Mediagazer: Hearst exec says UK subscriptions rose 233% YoY in March as readers made use of subscription trials; after abandoning them in April, orders still rose 100% YoY (Charlotte Tobitt/Press Gazette)

Top News:

J. Clara Chan / The Wrap:

After Project Veritas founder James O'Keefe called in to a morning CNN editorial call with Jeff Zucker, CNN says it has referred the incident to law enforcement — CNN said it is involving “law enforcement” after James O'Keefe, the founder of the right-wing group Project Veritas …

Discussion: @cnnpr, @cnnpr, @tuckercarlson, The RFAngle, @levinejonathan, @donaldjtrumpjr, @superwuster, The Daily Beast, The RFAngle and Mediaite

Kelsey Sutton / Adweek:

Nielsen: workers increased their TV watching time between 9am and 4pm by 21% YoY; kids between 6 and 17 also saw double-digit increases in TV watch time — Altered viewing patterns during Covid-19 present new reality for advertisers — As people continue working and attending school remotely …

Discussion: @adweek, MediaPost and nexttv.com

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Sources: Politico's Jake Sherman, Anna Palmer, and John Bresnahan are launching a daily newsletter in 2021 as a standalone company, competing against Playbook — Three of Politico's biggest reporting stars plan to launch a competitor to the company's Politico Playbook franchise, sources tell me.

Discussion: @petersterne, @jasonshevrin, @yashar, @jimvandehei, @raju, @kantrowitz, The Wrap and Washingtonian

Leia Idliby / Mediaite:

The Drudge Report, once a supporter of Trump's rise to the presidency, featured a Photoshopped image of the president in an orange prison jumpsuit on Tuesday — Matt Drudge, the head of influential news aggregator Drudge Report, featured an image of President Donald Trump in a prison jumpsuit on his website.

Discussion: Vanity Fair and The Wrap

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Showtime debuts a Pluto channel, Showtime Selects, which will air a selection of its programming for free, with ads, to attract new subscribers — Showtime is unlocking a selection of original programming — for free, with ads — in a new channel on Pluto TV.

Discussion: The Streamable, /Film, Light Reading, Decider and MediaPost

Sean O'Neill / Skift:

Red Ventures, which owns CNET and travel advice site The Points Guy, has acquired travel media company Lonely Planet from NC2 Media — FIRST FREE STORY (1 OF 3) — More travel executives get their mission-critical industry news from Skift than any other source on the planet. — Already a member?

Discussion: Red Ventures, @celbrash, @philipdsjones, @rafat, @thepointsguy, @sean_oneill, @chyan and Publishers Weekly

The New York Times Company:

NYT says it has raised $4M for Headway, a three-year journalistic venture, which will aim to produce 10-12 deeply researched, data-rich projects per year — The New York Times has raised $4 million to launch Headway, a journalism initiative to investigate global and national challenges.

Discussion: @dangainor, @jayrosen_nyu, @kimmelman, @jayrosen_nyu, @froomkin, @marclacey, @jswatz and @rockphilanth

Ruth Margalit / Columbia Journalism Review:

The scattering and shrinking of physical newsrooms due to COVID-19 diminished serendipity and collaboration, but increased opportunity for diverse staffs — What's lost and won as newsrooms close their offices for good — On a freezing Thursday in March, Liz Bowie, an education reporter …

Discussion: @nyindc, @andrejevalex, @cjr, @ruthmargalit, @cengizyar, @restofworld, @pamelapaulnyt, @robertgumpert, @ruthmargalit and @samanth_s

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

Hearst exec says UK subscriptions rose 233% YoY in March as readers made use of subscription trials; after abandoning them in April, orders still rose 100% YoY — Magazine giant Hearst had to take action to stem losses from discount magazine subscription offers as new subscribers jumped 233% following the start of the pandemic.

Shirley Zhao / Bloomberg:

Netflix is planning to double spending on original content in Asia in 2021 to stay ahead of Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and regional challengers Viu and WeTV — - U.S. giant facing stiff competition in crowded Asian market — Streaming companies luring Asian viewers with cheap packages

Discussion: CNBC

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Sources: Patch launches Patch Labs, a service to help local news reporters publish their own newsletters and websites, with tools to sell ads and subscriptions — Patch, the hyperlocal (and profitable) local digital news company, has built a new software platform called “Patch Labs” …

Discussion: @journoryan

Sara Fischer / Axios:

TCG, the Chernin Group's venture subsidiary, is investing $30M in Surfline, a mostly subscription-based media company that focuses on surfing coverage — TCG, a venture affiliate of The Chernin Group that invests in media, entertainment and tech businesses, is investing $30 million in Surfline …

Discussion: Business Insider, @sarafischer, @sanjitatwal, @peterchernin, @rafat, @kylelaughlin and PR Newswire