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The Seattle Times Co. says it has received a $9.9M Payroll Protection Program loan — The Seattle Times Co. has received a $9.9 million federal coronavirus-aid loan that will give the newspaper temporary relief in the face of a sharp drop in advertising revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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@ericacbarnett, @politicsreid, @kerrymflynn, @thehoffather, @lewiskamb and @curtwoodward
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Axios says it qualified for a PPP loan “just shy of $5M” as it is both a media company and a small business with a national presence — Axios is among the small businesses that qualified for a PPP loan to protect existing jobs and help weather the coronavirus crisis.
Discussion:
The Hill, @bmorrissey, @owillis, @armandondk, @elise_jordan, @shaig, @justinglawe, @lalpert1, @juddlegum, @brandyljensen, @harrysiegel, @megancarpentier, @brianstelter and @dicktofel


Study of Fox News programming from February to early March finds those watching Sean Hannity over Tucker Carlson were less likely to adhere to social distancing — Sophisticated new research links Hannity's coronavirus misinformation to “a greater number of Covid-19 cases and deaths.”
Discussion:
Becker Friedman Institute, NPR, @zeynep, @gelliottmorris, Newsweek, Chicago Tribune, The Daily Dot, @zackbeauchamp, @jjmacnab, @zackbeauchamp, @davidmweissman, @proffionasm, @mehdirhasan, @zackbeauchamp, @zeynep, @mollyjongfast, The Verge, @davidjuurlink, @conor64, @arunningriot, @karaswisher, @nikkimcr, @atrupar, Talking Points Memo, @drvox, @voxdotcom, The Independent, @samseder, @slpng_giants, @coqui6190, @holden and @donmoyn


Internal Fox Corp. memo: CEO Lachlan Murdoch will forgo pay through September and around 700 employees will see tiered salary cuts of 15% to 50% — Tiered salary cuts of 15 percent to 50 percent will impact other executives at the media giant. — Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch will forgo …
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New York Times, The Wrap, Variety, Mediaite, @kimmasters, @kevinwhitelaw1, Bloomberg, @brianstelter, @mathewi, @jbflint, @erik_hayden, @aidnmclaughlin and New York Times


Deadspin EIC Jim Rich is promoted to editorial director of G/O Media, overseeing 11 sites including Deadspin, Jezebel, The Onion, Kotaku, and The Root — Jim Rich, Deadspin's editor in chief, has been appointed as G/O Media's editorial director, the company announced on Wednesday.
Discussion:
Awful Announcing, @maxwelltani, @benmullin, @maxwelltani, MediaPost, @rowankaiser, @davidcovucci, Adweek, @rory_carroll, Folio and @kellybourdet


In an internal email, Jeff Zucker told CNN staff that a vast majority of them will not return to its offices in any significant way “before early September” — STAY AT HOME — CNN won't send staffers back into its offices until at least September.
Discussion:
The Wrap, Deadline, @maxwelltani, Mediaite, @megancgraham, @maxwelltani, @graclynne14, @maxjrosenthal, @maxwellstrachan, @hirokotabuchi, @ecmclaughlin, @hshaban, @yashar, @ellefs0n, TVNewser and The Hill


Wired staff announce plans to unionize with the NewsGuild of New York, as Condé Nast plans deep cuts amid the economic downturn — Magazine staff have laid the groundwork to unionize for more than a year, but as the coronavirus shut down parts of the economy, organizers realized they had to make a decision.


After weeks of hyping hydroxychloroquine as a potentially game-changing COVID-19 treatment, Fox News followed Trump in quietly abandoning the drug — Fox News has fallen out of love with hydroxychloroquine. After weeks of unrelenting coverage hyping the antimalarial drug …
Discussion:
New York Times, TVNewser, CNN, Washington Post, Vanity Fair, @blackamazon, @marctorrence, @editoremilye, @plumandmustard, @ashtonpittman, News & Guts Media and The Week


Netflix announces plans to offer $1B in junk bonds to fund operations and potential acquisitions; as of the end of March, Netflix reported $14.17B in debt — Netflix is going back to the debt markets yet again, announcing plans to offer $1 billion in junk bonds to fund operations and potential acquisitions.
Discussion:
Deadline, Fox News, @clarknova1 and The Streamable, more at Techmeme »
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Netflix CEO Reed Hastings' compensation reached $38.6M in 2019, up about 7% YoY, and chief content officer Ted Sarandos received a package worth $34.7M, up 17%
Discussion:
The Wrap and Broadcasting & Cable

Netflix reports Q1 revenue of $5.77B, up 27.6% YoY, vs $5.76B est., global paid net subscriber additions of 15.77M, now totaling 182.86M accounts, up 22.8% YoY
Discussion:
Netflix, @adrianweckler, /Film, Vanity Fair, Observer, Multichannel News, Financial Times, USA Today, New York Times, Financial Times, The Week, Protocol, Metro.co.uk, Fortune, @xpangler, The Wrap, Variety, @richlightshed, @lanceulanoff, @raheemkassam, @katie_robertson, @dylanbyers, @xpangler, @carttca, @shiraovide, @jamestitcomb, @lucas_shaw, @loudmouthjulia, @loudmouthjulia, @richlightshed, Washington Post, Yahoo Finance, Axios and Bloomberg


AT&T misses estimates, loses 138K AT&T Now customers and 897K premium TV subscribers in Q1, reports revenues of $42.78B and pulls its annual forecast — AT&T missed revenue and earnings estimates for the first quarter of 2020, with a 4.6% top-line decline driven by lower revenue …
Discussion:
Deadline, AT&T, @richlightshed, CNBC, @brianstelter, @macwbishop, The Playlist, @edmundlee, @alexweprin, @xpangler, MediaPost, Light Reading, TechCrunch, Protocol, The Streamable and ZDNet


Trump is attacking Voice of America in an effort to push for confirmation of Bannon ally Michael Pack to head the US Agency for Global Media, which oversees VOA — Voice of America director Amanda Bennett seems, at first glance, to be the perfect target for a Donald Trump attack on the mainstream media …
Discussion:
Conservative Action Project, @alxthomp and Don Graham


Bloomberg Media offers free access to Bloomberg.com to undergraduate and grad students globally through July; students can register with college email addresses — A couple of months ago, college dorms and dining rooms and lecture halls were full. But, starting in early March …


ViacomCBS launches a local version of its streaming news service CBSN in Chicago and plans to expand to Dallas/Fort Worth, Sacramento, Miami, and Baltimore — Chicago is the next stop for ViacomCBS' streaming-news plans. — The media company is today launching a Chicago-focused edition of CBSN …
Discussion:
CBS Chicago and Cord Cutters News