Top News:
Jim VandeHei / Axios:
Axios says it qualified for a PPP loan “just shy of $5M” as it is both a media company and a small business with a national presence — Axios is among the small businesses that qualified for a PPP loan to protect existing jobs and help weather the coronavirus crisis.
Discussion:
The Hill, @brandyljensen, @bmorrissey, @owillis, @armandondk, @elise_jordan, @shaig, @justinglawe, @lalpert1, @juddlegum, @harrysiegel, @megancarpentier, @brianstelter and @dicktofel
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Paul Roberts / The Seattle Times:
The Seattle Times Co. says it has received a $9.9M Payroll Protection Program loan — The Seattle Times Co. has received a $9.9 million federal coronavirus-aid loan that will give the newspaper temporary relief in the face of a sharp drop in advertising revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Discussion:
@ericacbarnett, @politicsreid, @lewiskamb, @curtwoodward and @kerrymflynn
Lauren Feiner / CNBC:
Netflix reports Q1 revenue of $5.77B, up 27.6% YoY, vs $5.76B est., global paid net subscriber additions of 15.77M, now totaling 182.86M accounts, up 22.8% YoY — - Netflix reported its Q1 2020 earnings after the bell on Tuesday. — Netflix has ranked among analysts' favorite …
Discussion:
Netflix, /Film, Vanity Fair, Financial Times, USA Today, Observer, New York Times, Fortune, Protocol, Variety, The Wrap, Multichannel News, @adrianweckler, The Week, Metro.co.uk, Financial Times, @xpangler, @richlightshed, @lanceulanoff, @raheemkassam, @katie_robertson, @dylanbyers, @xpangler, @carttca, @shiraovide, @jamestitcomb, @lucas_shaw, @loudmouthjulia, @loudmouthjulia, @richlightshed, Yahoo Finance, Washington Post, Axios and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »
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Todd Spangler / Variety:
Netflix announces plans to offer $1B in junk bonds to fund operations and potential acquisitions; as of the end of March, Netflix reported $14.17B in debt — Netflix is going back to the debt markets yet again, announcing plans to offer $1 billion in junk bonds to fund operations and potential acquisitions.
Discussion:
Deadline, The Streamable, Fox News and @clarknova1, more at Techmeme »
Maxwell Tani / The Daily Beast:
In an internal email, Jeff Zucker told CNN staff that a vast majority of them will not return to its offices in any significant way “before early September” — STAY AT HOME — CNN won't send staffers back into its offices until at least September.
Discussion:
Deadline, TVNewser, The Hill, Mediaite, The Wrap, @ecmclaughlin, @megancgraham, @yashar and @maxwelltani
Todd Spangler / Variety:
AT&T misses estimates, loses 138K AT&T Now customers and 897K premium TV subscribers in Q1, reports revenues of $42.78B and pulls its annual forecast — AT&T missed revenue and earnings estimates for the first quarter of 2020, with a 4.6% top-line decline driven by lower revenue …
Discussion:
AT&T, TechCrunch, Deadline, @richlightshed, MediaPost, Light Reading, CNBC, Protocol, @brianstelter, The Playlist, @edmundlee, ZDNet, The Streamable, @alexweprin and @xpangler
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Maxwell Tani / The Daily Beast:
Wired staff announce plans to unionize with the NewsGuild of New York, as Condé Nast plans deep cuts amid the economic downturn — Magazine staff have laid the groundwork to unionize for more than a year, but as the coronavirus shut down parts of the economy, organizers realized they had to make a decision.
Erik Hayden / Hollywood Reporter:
Internal Fox Corp. memo: CEO Lachlan Murdoch will forgo pay through September and around 700 employees will see tiered salary cuts of 15% to 50% — Tiered salary cuts of 15 percent to 50 percent will impact other executives at the media giant. — Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch will forgo …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Variety, Mediaite, Bloomberg, @kevinwhitelaw1, @brianstelter, @aidnmclaughlin, @jbflint, @kimmasters, @mathewi and @erik_hayden
Zack Beauchamp / Vox:
Study of Fox News programming from February to early March finds those watching Sean Hannity over Tucker Carlson were less likely to adhere to social distancing — Sophisticated new research links Hannity's coronavirus misinformation to “a greater number of Covid-19 cases and deaths.”
Discussion:
@zeynep, @gelliottmorris, BFI, Chicago Tribune, @mollyjongfast, @drvox, @proffionasm, @karaswisher, The Verge, Talking Points Memo, @zackbeauchamp, @mehdirhasan, @zackbeauchamp, @slpng_giants, @zeynep, @samseder, @davidjuurlink, @arunningriot, @atrupar, @voxdotcom, @coqui6190, @holden and @donmoyn
Mark Sweney / The Guardian:
Disney co-founder's granddaughter Abigail Disney criticises the company for protecting exec bonuses and dividends of $1.5B+ while cutting pay of 100K+ workers — Abigail Disney hits out at executive payouts while staff weather coronavirus impact — An heir to the Walt Disney fortune …
Discussion:
@abigaildisney, Business Insider, The Daily Beast, New York Post, @davidcorndc, @gunnergale, @brett_a_taylor and @miafarrow
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Spotify launches Artist Fundraising Pick, letting artists fundraise for themselves, their crews, or verified music relief initiatives — Last month, Spotify announced that as part of its coronavirus relief efforts it would soon add new fundraising features for artists on its platform.
Discussion:
Adweek, Spotify for Artists, Engadget, Variety and @jack
Rick Edmonds / Poynter:
Tribune Publishing requires most non-union employees earning between $40,000 and $67,000 a year to take three weeks of furloughs in the next three months — Tribune Publishing is requiring most non-union employees earning between $40,000 and $67,000 a year to take three weeks of furloughs in the next three months.
Discussion:
American Press Institute, @campbellsl, @skylerswisher, @ablichtenstein, @poynter and Adweek
CNN:
After weeks of hyping hydroxychloroquine as a potentially game-changing COVID-19 treatment, Fox News followed Trump in quietly abandoning the drug — Fox News has fallen out of love with hydroxychloroquine. After weeks of unrelenting coverage hyping the antimalarial drug …
Discussion:
Media Matters for America, Boing Boing and The Week