Mediagazer: How US State Department's decision to expel Chinese state media employees gave China an excuse to kick out American reporters right as the coronavirus took off (Ben Smith/New York Times)

2:45 PM ET, April 20, 2020

Top News:

Nour Haydar / ABC:

Australia orders the creation of a mandatory code of conduct requiring platforms like Google and Facebook to pay media businesses for news content — The Federal Government has ordered the competition watchdog to develop a mandatory code of conduct to govern commercial dealings between tech giants and news media companies.

Mark Di Stefano / Financial Times:

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle write to the editors of The Sun, Daily Express, Daily Mirror, and Daily Mail, promising to never work with them again — Former royal couple vow to cut off 4 UK newspapers over ‘distorted and invasive’ stories — Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle …

Allison Schiff / AdExchanger:

Report: YouTube ad auditor OpenSlate refused to sign a contract with Google limiting info it can share with clients, like when ads run against sensitive videos — YouTube has broadened its measurement partner program and made it easier for buyers to find the right service provider for their needs.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Beyond Search, @lopezgovlaw, @jason_kint, @keachhagey and MediaPost

Seth Schiesel / New York Times:

Facebook to launch a dedicated gaming app to let users create and watch live game streams, available on Android on Monday and on iOS when Apple approves it — Video games are surging in popularity in the pandemic. So Facebook is rolling out an app designed for creating and watching live gameplay.

Discussion: The Verge, TechCrunch, Fortune, Engadget, @tocelot, Gizmodo, Protocol, Business Insider, The Daily Dot and 9to5Google, more at Techmeme »

Ben Smith / New York Times:

How US State Department's decision to expel Chinese state media employees gave China an excuse to kick out American reporters right as the coronavirus took off — American journalists were showing the world the devastating effects of China's botched response to the coronavirus. Now, many have been kicked out.

Discussion: @nytimes, @ericfish85, @stinson, @dandrezner, @mattdpearce, @mlcalderone, @pekingmike, @ewong and Fox News

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Walmart says movie ticketing company Fandango has agreed to buy its on-demand video streaming service Vudu for an undisclosed sum — Movie ticketing company Fandango has agreed to buy Walmart's on-demand video streaming service, Vudu, for an undisclosed sum.

Discussion: Variety and @taralach

Etan Vlessing / Hollywood Reporter:

Charter Communications says it plans no employee layoffs or furloughs for two months and has permanently increased its minimum wage to $20 per hour — “Charter employees have stepped in and stepped up, ensuring our customers stay connected when it matters most," the U.S. cable giant said on its blog site.

Discussion: Multichannel News, Charter Communications and @brianstelter

Manori Ravindran / Variety:

After canceling its in-person event, Cannes Lions launches Lions Live, a free platform operating in June that will include masterclasses and more — Cannes Lions has launched digital education platform ‘Lions Live,’ weeks after organizers called off this year's event.

Discussion: shots

David Shepardson / Reuters:

Bipartisan group of US Senators call for expanding the Paycheck Protection Program to struggling local newspapers, TV, and radio stations — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers called on Sunday for expanding payroll assistance to struggling local newspapers …

Discussion: @davidshepardson and @blmohr

Hamish McKenzie / Disjointed:

Substack cofounder envisions rebuilding print media on the platform with publishers building a network of niche publications to share data and resources — I write all these late at night these days, so expect editing errors. I have a newborn. — 21 hr

Discussion: @benwhitelaw, @hamishmckenzie, @hamishmckenzie and @marklittlenews

Alex Sherman / CNBC:

Meredith cuts pay for ~2,000 employees by 15% and moves them to four-day weeks from May 4 to Sept. 4; 750 staff, including top execs, to take cuts of 20% to 40% — - Meredith is temporarily cutting pay for about 60% of its employees as advertising slumps. — Meredith also said it is suspending …

Discussion: TVSpy, MediaPost, @gregdool, PR Newswire, @kerrymflynn, @sherman4949 and @kerrymflynn

Christopher Palmeri / Bloomberg:

Some linear cable TV channels are still not gaining viewers even under lockdowns, as ESPN and Disney were down 62% and 37% YoY respectively the week of April 12 — - Virus accelerates the trend to more online video viewing — Sports networks tumble, while cable news enjoys a surge

Discussion: @ashkan, @luxury, @chrispalmeri, @lucas_shaw and @alexweprin

Archived Page Info:

This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 2:45 PM ET, April 20, 2020.

View the current page or another snapshot:

Who's Hiring in Media?

Commissioning Editor - Practical Law — Reuters

Energy Markets Reporter, London — WSJ

Oil Reporter, Singapore — Bloomberg

Newsperson - State Govt. & Politics, CA — AP

Business Reporter, SC — Post & Courier

State Government Reporter, WA — Seattle Times

Climate Crisis Columnist — Prospect UK

Multimedia Journalist, CA — Paramount

Community Engagement Mgr., DC — Freedom Forum

Staff Writer - Business, NY — WIRED

Editor, MA — Nieman Reports

Team Editor - Breaking News, ON — Toronto Star

Senior Reporter & Event Host, NY/CA — Newcomer

Climate & Weather Reporter, MN — Star Tribune

Senior Tech Editor, Remote US — The Verge

News Reporter, MA — Berkshire Eagle

Multimedia Journalist, PA — Observer-Reporter

Managing Editor, WA — Everett Herald

Private Credit Reporter, NY — Debtwire

Legislative Reporter, CA — Sacramento Bee

Reporter, PA — Tribune-Review

Visual Editor, Remote — Rest of World

Staff Writer, MI — Watershed Voice

California Playbook Writer, CA — Politico

Senior Media Editor — Digiday

National Investigative Reporter, NY — HuffPost

Business & Gaming Reporter, NV — Las Vegas Sun

Coastal Climate Reporter, SC — Island Packet

Environment & Energy Reporter, CT — CT Mirror

Coordinating Editor, OR — OPB

Staff Reporter, CA — Daily Kos

Data Editor, NY — ProPublica

Editor-in-Chief, AZ — Phoenix New Times

Add your company here

See Also:

Mediagazer: site main

Mediagazer River: reverse chronological Mediagazer

Mediagazer Mobile: for phones

Mediagazer Leaderboard: Mediagazer's top sources

Subscribe:

Mediagazer RSS feed

Mediagazer on X

Mediagazer on Mastodon

More News:

Harrison Jones / Metro.co.uk:
Ofcom sanctions local TV station London Live for airing conspiracy theorist David Icke's views about coronavirus that had “potential to cause significant harm”

Discussion: The Guardian, Press Gazette, @ofcom, @jimwaterson, @nmsonline, @nmsonline and @jimwaterson

Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Fox News says it will open some Fox Nation programs to product placement deals but will not run traditional TV ads on the streaming service

Discussion: Adweek and Ad Age

Mark Di Stefano / Financial Times:
Memo: NBC News has sold its 25% stake in Euronews to Media Globe Networks, which now holds 88% of the France-based broadcaster

Discussion: @markdistef

Christina Settimi / Forbes:
Esports and gaming lifestyle media company FaZe Clan raises $40M led by Jimmy Iovine and mobile e-commerce company NTWRK

Discussion: @csettimi, more at Techmeme »

Justin Davidson / New York Magazine:
Profile of West Side Rag, the online-only hyperlocal news site for the Upper West Side in NYC that has become indispensable to residents during the pandemic

Discussion: @hannahereale, @evgrieve, @rich1, @ezactron, @andrewrigie, @sapna, @westsiderag, @jdavidsonnyc and @gradykeefe

Earlier Picks:

Lara O'Reilly / Digiday:
The UK government has become a key source of advertising revenue for publishers during COVID-19, launching a three month partnership worth, sources say, £35M

Discussion: @larakiara

Blake Robbins / Blake Robbins' Newsletter:
Profile of MrBeast, a 21-year-old YouTube content creator who pioneered video challenges and has ~34M subscribers, averaging ~1.5M+ new subscribers per month

Discussion: @blakeir

Nicholas Diakopoulos / Columbia Journalism Review:
As journalists make predictions beyond elections amid the pandemic, they face a new ethical dilemma and must consider their own role in influencing outcomes

Discussion: @cjr, @cjr, @cjr, @tiffanylohwater, @ndiakopoulos, @cjr and @lauraelizdavis

Ann Cooper / Journalist's ResourceJournalist's Resource:
Q&A with CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon on recent press restrictions from governments over COVID-19 coverage and the lack of pushback from western leaders

Discussion: @niemanreports

Hanaa' Tameez / Nieman Lab:
The Guardian and Kaiser Health News partner on Lost on the Frontline, a crowdsourced project documenting the lives of health care workers who died from COVID-19

Discussion: American Press Institute, @darlin, @sarahscire, @niemanlab, @jimmacmillan, @e_b_neil, @ona, @cnnladavid and @niemanlab

From Techmeme:

Maxwell Zeff / TechCrunch:
OpenAI says the ChatGPT desktop app for macOS can now read code from some developer-focused apps, including VS Code, Xcode, TextEdit, Terminal, and iTerm2

Decrypt:
Eighteen US states, led by Kentucky, sue the SEC and its commissioners, including Chairman Gary Gensler, over its crackdown on the crypto industry

Financial Times:
Sources: the US FTC plans to investigate allegations that Microsoft is abusing its market power in productivity software to prevent customers from leaving Azure

Sister Sites:

Techmeme
Top news and commentary for technology's leaders, from all around the web

memeorandum
What US political commentators are discussing online right now

WeSmirch
The top celebrity news from all around the web on a single page