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2:00 PM ET, April 30, 2020

Mediagazer

 Top News: 
Ben Smith / New York Times:
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
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 …
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 …
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! …
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”
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.
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.
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.
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
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 …
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 …
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 …
RELATED:
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
 
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 More News: 
Andy Baio / Waxy.org:
Roc Nation files copyright claim over deepfake YouTube videos that use AI to impersonate Jay-Z's voice, raising new copyright and fair use questions
Oliver Darcy / CNN:
Tucker Carlson hyped a YouTube video of two doctors who incorrectly downplayed the COVID-19 threat, and the Fox host also slammed YouTube for removing the video
 Earlier Picks: 
Kelly McBride / NPR:
NPR's public editor says a story on unemployment benefits through the eyes of a coffee shop owner had “relatively minor” flaws but drew criticism from cynics
Max Willens / Digiday:
As Facebook ad rates nosedive, publishers are using them to drive subscribers; Condé Nast says 50% of its new subscriptions are from paid efforts
Dave McNary / Variety:
Cineworld joins AMC Theatres in refusing to show Universal Pictures films after NBCUniversal CEO's promise to open titles simultaneously on PVOD and in theaters
Patrick Brzeski / Hollywood Reporter:
Head of China's Film Bureau says cinemas are expected to reopen in early June; Chinese officials estimate lost box office revenue at $4.2B in total so far
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