Top News:
Jim VandeHei / Axios:
Axios, which had qualified for a $4.8M PPP loan, will return the money after nearing a deal for other capital and after the program prompted divisive debate — Axios, which qualified for a federal Paycheck Protection Program loan to avoid layoffs, will return the money, after nearing a deal for an alternative source of capital.
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Kathryn Hopkins / WWD:
Bustle Digital Group confirms it was OK'd for a $7.5M PPP loan, 2 weeks after it closed The Outline and laid off 24, and says the loan will help undo pay cuts — The publisher of Bustle, Nylon and Mic was approved for a $7.5 million Paycheck Protection Program loan earlier this month.
Discussion:
@whatthebit, @saschasegan and @andreagonram
Scott Feinberg / Hollywood Reporter:
Motion picture academy eases qualifications for 2021 Oscars; eligible films won't have to screen for at least a week in a Los Angeles-area theater — The Academy's board of governors convened via a secure Zoom session on Tuesday morning. — The 93rd Academy Awards ceremony is still slated …
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Variety, Oscars.org, Variety, @theacademy, @nicsperling, Rolling Stone, Gizmodo, /Film, The Week, @enricomagrelli, @variety, @thatrebecca, @iwriteallday_, @gracerandolph, Mashable, @billkuchman, @heatherfink, @benfritz, @kylebuchanan and The Verge
Thom Geier / The Wrap:
Universal says Trolls World Tour on-demand release has netted ~5M downloads; source: it's made $77M in revenue from the 80% it retains from digital rental fees — Universal's gamble to bypass a theatrical release for “Trolls World Tour” and release it on demand instead appears to have paid off — big time.
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Wall Street Journal, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, The A.V. Club, Los Angeles Times, @bookishplinko, The Verge, @awallenstein, @scott_tobias, @zeitchikwapo, @scrawfish, @zeitchikwapo, @mjsamps, @davidlsims, @edmundlee, @zeitchikwapo, @cinematicbanter, @dkthomp, @mortuaryreport, @zeitchikwapo, @witneyseibold, @frankpallotta and @wsj
Josh Kosman / New York Post:
Sources: Dish is pushing for refunds from Disney, invoking force majeure, due to the lack of live sports on ESPN, but Disney has rebuffed the request so far — Charlie Ergen's satellite TV company is calling foul on Disney for making it pay for ESPN at a time when there is no live sports programming, The Post has learned.
The New York Times Company:
Kara Swisher is leaving her Recode Decode podcast on July 1 to produce a new twice-weekly podcast for NYT's Opinion section — Kara, who became a Times contributor in 2018, will start producing a twice-weekly show that will make its debut in the fall. Read more in this note from James Bennet …
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@nytimespr, @hilaryr, @waltmossberg, @peterlattman, @parkerortolani, @mikiebarb, @arainert, @mikiebarb, @simonowens, @sbg1, @chrismessina, @carlospache_co, @rafiazakaria, @emilybell, @jeffreyswisher, @phoebelett and @amonck
Jem Aswad / Variety:
Facebook plans to add the ability for Pages to charge for access to livestreamed events, but details like a cut percentage and the launch date are lacking — Facebook plans to allow users to charge for livestreams, which will provide a way for musicians and other creators to monetize …
Discussion:
About Facebook, Forbes, Gizmodo, @marcsettle, The Verge, NME and MediaNama, more at Techmeme »
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Spotify-owned Anchor introduces a feature that will allow creators to turn their video chats and virtual hangouts into podcast-ready audio — Spotify is tapping into the increased usage of video conferencing during the coronavirus quarantine to grow its own podcast business.
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, Anchor, Los Angeles Times, Engadget, The Verge, Hot Pod News and Marketing Land, more at Techmeme »
Casey Newton / The Verge:
YouTube adds fact-check info boxes to some searches, above the search results, in the US, after launching in Brazil and India last year — The program launched in Brazil and India last year — YouTube will begin adding informational panels containing information from its network …
Discussion:
YouTube Blog, TechCrunch, @billadairduke, @youtubeinsider, Variety, @alxthomp, @factcheckdotorg, Bloomberg, @mccanner, Adweek and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
Lucinda Southern / Digiday:
With its print edition on hold, Stylist has launched an app with paywalled content, a £22 annual subscription, and 10K downloads over the last two weeks — Stylist launched a free-to-download app two weeks ago offering a digital version of the weekly print magazine (print distribution is currently on hiatus).
Christine Schmidt / Local News Lab:
How local news ecosystems in New Mexico, New Jersey, Colorado, North Carolina, and Chicago are responding to the COVID-19 crisis — The coronavirus pandemic has shaken much more than the ground beneath us: it has rocked every aspect of our society. This norm-shattering situation has shown us …
Discussion:
@melaniesill, @ashleyalvarado, @gteresa, @newsbyschmidt, @jcstearns and @newsbyschmidt
Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism:
Reuters Institute launches the Trust in News Project, which will research questions of trust in digital media over three years with $4M in funding from Facebook — A new £3.3m ($4m) grant will fund a three-year project to look at trust in news and identify actionable, evidence-based recommendations
Discussion:
@trf and @uniofoxford
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Apple updates the News category in Podcasts for the US, UK, Canada, and Australia, with recommended shows including info about COVID-19 and the US election — Apple Podcasts has launched an updated News category in the U.S., Canada, U.K., and Australia, a spokesperson tells Axios.
Discussion:
Vox, iMore and @kerrymflynn
Kayleigh Barber / Digiday:
Q&A with Skift co-founders Rafat Ali and Jason Clampet on running a travel site during a pandemic, asking readers for contributions, and more — Skift was hit by the pandemic perhaps harder than most media companies. — The independent, bootstrapped publisher doesn't have much in the way of cash reserves.
Discussion:
@cforman, @rafat and @jryedinak
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