Top News:
CNN:
Twitter pulls funding for BuzzFeed's AM to DM due to the business impact of COVID-19, forcing BuzzFeed to suspend the show, with staffers' last day on April 28 — Some right-wing media personalities are encouraging Americans to protest stay-at-home orders, arguing it is time to start to re-open the economy.
Discussion:
Poynter, Nieman Lab, @oliverdarcy, Newser, abc7NY and Mediaite
David Robb / Deadline:
WGA East files complaint with NLRB, accusing NBCU of union busting by reassigning staffers from unionized Peacock Productions, now defunct, to NBC News Studios — UPDATED with NBCUniversal response, 1:49 PM: The WGA East today accused NBCUniversal of “union busting” in a dispute over the shuttering …
Discussion:
VICE, Writers Guild of America … and Multichannel News
Steve Herman / Voice of America:
Trump calls Voice of America's work “disgusting”, threatens to adjourn Congress so he can appoint his candidates to posts, including head of the agency over VOA — WHITE HOUSE - U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening to adjourn Congress because lawmakers have not approved …
Discussion:
Mediaite, @mitchellreports, Vox, Boing Boing, @jbenton, The Nation, @coreypein, @noahbierman, @miafarrow, @svdate, @christinawilkie, @farhip, @w7voa, @acosta, @christinawilkie, @wehearpodcast, @aru_pande, @tedstew, @meetthepress, @jkuhnhenn, @emzorbit, @rosieogrady53, Business Insider, Vanity Fair, Mediaite, Deadline and The Hill
Jason Lynch / Adweek:
AMC rolls out Upfront Connect for online sales, with Screening Room, which airs first looks at upcoming shows, and gives access to its branded content studio — Access is also free to new branded studio The Content Room — Key insights: — The site includes information …
Discussion:
MediaPost, Deadline, Ad Age and Broadcasting & Cable
Megan Graham / CNBC:
IAB survey of 200+ US publishers: 98% expect lower 2020 revenue; 88% of news publishers had buyers ask to cancel campaigns and 86% said advertisers paused ads — - Most online publishers in the U.S. polled in a new Internet Advertising Bureau survey say they've had advertisers cancel or pause ad campaigns with them.
Jon Lafayette / Broadcasting & Cable:
Ad Council launches a programmatic private marketplace to which media companies can donate inventory for digital PSAs to fight COVID-19 — Cadreon, Trade Desk, Acxiom, EMX power pro bono programmatic — Working with several ad tech companies, the Ad Council has launched …
Discussion:
Ad Age, Adweek, AdExchanger, MediaPost and Campaign
Gene Park / Washington Post:
Jason Schreier, who has covered work conditions in game development, is leaving Kotaku, citing dismay with G/O Media; Gizmodo EIC Kelly Bourdet quit Wednesday — Jason Schreier, a journalist known in the video game industry for covering working conditions inside tight-lipped game development studios …
Josh Stearns / SSIR Blog:
New Jersey has allocated $2M in its budget for its local news funding bill, which called for $5M, and released $1M since January — In January, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy released $1 million in a groundbreaking effort to shore up local news across the state.
Discussion:
@jcstearns, @rispolimike, @newsbyschmidt and DemocracyFund
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
NBC News tests a version of its Nightly News for kids and teens between 6 and 16, streaming on YouTube today and likely to appear at least twice a week — Lester Holt is about to discuss hard news with a softer touch. — The “NBC Nightly News” anchor will lead an experimental version …
Discussion:
@bristei, @donlday, @david_schwab, @nbcnewspr, @rebel19, @loudmouthjulia, @alexweprin and TVNewser
Luke Ottenhof / The Guardian:
A look at Means TV, a worker-owned, leftist entertainment media cooperative supported entirely by its 3,700 subscribers, most of whom pay $10 per month — The entertainment media cooperative considers itself a ‘post-capitalist’ streaming service - and a critical counterweight to rightwing media
Discussion:
@dogsectionpress
Freddy Mayhew / Press Gazette:
Google News Initiative launches The Journalism Emergency Relief Fund to aid small and medium-sized local news publishers globally — Google has launched a global emergency relief fund for local news publishers to help them during the coronavirus (Covid-19) downturn.
Discussion:
@googlenewsinit, The Keyword, @ckrewson, Variety, @kent_walker, @slpng_giants, @rowbar, @fagstein, The Drum, @tomgrundy, @pcheung630, @maxwalden_, Gizmodo, @durgaraghunath, @badams, @emmameese, @localmediarocks, @jacko, @pressgazette, @isasun, Adweek, TechCrunch, HoldtheFrontPage, VentureBeat and 9to5Google
Dade Hayes / Deadline:
WarnerMedia says it reached a multi-year deal to bring HBO Max to Charter subscribers in May; current HBO subscribers will get access for no extra charge — In a significant milestone before it launches HBO Max next month, WarnerMedia has set a deal with Charter Communications …
Discussion:
Broadcasting & Cable, Business Wire, CNET, The Streamable, Multichannel News, Hollywood Reporter and Variety