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Doug Haddix / IRE:
An attendee of IRE's NICAR conference in New Orleans has tested presumptively positive for COVID-19, has mild symptoms, and is self-quarantining for 14 days — UPDATES: — NICAR20 attendee tests presumptively positive for coronavirus — FAQ — NICAR20 attendee tests presumptively positive for coronavirus
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Nieman Lab, @ire_nicar, Miami Herald, New York Post, New Orleans Times-Picayune, @rw_briggs, @juliangillmusic, @danahull, @conarck, @nlinphoto, @katereports, @miyashay, @a_l, @mtdukes, @carla_astudi, @lisasorg, @mtdukes, @corbettsmithdmn, @jenny8lee, @ddpan, @doughaddix, @doughaddix, @ryanfamuliner, @dataeditor and @joeleastwood

In a memo to staff, WaPo is encouraging all of its employees to work from home until the end of the month, in response to the COVID-19 outbreak — The arrangement is in response to the coronavirus crisis. — The Washington Post has sent a memo to all its employees encouraging them to work …
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Adweek, New York Post, @dataeditor, @timaeppel, @abtran, @donnacassata, @hcjewell, @bcrodriguez, @abeaujon, @oliverdarcy, Washington Post, The Hill, @abeaujon, @abeaujon and @abarnardnyt

While ad and event revenue declines due to COVID-19 may wound the news industry, choices by hedge funds and private equity in a recession could be catastrophic — Declines in ad revenue and all those canceled events might prove manageable. But the real risk would come with a virus-inspired recession …
Discussion:
Poynter, @ylichterman, American Press Institute, @ssuttell, @ellenroseman, @darrendcarroll, @rickedmonds, @netaustin, @jbenton and CNN

AT&T's Xandr says AMC Networks, WarnerMedia, and Disney joined Xandr Invest, its self-serve ad-buying platform, which will be available for 2020 “upfronts” — Battle lines are being drawn in the ongoing quest to lure advertisers to new kinds of TV commercials.
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AdExchanger, MediaPost, Multichannel News, Ad Age, Adweek, @bristei, Reuters and Business Wire

Due to COVID-19, Sunday's debate between Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders will be held without an in-person audience, and CNN won't host a press center or spin room — The debate will still be held, though there won't be a “spin room” or filing center for the press.
Discussion:
@cnnpr, Mediaite, USA Today, @yashar, @connieschultz, @jeneps, @jonlovett, @jbarro, @carloslozadawp, @rachelnpr, @kiminsley, @kellyaucoin77, Newser, TVNewser, Variety and Wall Street Journal

Recount Media, the short-form political video startup founded by journalists John Battelle and John Heilemann, raises $13M Series A — Recount Media, a short-form political video startup created by veteran journalists John Battelle and John Heilemann, has raised $13 million its Series A funding round, executives tell Axios.
Discussion:
@fredwilson and @sarafischer

Never has conservative media's contempt for facts and science been more dangerous, as Fox News puts lives at risk by minimizing the danger from coronavirus — President Trump has been widely and correctly excoriated for the way he is dealing with the novel coronavirus. By minimizing the danger, he heightens it.
Discussion:
@walshfreedom, @johnupton, @maxboot, The Daily Beast, The Guardian, The Week and New York Times

Disney launches Disney+ in India, weeks ahead of its scheduled launch date, through Hotstar; Hotstar gets rebranded to Disney+ Hotstar with a new logo — Disney+ has arrived in India — weeks ahead of its scheduled launch date. The American giant revamped Hotstar app and populated …
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Livemint, Hindustan Times, The Financial Express, XDA Developers, YourStory.com, NDTV Gadgets 360 and The Next Web

How local journalism is surviving under family-owned media companies, like Arizona-based Wick Communications, and newspapers like Charleston's Post and Courier — The stories are familiar now. A longtime newspaper family decides to sell off their publications to a larger public corporation …
Discussion:
@raju, @mattderienzo and @editorpublisher

Study of 400 people finds that people pay for news because it reinforces their social identities, not because it's good for democracy — This piece is part of API's Research Review series, which highlights academic research that could be relevant and useful to the news industry.

Purely Capital, which wants to automate, streamline, and standardize the process of financing film and TV production, launches with $150M in funding — Purely Capital, which is headed by Wayne Marc Godfrey, announced Wednesday the launch of their entertainment FinTech receivables platform backed …

French data protection watchdog CNIL says it is investigating the adtech company Criteo, following Privacy International's complaints against seven companies — Adtech giant Criteo is under investigation by the French data protection watchdog, the CNIL, following a complaint filed …
Discussion:
@jason_kint, @lukolejnik, Digiday and Privacy International