Mediagazer: New Jersey has allocated $2M in its budget for its local news funding bill, which called for $5M, and released $1M since January (Josh Stearns/SSIR Blog)

9:55 AM ET, April 16, 2020

Top News:

David Robb / Deadline:

WGA East files complaint with NLRB, accusing NBCU of union-busting by reassigning employees from its shuttered, unionized Peacock unit 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

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, @alexweprin, @donlday, @rebel19, @loudmouthjulia, @david_schwab, @nbcnewspr and TVNewser

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.

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 …

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

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: DemocracyFund

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: @oliverdarcy, Newser, abc7NY and Mediaite

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

Rick Edmonds / Poynter:

In a memo, Advance Local's CEO Caroline Harrison announces temporary pay cuts, furloughs, and suspension of 401k matches at its newspapers — The company's CEO said the cuts were ‘necessary to take some immediate steps to mitigate our losses and protect our long-term viability.’

Discussion: @carla_astudi, @johnhammontree, @jdale_shoemaker, @karenkasler, @bobbyolivier, @j_schneider and al.com

Financial Times:

Financial Times cuts senior staff pay by 10% and UK's Daily Telegraph will move non-editorial staff to a 4-day week from May 1 with a 20% pay cut — Telegraph also makes cost savings as news groups are hit by falling advertising and print sales — The Financial Times …

Discussion: Columbia Journalism Review, @jbenton and @mathewi

Freddy Mayhew / Press Gazette:
Guardian Media Group expects £20M revenue shortfall over the next six months, will furlough 100 non-editorial staff, suspend pay rises, and cut execs pay by 20%

Discussion: The Guardian, @tomwinnifrith, Jon Slattery, @felixsalmon, @yaelwrites, @karlbode, @markdistef, @janesports, @jmrivera02, @jimwaterson, @valeriein140, @markdistef, @markdistef, @markdistef, Mediaite and Financial Times

Adi Robertson / The Verge:

NY court rules Mashable embedding an Instagram post does not violate copyright law, as the photographer gave a “valid sublicense” by posting the image publicly — ‘This court cannot release her from the agreement she made.’ — A court ruled yesterday that Mashable can embed …

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter, @alexiafdn, @karascannell, @cyrilzuma, @moneyries, @philnobilejr, @counternotions, @joanwestenberg, @burnsthelawyer, @eriqgardner, @tempusrob and @yunghi, more at Techmeme »

Sarah Scire / Nieman Lab:

WBUR, the Boston NPR affiliate, raised $1M in just 13 hours after scrapping a planned eight-day pledge drive due to the pandemic — The coronavirus pandemic and the public's appetite for local coverage of cases, hospitals, and economic impacts are forcing public radio stations around …

Discussion: @ona, @niemanlab and WBUR

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More News:

Christopher Baxter / Nieman Reports:
As state capitals gain extraordinary power in the pandemic, newsrooms like Spotlight PA, which provide accountability reporting, deliver a vital public service

Discussion: @cbaxter1, @jamesgeary, @lenfestinst, @aaschapiro and @niemanlab

Joe Pompeo / Vanity Fair:
NYT redeploys people to write COVID-19 obituaries, in a series called Those We've Lost to the Coronavirus, a solemn echo of its 9/11 series, Portraits of Grief

Discussion: @writerwong, @byclaycarey, @gwenfaviles, @vfhive and @mlcalderone

Sara Jerde / Adweek:
Axios launches an iOS app with Facebook as a launch partner, after moving up the launch due to an uptick in traffic surrounding COVID-19

Discussion: @jarroddicker, @derjarjour, @kerrymflynn and MediaPost

Elahe Izadi / Washington Post:
Snopes says it had 37M visitors from late February to late March, up 43% from the previous 30 days, as it deals with an avalanche of COVID-19 misinformation

Discussion: @undarkmag, @oliverdarcy, @jordanliles, @snopes and @elaheizadi

Scott Roxborough / Hollywood Reporter:
Germany drops antitrust proceedings against Sky and Dazn over alleged collusion during Champions League bidding, citing the pandemic as a factor

Earlier Picks:

Freddy Mayhew / Press Gazette:
Google News Initiative launches The Journalism Emergency Relief Fund to aid small and medium-sized local news publishers globally

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

Discussion: Deadline, The Wrap, The Wrap, @janicemin, @zackwhittaker, @variety, @hunterw, @abfalecbaldwin, @joshrothkopf, @samesmail, @justincchang, @janetmaslin, @lucas_shaw, Variety, Deadline, @rmac18, @funkbutcher, Adweek, @pcrowl, @zackwhittaker, @kerrymflynn, @sarafischer, New York Post and Axios

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%

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

Discussion: Reuters, The Streamable, /Film, @joan_e, Broadcasting & Cable, The Week, On My Plate, Cord Cutters News, VentureBeat, Digiday, @xpangler, @richlightshed, Beet.TV, MediaPost, The Wrap and New York Times

From Techmeme:

Financial Times:
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says consumer electronics exempt from tariffs may be included in semiconductor tariffs likely coming in “a month or two”

Arjun Kharpal / CNBC:
Sony hikes PlayStation 5 prices in Europe, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand, citing a “challenging economic environment”; the PS5 Pro remains the same price

Bill Toulas / BleepingComputer:
A look at “slopsquatting”, a supply chain attack where threat actors make malicious packages on indexes using AI-hallucinated names resembling popular libraries

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