Mediagazer: Apple Music expands to 52 new countries, for a total of 167 countries, while Spotify operates in 79; Apple Podcasts becomes available in 20 more countries (Tim Dams/Variety)

HBO Max to launch on May 27 for $15 per month with 10,000 hours of programming — The streaming service is set to debut amid the shutdown brought about by the novel coronavirus outbreaking, bringing with it 10,000 hours of library programming from across the WarnerMedia catalog.

Discussion: Variety, Variety, MediaPost, CNET, @joan_e, @joan_e, @joan_e and Wall Street Journal, more at Techmeme »

Seb Joseph / Digiday:

YouTube says it's working on letting advertisers use keyword or contextual targeting to decide what posts their ads will appear on before running them — YouTube is making it easier for advertisers to block videos that are risky to their reputations, but in doing so could inadvertently push targeting without any proper context.

Discussion: AdExchanger

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, @keachhagey, @jason_kint, @lopezgovlaw, Beyond Search and MediaPost

Tim Dams / Variety:

Apple Music expands to 52 new countries, for a total of 167 countries, while Spotify operates in 79; Apple Podcasts becomes available in 20 more countries — Apple has expanded the reach of its Apple Music platform to an additional 52 countries as part of the biggest geographical expansion of its services in almost a decade.

Discussion: Apple, RAIN News, My Podcast Reviews, TechCrunch, MacRumors and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Spotify launches a set of 17 editorially curated podcast playlists, akin to its RapCaviar music playlist, in the US and five other countries — Spotify is continuing its investment in the podcast streaming side of business with the launch of a suite of editorially-curated podcast playlists …

Discussion: Nieman Lab, Spotify, Android Central and @forpodcasters

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

Michael Jordan docuseries “The Last Dance” debuts to an average 6.1M viewers across ESPN and ESPN 2, the most-viewed original content on the network since 2004 — An average of 6.1 million viewers tuned in to watch the first two episodes of the much-anticipated documentary series …

Discussion: The Wrap, Awful Announcing, ESPN Press Room U.S., ESPN, The Wrap, Knewz, Forbes, VICE, @maxwelltani, @awfulannouncing, @bubbaprog, @nielsen, @garyparrishcbs, @ramonashelburne, Forbes, CNBC, MediaPost, CNN, Multichannel News, Broadcasting & Cable, Hollywood Reporter, Deadline and Axios

Reporters Without Borders:

RSF's 2020 World Press Freedom Index shows correlation between COVID-19 news suppression and ranking; global indicator rose 0.9% YoY, but is down 12% since 2013 — The 2020 World Press Freedom Index, compiled by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), shows that the coming decade will be decisive …

Discussion: Reporters Without Borders, Press Gazette, @johnobrennan2, RAPPLER, @rasmus_kleis, Hong Kong Free Press HKFP, @rsf_inter, IJR and The Guardian

Jay Rosen / PressThink:

Five suggestions to US media to improve COVID-19 coverage: end duplication, collaborate, and publish at the same time, dislodge Trump as “protagonist”, and more — Our news system is designed for daily content production, not for public understanding. In our current crisis we cannot afford that.

Discussion: @froomkin, @piscitelli, @michaelsocolow and @jayrosen_nyu

Frederic Filloux / Monday Note:

The media outlets that will emerge from the COVID-19 crisis will be lightweight, decentralized, less reliant on ads, and will bring more expertise to the table — The media outlets that will emerge from the global crisis will be lightweight, decentralized, less reliant on advertising …

Discussion: @mariaramirezny and @raju

@si_union:

Maven has recognized the Sports Illustrated union, formed in January with support from more than 90% of the staff — We are now a recognized union. Our statement: https://twitter.com/...

Discussion: @grantwahl

Marc Tracy / New York Times:

NPR cuts CEO pay 25% and reduces other executives' salaries between 10% and 15%, but CEO says there are no layoffs planned at the moment — The Washington headquarters of NPR, which has taken measures to avoid layoffs.Credit...Ting Shen for The New York Times Marc Tracy By Marc Tracy April 20 …

Discussion: @kindandunblind, @taylakaye, @vwpickard, @jimwindolf and The Wrap

Variety:

Georgia to let movie theaters reopen April 27, but hiring staff, safety protocols, a lack of new releases, and limits on crowd sizes pose significant challenges — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp will allow movie theaters to reopen starting April 27, but exhibition insiders stress …

Discussion: Variety, The Wrap, Comic Book Movie, The A.V. Club and Vanity Fair

Columbia Journalism Review:

Journalists should extract lessons from the COVID-19 crisis that they can apply to covering climate change, which has eerily similar dynamics — This story was originally co-published by Columbia Journalism Review and The Nation as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalistic collaboration …

Discussion: @cjr, @cjr and The Nation