Top News:

Quartz CEO says even with 17K paid subscribers, the company is laying off 80 staff, closing physical offices in four locations as it seeks profitability by 2022 — Quartz CEO Zach Seward's remarks to staff re today's layoffs: “This is no doubt the greatest challenge we have faced as a company.. I have made the very difficult decision to eliminate about 80 roles at Quartz and make other changes in order to improve the health of our business” https://twitter.com/...
Discussion:
New York Times, @kerrymflynn, Talking Biz News, @emilywithrow, @moorehn, @ashkan, @jason, Adweek, @jenniavins, @elanazak, @timfernholz, @sarahfkessler, @marcatracy, @eacrunden, @elanazak, @johnxenak, @jeffjarvis, @kerrymflynn, @jbenton, @lattif, @brizzyc, @zseward, @glichfield, @oliviamesser, @jeffjarvis, @annalecta, @mims, @domdifurio, @mitrakalita, @nicholasadeleon, @martyswant, @davidmackau, @samthielman, @davegershgorn, @shortformernie, @sona_here, @aldenwicker, @newspaperwallah and @emilybell


By using phrases like “raises new questions”, media is repeating mistakes of 2016, giving unearned credibility to political attacks in the guise of objectivity — The latest developments in the Michael Flynn case should prompt us to revisit one of the most glaring failures …


Reporters in the US and abroad face altercations with anti-lockdown protestors, an extension of the general antagonistic feeling toward journalists — Journalists covering the pandemic have faced the wrath of people who are against social-distancing restrictions.


Forcing Facebook and Google to pay for news could lead to uncritical reporting on tech; better approaches would tackle roots of media woes, including ad markets — Exponent — as promised! — will be back tomorrow, talking about podcasting, Spotify, and working from home. — On to the update:


Sources: NYT is getting under the skin of BuzzFeed staff by raiding BuzzFeed talent and sometimes re-reporting BuzzFeed stories with little credit — Poaching employees and rereporting other outlets' stories is in the Times DNA, and BuzzFeed is now in the crosshairs.
Discussion:
@jackshafer, @jonahdispatch, @bikehugger, @dylanbyers, @mat, @jackshafer, @jackshafer, @alexgiess, @summeranne, @scottlucas, @t_fin, @mimms, @summeranne, @dylanbyers and @dylanbyers


From August, Chrome will start blocking ads that consume 4MB of network data, 15 seconds of CPU usage in any 30 second period, or 60 seconds of total CPU usage — Google today announced that Chrome will start blocking resource-heavy ads. The company ads that mine cryptocurrency …
Discussion:
Chromium Blog, Softpedia News, CNET, @glenngabe, @daniel_bilar, @epro, @chromiumdev, @justinschuh and The Verge, more at Techmeme »


LinkedIn Editorial is rebranding to LinkedIn News; the team now has 76 editors across 15 countries and the Daily Rundown is received by 46M users — Rebranding aims to drive editorial recognition and build user trust — LinkedIn is rebranding its editorial team from LinkedIn Editorial …
Discussion:
@kerrymflynn and @markscott82


Scener now supports HBO Now and HBO Go, allowing up to 20 viewers to watch together via a Chrome browser extension; the startup already supports Netflix — Katy Perry, John Legend Join Houseparty's Celeb-Studded Livestreaming Event This Weekend (EXCLUSIVE)
Discussion:
TechCrunch, @xpangler, @xpangler and The Streamable


Extreme Reach: in Q1, share of CTV ads among digital video ads fell to 37%, down 21% from Q4; 30-second ads accounted for 77% of all digital video ads, a record — Desktop impressions in unusual increase — A funny thing happened to connected TV during an unprecedented first quarter.
Discussion:
MediaPost


Integral Ad Science, which offers ad-verification services and is used by marketers to avoid unwanted ad placement, is laying off about 10% of its 700 employees — The effects of the coronavirus pandemic continue to batter the ad industry — Advertising-verification firm Integral Ad Science Inc …


Inside AT&T's $4B bet to stand out in the streaming wars through HBO Max, which is to launch on May 27 despite 30 projects shuttering due to the pandemic — A starry group came together for a meeting at Courteney Cox's Malibu beach house on Oct. 5, 2019. Had the paparazzi gotten wind, pandemonium would have surely ensued.
Discussion:
@ser_jon_arryn, CortaCable, @shitfund, @xpangler, MediaPost, The Streamable, Always Be Watching, Variety, /Film and Observer, more at Techmeme »


Sources: it isn't unusual for 50% of seats at US cinemas to be empty on weekends without hurting business, so a box office hit can happen with checkered seating — Before COVID-19, it wasn't unusual for 50 percent of seats at U.S. theaters to remain empty on the weekends without dampening business overall.
Discussion:
@theromit, @davezatz and @pameladaym