob Iger effectively returned to run Disney in March, as the pandemic decimated its most profitable businesses — The former C.E.O. thought he was riding into the sunset. Now he's reasserting control and reimagining Disney as a company with fewer employees and more thermometers.
Discussion:
/Film, Deadline, Business Insider, Observer, Hollywood Reporter, The Playlist, @yashar, @benyt, The Week, @carnage4life, @nbj914, @misterpatches, @benyt, @mousterpiece, @benyt, @chrisbrogan, That Still, Small Voice, @jonfriedman, @mcastimovies, @fosadam, Variety, @stevekopack, @snoodit, @richlightshed, The Wrap and New York Post, more at Techmeme »
Peter Kafka / Vox:
In some early COVID-19 coverage by the US media, conflicting and sometimes inaccurate information from experts and officials resulted in muddled messages — President Trump speaks during a news conference with members of his Coronavirus Task Force on March 19. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Discussion:
@dwallacewells, @adamgoldmannyt, @dylanbyers, @cwarzel, @willoremus, @ranimolla, @sarthakgh, @robdet, @pkafka, @ssdai, @dylanlscott, @jerylbier, @benyt, @drjoehanson and @djcdiem
Lauren Feiner / CNBC:
Meg Whitman says Quibi had 1.7M downloads in its first week and is accelerating plans to let the app cast to TVs due to the lockdown — - New mobile streaming service Quibi saw 1.7 million downloads in its first week, CEO Meg Whitman said on CNBC's “Squawk on the Street” Monday.
Discussion:
The Streamable, Variety, @stevekovach and @stevekovach, more at Techmeme »
New York Times:
Condé Nast announces pay cuts of 10%-20% for those earning over $100K and expects “some role eliminations” as it seeks government assistance in the UK and EU — The glossy magazine publisher says it is experiencing “significant financial pressure” and imposing cost-saving measures across the globe.
Discussion:
@nytimes, Variety, @joeybear85, @media_evan, @benmullin, @annaknicolaou, @edmundlee, @maxwelltani, @mradamtaylor, @kerrymflynn, @kerrymflynn, @eiffeltyler, @hamiltonnolan, @sapna and @brokenbottleboy
Chris Stokel-Walker / OneZero:
As some YouTube advertising rates drop by as much as 50% while viewership rates are up, YouTubers say their pay has declined dramatically — Advertising rates on the platform have dropped significantly during the coronavirus pandemic — Newspapers, websites, and TV channels have all been decimated by the coronavirus.
Discussion:
Business Insider, @carnage4life, @ozm, @ozm, @baekdal, @therevmountain, @baekdal and @stokel, more at Techmeme »
Renée DiResta / The Atlantic:
Chinese state media is amplifying conspiracies from the internet, aimed at muddying the origin of COVID-19, through official channels, paid ads, and diplomats — The coronavirus that became a global pandemic first surfaced late last year in Wuhan, China. But according to one common narrative making …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Fox News, VICE, Breitbart and @alexstamos
Seb Joseph / Digiday:
Esport sites are struggling to monetize the huge rise in viewership due to the drastically slowed ad market; Twitch had a record 1.1B viewing hours in March — Viewership of esports may be booming right now, but the drastically slowed ad market has made capitalizing on that audience difficult.
Jane Perlez / New York Times:
Interviews with 41 foreign correspondents shed light on reporting from the US during the Trump administration, often having to decode unprecedented events — Dagens Nyheter, Sweden — Reporting from Washington, D.C., since 2017; first foreign posting. — A lot of Swedes are interested …
Discussion:
@brianod_news, @kaedotcom, @rcoreyb and @eyderp
Munsif Vengattil / Reuters:
Dish Network says it's cut staff, without specifying how many, and is re-evaluating its business to better cope with the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic — (Reuters) - Dish Network Corp (DISH.O) has cut staff and is re-evaluating its business to cope better with the fallout …
Discussion:
Variety, The Wrap, Multichannel News and Hollywood Reporter
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 …
John Ourand / Sports Business Daily:
ESPN confirms it is asking about 100 commentators to take a temporary pay cut; sources: ESPN is asking talent to take a 15% pay cut over the next three months — ESPN has asked its 100 most highly paid commentators to take voluntary 15% pay cuts over the next three months …
Discussion:
Variety and Awful Announcing
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:
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