Top News:
Ben Smith / New York Times:
CNN, MSNBC, and others so far failed to book Biden accuser Tara Reade, while she turned down offers from Hannity; source: Reade is in talks with Chris Wallace — The stakes are high for the media in the case of a sexual assault allegation against Joe Biden.
Discussion:
USA Today, The Wrap, @mlcalderone, @onesarahjones, @onesarahjones, @sophiekleeman, @davidfolkenflik, @bgrueskin, @marisakabas, @priaribi, @jessicagolds, @tianathefirst, @sonam_sheth, @danielmarans, @cwarzel, @benyt, @esaagar, Fox News, Politico, Slate, Politics, Policy …, Deadline and The Guardian
YouGov:
YouGov: COVID-19 hasn't affected trust in the media in the UK as 47% say they trust the BBC; 46% of Labour voters trust upmarket papers vs. 29% of Tories — By Will Jennings (Professor of Political Science and Public Policy, University of Southampton) and Chris Curtis (YouGov)
Discussion:
The Conversation, The Guardian, @jimwaterson and @yougov
Melynda Fuller / MediaPost:
McClatchy rolls out a text-to-speech feature, which creates audio versions of articles with ad inserts; its pilot program saw story page views rise 89% — Readers of McClatchy's 30 news outlets can now access stories through a new text-to-speech audio feature.
Discussion:
The Hill and @kolbemarket
Sarah Sluis / AdExchanger:
IAB: 37% of buyers have paused ad campaigns; buyers cut digital spend 29% and traditional media spend 44%; 18% of regular news advertisers suspend spending — Geotargeting has emerged as a popular tactic during the pandemic, with a slight uptick in brands saying they planned to increase both national and local geotargeting.
Discussion:
Ad Age, MediaPost and Multichannel News
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Twitter reports Q1 revenue of $808M, up 3% YoY, and ad revenue of $682M, up about $3M YoY, with cost per engagement down 19% YoY, and 166M mDAUs, up 24% YoY — Despite traffic for many online properties being at an all-time high, advertising has fallen off a cliff because of the downturn …
Discussion:
Variety, Adweek, MediaPost, Ad Age, @twitterir, @twitterir, VentureBeat, @carnage4life, @damonlinker, @thekenyeung, Fast Company and Variety, more at Techmeme »
Sara Fischer / Axios:
The Hollywood Reporter names AP's Nekesa Mumbi Moody editorial director, replacing Matthew Belloni, who quit over reported disputes with owners on news coverage — Nekesa Mumbi Moody has been named editorial director of The Hollywood Reporter, joining the publication after more than two decades …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Deadline, Talking Biz News, Hollywood Reporter, Variety, @theinsneider, @sarafischer, @sarafischer and The Daily Beast
Zoe Samios / Sydney Morning Herald:
In Australia, Bauer Media suspends print publication of Harper's Bazaar, Elle, OK!, and Now and lays off 70 people as it acquires Pacific Magazines for $40M — Bauer Media is making 70 staff redundant and temporarily suspending the print editions of titles including OK! …
Discussion:
The Guardian and New Zealand Herald
Trey Williams / The Wrap:
ViacomCBS has laid off at least 100 employees, including top executives at the Smithsonian Network and Comedy Central as well as MTV and LogoTV staff — CEO Bob Bakish sent a letter to staff on Wednesday reassuring them, “we are focused on making their transitions easier at this time”
Discussion:
Hollywood Reporter, MediaPost, Deadline and Variety
The Daily Beast:
NY Post announces cost-cutting measures, including laying off staff, cutting freelance budgets, and freezing hiring; sources: over a dozen have been laid off — Employees were informed Wednesday of plans to freeze all new hiring, cut and even eliminate most freelance budgets, and lay off some staff.
Discussion:
The Wrap, bookforum.com, @wlabovitz, @joereubens, @noahshachtman, @oliverdarcy, @harrysiegel, @eglazarev, @theo_wayt, @carolynryan, @maxwelltani, @lalpert1, @lalpert1 and @claireatki
CNBC:
Comcast Q1: NBCU earnings fell 25.3% to $1.7B on revenue of $7.7B, down 7%, with film revenue down 22.5% YoY to $1.4B and ad revenue down 2.2% YoY — - Comcast posted $2.1 billion in net income for the first quarter. That's roughly 40% lower than the first quarter last year when Comcast earned more than $3.5 billion.
Discussion:
Broadcasting & Cable, Comcast Corporation, The Wrap, The Streamable, The Verge, @megancgraham, @jbursz, ZDNet and @stevekopack
Reuters:
AT&T says it will bring its advertising unit Xandr under its WarnerMedia label — (Reuters) - AT&T Inc (T.N) said on Thursday it will bring its advertising unit Xandr under its WarnerMedia label, which is set to launch its streaming channel HBO Max in May.
Discussion:
Broadcasting & Cable, MediaPost, Ad Age and AdExchanger
Doug Sword / Roll Call:
Some House Democrats still want to change pension rules to help McClatchy, The San Diego Union-Tribune, and Newspapers of New England, but critics are skeptical — Proposal would allow more newspapers to benefit from pension relief, though critics say industry problems were evident long before COVID-19
Discussion:
@dkiesow, @rollcall and @nielslesniewski
Fazal Ashfaq / The Keyword:
In the second round of the Google News Initiative Asia Pacific Innovation Challenge, 18 outlets from 11 countries will split a $2.3M grant — Last October, we invited news organizations to apply to the second round of the Google News Initiative Innovation Challenge in Asia Pacific …
Discussion:
TechCrunch, @sruthijith, @daftari, @neeleshmisra and @avinashkalla
Timothy B. Lee / Ars Technica:
The US Supreme Court has upheld the right to freely share the official annotated law code of Georgia despite the state's claim to own the copyright of the code — The state of Georgia licensed the official copy of state law to LexisNexis. — A narrowly divided US Supreme Court on Monday upheld …
Discussion:
Slate, New York Times, @techlinkedyt, @allafarce, @j0hnnyxm4s, @marshallyoum and Bloomberg Law
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Spotify beats with Q1 revenue of €1.8B and net income of €1M, with MAUs up 31% YoY to 286M, premium users up 31% to 130M, and ad-supported MAUs up 32% to 163M — The coronavirus may be decimating some corners of the economy, but the impact on the digital music …
Discussion:
Spotify, @ncsh, @brianstelter, @philipmorton, Los Angeles Times, @thr, @ingridlunden, Variety, Ad Age, CNN, The Wrap, Fast Company and VentureBeat, more at Techmeme »
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