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, Washington Post, Fox News, New York Post, @mlcalderone, New Republic, @azi, @cyalm, @haleaziz, @joseiswriting, @brithume, @onesarahjones, @onesarahjones, @sophiekleeman, @davidfolkenflik, @bgrueskin, Slate, @marisakabas, @priaribi, @jessicagolds, @tianathefirst, @cwarzel, @benyt, Politico, @esaagar, @sonam_sheth, @danielmarans, Politics, Policy …, @heminator, 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, @iab and Multichannel News
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, Talking Biz News, Deadline, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, @theinsneider, @sarafischer, @sarafischer, The Daily Beast and Axios
Laura Wagner / VICE:
Tribune Publishing staffers staged a protest in an internal Slack channel, after the company announced furloughs and pay cuts of 2%-10% while paying dividends — More than 100 Tribune Publishing employees told off their bosses in an internal Slack channel yesterday, calling out executives …
Discussion:
@nyguild, @lgriffinct, @hopnotes, @lillyafowler, @hopnotes, @hopnotes, @hopnotes, @hopnotes, @hopnotes, @laurawags and @imleor
Jim Waterson / The Guardian:
Amazon to cut Kindle ebook prices in UK from Friday as the 20% VAT on online publications is dropped; government to spend £35M on newspaper ads over 3 months — Chancellor drops 20% levy on online news subscriptions and books as industry struggles — Amazon has confirmed it will cut …
Discussion:
GOV.UK, HoldtheFrontPage and @jimwaterson, more at Techmeme »
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Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
The Guardian says it had 821,000 readers making monthly contributions at the end of March, up 23% YoY; digital app subscriptions grew by 39% YoY to 265,000
Discussion:
The Guardian, @kathviner, @grahamruthven, @johnharris1969, @jonathanwatts, @janebsinger, @pzfahad and HoldtheFrontPage
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:
New York Post, Hollywood Reporter, MediaPost, Deadline and Variety
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 »
Kerry Flynn / CNN:
Journalists in several newsrooms owned by Gannett have been blocked from hosting union elections because management has yet to agree to mail-in ballots — New York (CNN Business)Journalists at the Idaho Statesman, a McClatchy-owned newspaper in Boise, voted unanimously to form a union on Wednesday.
Discussion:
@apantazi, @sabasile, @swflnewsguild, @swflnewsguild, @newshawk, @cnnbusiness, @kerrymflynn and @kerrymflynn
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:
The Wrap, Broadcasting & Cable, Comcast Corporation, The Wrap, The Streamable, @megancgraham, The Verge, @jbursz, ZDNet and @stevekopack
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, @noahshachtman, @eglazarev, @theo_wayt, @carolynryan, @harrysiegel, @joereubens, @oliverdarcy, @wlabovitz, @maxwelltani, @lalpert1, @lalpert1, @claireatki and bookforum.com
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
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:
@ncsh, Spotify, @brianstelter, @philipmorton, @thr, @ingridlunden, Los Angeles Times, Variety, Ad Age, CNN, The Wrap, Fast Company and VentureBeat
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