Mediagazer: Memo: LA Times is furloughing some non-union, business-side employees up to 16 weeks, and some editorial staff and managers will get pay cuts from 5% to 15% (Kali Hays/WWD)

12:55 AM ET, April 15, 2020

Top News:

Kali Hays / WWD:

Memo: LA Times is furloughing some non-union, business-side employees up to 16 weeks, and some editorial staff and managers will get pay cuts from 5% to 15% — A company executive told staff that the coronavirus has caused an “unprecedented” decline in revenue for the paper.

Kerry Flynn / CNN:

Memo: Valence Media lays off staff, cuts pay due to COVID-19 and as part of revamping at Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, Vibe; source: media unit lost 100+ jobs — New York (CNN Business)The media industry continues to see widespread cuts as Valence Media slashes jobs across several of its brands …

Discussion: @zackwhittaker, Variety, The Wrap, Axios, @pcrowl, @zackwhittaker, @sarafischer, The Daily Beast and Talking Biz News

Ben Jacobs / New York Magazine:

WH press corps reporters discuss risking their health to attend daily press briefings that have provided the most direct access to the president in modern times — The White House briefing room is a low-ceilinged claustrophobic space. Built on top of a swimming pool where Franklin Delano …

Discussion: Press Watch, @jayrosen_nyu, @bencjacobs, @iraflatow, @froomkin, @seungminkim, @jayrosen_nyu, @maggienyt, @brianstelter, @olivianuzzi, @boutrousted, @froomkin and @mehdirhasan

Erik Wemple / Washington Post: Photographers, confined to seven spots in the WH briefing room due to social distancing, get creative in capturing historic moments during COVID-19 briefings

Annie Palmer / CNBC:

Amazon will cut commission rates for its affiliate program starting April 21; amount of drop dependent on category, rates for grocery products dropping 5% to 1% — - Amazon on Tuesday told members of its affiliates program that it will cut commission rates beginning April 21.

Todd Spangler / Variety:

NBCUniversal's ad-supported Peacock Premium tier launches for Xfinity X1 and Flex customers on Wednesday; the bulk of Peacock's originals are delayed until 2021 — NBCUniversal's Peacock is ready to start rolling out to Comcast cable customers starting this week as scheduled …

Discussion: CNET, Digiday, MediaPost, The Wrap, @joan_e, The Streamable, corporate.comcast.com, The Verge, TechCrunch, @xpangler, @richlightshed, Multichannel News and Hollywood Reporter

Taylor Lorenz / New York Times:

Amid the pandemic, demand for newsletters, Instagram accounts, and YouTube channels focused on good news has grown, from NatGeo to Upworthy — The coronavirus pandemic has driven interest in uplifting headlines way, way up. — Though it can be hard to see past the daily deluge of devastating headlines …

Discussion: @marklittlenews, @jaconi, @michatagana, @drewharwell, @washpostpr, @saba_h, 9to5Google, @sophiasgaler, @laurenthomas, @alliklein, @dubois, @rasmus_kleis and @taylorlorenz

Ty Pendlebury / CNET:

Sling TV debuts Happy Hour Across America, which lets new users stream its 50+ channel Sling Blue package for free from 5pm ET to midnight — Live TV streaming service Sling TV has been rolling out a bunch of promotions in response to coronavirus stay-at-home orders nationwide, and the newest one could be its best yet.

Discussion: Variety, Mashable, The Streamable, Light Reading and Fortune

Jon Lafayette / Broadcasting & Cable:

Scripps' board members and executives including the CEO are taking 10% to 15% pay cuts with the money saved going to the company's COVID-19 employee relief fund — Top executives and director of the E.W. Scripps Co. are taking voluntary salary and fee reductions as the Coronavirus crisis continues.

Discussion: Cincinnati Business Journal and PR Newswire

Greg Dool / Folio:

Modern Luxury Media, publisher of 40+ regional magazines, is furloughing staff and suspending some executive pay through June, aiming to avoid permanent cuts — Modern Luxury Media, publisher of more than 40 high-end regional lifestyle magazines, has furloughed a significant number …

Reuters:

Iraq suspends Reuters' license for 3 months and orders it to apologize, after it published a story saying there were more COVID-19 cases than the official tally — LONDON (Reuters) - Iraq has suspended the licence of the Reuters news agency after it published a story saying the number …

Discussion: @mcculloughirvin, @sanamf24, @leloveluck, @missy_ryan and @rawyarageh

Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:

Stanford and Google News Initiative launch tool that lets journalists embed up-to-date maps of US COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people, using NYT county-level data — Stanford University's Big Local News and Pitch Interactive projects, along with the Google News Initiative …

Discussion: The Keyword

Tamar Lapin / New York Post:

On SiriusXM, CNN's Chris Cuomo says his COVID-19 case made him question his public figure role, rethink values: “I don't value indulging ... hyper-partisanship” — Chris Cuomo's coronavirus-induced fever may have subsided but the CNN anchor was red hot on Monday.

Discussion: New York Post, Hollywood Reporter, Breitbart, @ggreenwald, @meredithshiner, @ggreenwald, Deadline, @tareq_haddad, @philipindc, The Kitchen Pundit, CBS News, Vanity Fair, Talking Points Memo, @gaywonk and Mediaite

J. Clara Chan / The Wrap:

Fortune magazine lays off 35 employees globally, or about 10% of its staff, and cuts CEO pay 50% and executive team pay about 30% — Fortune magazine has laid off 35 employees globally — about 10% of staff on its payroll — and instituted pay cuts for its executives, a company spokesperson confirmed to TheWrap on Tuesday.

Discussion: Talking Biz News and New York Times

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

Discussion: Poynter, New York Post, @spj_tweets, Ad Age, @andrewmarchand, @andrewmarchand, @ourand_sbj, Variety, CNN, The Hill, Broadcasting & Cable, TVNewser, Awful Announcing, The Wrap, Hollywood Reporter and Chicago Sun-Times

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