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 …
Discussion:
Variety, Oscars.org, @theacademy, @nicsperling, The Week, @enricomagrelli, @variety, @thatrebecca, Rolling Stone, @iwriteallday_, @gracerandolph, Gizmodo, @billkuchman, @heatherfink, @benfritz, @kylebuchanan, /Film, Mashable, The Verge and The Wrap
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.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, MediaPost, Hollywood Reporter, Engadget, Associated Press, @bookishplinko, The Verge, Variety, @zeitchikwapo, @scrawfish, @zeitchikwapo, @zeitchikwapo, @mortuaryreport, @zeitchikwapo, @scott_tobias, @witneyseibold, @wsj, @frankpallotta, @edmundlee, @awallenstein, @mjsamps, @davidlsims, @cinematicbanter and @dkthomp
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.
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, Engadget, Los Angeles Times, The Verge, Marketing Land and Hot Pod News, more at Techmeme »
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 …
Discussion:
@nytimespr, @waltmossberg, @peterlattman, @parkerortolani, @mikiebarb, @arainert, @mikiebarb, @simonowens, @hilaryr, @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, The Verge, @marcsettle, Forbes, Gizmodo and NME
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, CNN, @billadairduke, @youtubeinsider, @alxthomp, @factcheckdotorg, @mccanner, Engadget, Variety, Adweek, TechCrunch and Bloomberg, 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).
Lisa Napoli / Vanity Fair:
An excerpt from Lisa Napoli's new book “Up All Night” on how the 24-hour news cycle was ushered in by CNN's coverage of Reagan's assassination attempt in 1981 — Ted Turner's upstart cable network beat the Big Three in reporting on the 1981 assassination attempt, though it …
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:
@kerrymflynn, iMore and Vox
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
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