Benioffs’ Time for Kids to Make Issues Free Amid Outbreak
MediaPost: Time is offering its child-focused spinoff Time for Kids to students, families and teachers at home for free amid the COVID-19 outbreak and school closures. The move marks the first time the edition is available to readers outside classrooms in its 25 years...
G/O Media CEO Tells Staffers to ‘Brace for Impact’ of Virus
Daily Beast: The head of the company that owns the former Gizmodo Media Group sites sent a dire email to staff telling employees that the company will “experience some pain” due to the coronavirus-related economic downturn. The email to staff was titled “Brace For...
Fox Corp CEO Under Fire for Coronavirus News Coverage
New York Times: Lachlan Murdoch is likable and handsome. But even his allies say they no longer think he has the political savvy or the operational skills his job demands. People close to the Fox Corp CEO describe him as a laid-back executive who doesn't spend his...
Comcast is Derided as ‘Con-cast’ in Trump NBC Scolding
Mediaite: President Trump had a bitter exchange with NBC's Peter Alexander at Friday's briefing from the coronavirus task force, culminating with the president insulting the White House correspondent as a "terrible reporter." Trump bashed NBC parent company Comcast as...
Disney’s New CEO to Face Big Challenges from Pandemic
NBC News: When Bob Chapek was named chief executive of Disney last month, he was thought to be inheriting one of the best jobs in the media business. Weeks later, it now looks like one of the hardest. Few major conglomerates are as vulnerable to the coronavirus...
Netflix Starts $100 Million Fund to Help Film, TV Workers
Reuters: Netflix has established a $100 million fund to assist workers on film and television productions that have been shut down due to the global coronavirus outbreak. Hundreds of thousands of cast and crew around the world have lost work amid the...
Google Launches Coronavirus Information Website for US
USA Today: Google launched a coronavirus website Saturday featuring resources and tips with information on the pandemic. The site includes information on COVID-19 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization, along with tips on...
Comcast’s NBC News Says Staffer Died After Positive Test
NBC News: A longtime employee of NBC News died Thursday after testing positive for the coronavirus. Larry Edgeworth, 61, who worked in an equipment room at NBC News's 30 Rockefeller Plaza headquarters in New York, also suffered from other health...
AT&T’s WarnerMedia Says CNN Staffer is Testing for Virus
New York Post: After producing a coronavirus town hall meeting on CNN, a staffer for Anderson Cooper has a potential case of COVID-19 and is being tested. A message went out to all CNN staffers at their new Hudson Yards headquarters: "This person presented symptoms,...
Comcast’s NBC Bravo Host Announces Positive Diagnosis
Daily Beast: Andy Cohen revealed that he tested positive for coronavirus in an Instagram post Friday, halting his plans to host Bravo's "Watch What Happens Live" from his apartment. "We're putting a pin in that for now so I can focus on getting...
Apple TV+ Launches Free Oprah Series About Coronavirus
Engadget: Oprah Winfrey has unveiled a free Apple TV+ series, "Oprah Talks COVID-19," that has her talking to "experts and everyday people" about how people can deal with the virus while maintaining their humanity. There are two episodes at...
Google YouTube Star KO’s Boxing Match Slated for DAZN
The Sun: Logan Paul has revealed that his proposed boxing fight with NFL free-agent wide receiver Antonio Brown is officially off. The YouTube superstar KO'd hope for the crossover bout despite months of back and forth between the pair after they came face-to-face at...
Scripps Calls Off National Spelling Bee Over Coronavirus
Associated Press: The Scripps National Spelling Bee won't be held as scheduled this year because of the coronavirus, meaning years of preparation by some of the country's top spellers could go for naught. Scripps cited state and federal recommendations against large...
Meredith TV Stations to Develop Covid-19 Emergency Plan
Broadcasting & Cable: Meredith has prepared contingency plans that should enable its TV stations to continue to keep viewers informed during the coronavirus crisis. The company has created remote hubs in order to keep its stations on air and online if one or more...
Conde Nast’s Wintour Encourages US to Work from Home
Vogue: "We must, right this moment, pledge to stay in our homes as much as we possibly can," writes Anna Wintour. "There is no debate or discussion. We must stay in our homes. That is the only way to slow the spread of the coronavirus, and to protect those who are...
Hearst Exec Warns of Revenue Falling in Virus ‘Sh-t Show’
Digiday: Hearst UK CEO James Wildman: "It's clear for all businesses that this is a horrible situation. Revenue will fall away quite quickly. We're less exposed to the ad market than a lot of other media companies, but it's a shit show and it's happened very quickly....
News Corp’s Depp Libel Lawsuit is Stalled by Coronavirus
Associated Press: Johnny Depp’s libel suit against British tabloid The Sun was put on hold Friday as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Depp is suing the newspaper’s parent company over a 2018 article claiming he was violent and abusive to his ex-wife Amber...
McClatchy CEO Touts Local News Relevance in Pandemic
Kansas City Star: "In times of crisis, news can be as important as the most basic utility," writes McClatchy CEO Craig Forman. "Amid this uncertainty, one thing hasn't — and will not — change: the need for accurate and reliable local news and information."...
Gannett Drops Paywall for Covid-19 Stories as Ads Dry Up
Associated Press: News outlets are lifting paywalls to share coverage of the coronavirus pandemic, a public service many hope will convince more readers to become paying customers. At the same time, the societal shutdown caused by the virus is exacerbating a decline...
Vox Media Gripes of Ad Buyers Blacklisting Virus Content
Ad Age: Publishers have grown frustrated with third-party measurement companies, saying the vendors are preventing them from capitalizing on a surge of traffic driven by content related to the coronavirus pandemic. At the heart of the issue are media buyers who are...
Axios Among Publishers Moving Quickly to Virtual Events
Adweek: Mid-last week, as the novel coronavirus spread in the U.S., Axios's leaders "paused for about a half a second," said Kristin Burkhalter, vp of events at Axios, and then flew a million miles a minute to figure out what an event could look like without the usual...
BuzzFeed to Pivot as Covid-19 Rewrites Content Interests
AdExchanger: The type of content that matters to people has shifted as Americans stay home in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. BuzzFeed is dividing its content into three buckets: coverage of the coronavirus, quarantine and lockdown support and...
Group Nine, G/O, Vox Execs Talk Virus Coverage, Worries
New York Times: Despite the coronavirus containment efforts that have emptied newsrooms, journalists have managed to meet their deadlines at a time when the appetite for news seems greater than ever. In the last four weeks, web traffic has...
Disney Hints of Long-Term Media Disruption from Pandemic
Reuters: Disney says the spread of the coronavirus could lead to consumer behavior changes, further disrupting its business. The warning raised speculation that media and entertainment businesses could change in fundamental...
Hollywood Bigwigs Donate to Out-of-Work Support Staffers
Daily Beast: Ryan Murphy, Shonda Rhimes, and Greg Berlanti are among the Hollywood heavyweights who have donated major sums to a relief fund for the assistants and support staff who are out of jobs in the wake of the coronavirus...
Movie Theater Owners Seek Bailout to Keep Industry Afloat
CNBC: As the coronavirus outbreak forces theater chains to shutter, the National Association of Theater Owners is asking Congress to provide relief measures for its 150,000 employees. "The business model of the movie theater industry is uniquely...
Netflix, Amazon, Hulu Anticipate Gains as US Hunkers Down
Associated Press: Americans held captive at home by the coronavirus can turn to Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and other streaming services. "Demand for those services is going to increase exponentially over the next three to six...
Report: Binge-Watching Surpasses Linear TV Viewing in US
World Screen: Binge-viewing has eclipsed linear TV viewing in the U.S. to become the most common way consumers watch video content, says a MIDiA Research report based on data from Q4 2019 -- before the COVID-19...
Cannes Film Festival Joins Growing List of Scrapped Events
Bloomberg: The Cannes Film Festival, one of the entertainment industry's most prestigious events, will be postponed as the coronavirus forces France into lockdown. The festival joins a long list of events worldwide that have been...
WPP, Omnicom Among Ad Giants Bracing for Virus Havoc
Reuters: What should have been a bumper year with the Euro soccer tournament, Tokyo Olympics and U.S. election looks like it could be one of the worst for ad giants WPP, Omnicom, Publicis and IPG as the economy shuts...