By David Farrell
The run on toilet paper explained
Toilet paper is disappearing around the globe, and nobody is taking it sitting down. – The List
The Ballad of Dunny Roll
Renowned bush poet S.J. Paterson empties the shelves in verse. – ABC AU News
PM and ministers provide update on federal response to COVID-19
Speaking from his home in Ottawa, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau discusses the federal government's response to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. Later, federal cabinet ministers and Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada's chief public health officer, provide an update and respond to questions from reporters. Interspersed, CBC commentators interpret the latest news.
Entertainment unions want EI benefits extended
Performers are precarious self-employed workers who struggle to make ends meet in good times. – Victoria Ahearn, CP
Arkells using social media to teach lessons during coronavirus self-isolation
The entire band is in self-isolation in their own homes and from time to time, other members will join frontman Max Kerman in the live lessons remotely. – Lindsay Dunn, CityNews
Fox jumps into VOD ad space with Tubi
Fox will pay about $440M in net cash, selling its stake in Roku to help finance the deal. Tubi is available on about 25 digital platforms in the U.S. and features 20,000 titles and 56,00 hours of film and television episodes. – Broadcasting+Cable
Netflix shutting down scripted TV and movie productions in NA for 2 weeks
The announcement came as US president Donald Trump declared a national emergency on March 13 over the coronavirus outbreak. – Ashley Rodriguez, Business Insider
ESPN needs to get weird. Marble-racing weird
Now that it’s been a few days since all major American sports leagues and operations have shut down due to concerns over the spread of coronavirus, we’ve gone through a full cycle of broadcasts, podcasts, and Twitter threads about who, why, and the immediate impact. Plus, we got to have a debate about players supporting arena staff when their billionaire bosses wouldn’t step up to make up for their lost wages.
Now, the reality of no sports is about to hit tens of millions of fans, and it will be disorienting for many, especially during what is traditionally one of the busiest times of the year. – Jeff Beer, Fast Company
Pandemic: Amazon ceases accepting vinyl and CD releases
Although probably no one will begrudge Amazon prioritizing essential goods and services during a pandemic, the company’s decision to put a temporary halt to incoming shipments of physical media is subjecting record labels — particularly independent imprints that do a good deal of business in vinyl and CDs — to yet another blow. – Chris Willman, Variety
Pandemic boosts streaming numbers
In Italy and Spain, first-time installs of Netflix’s app were up 57% and 34%, respectively, according to Sensor Tower data. In addition, live streaming across YouTube, Twitch, Facebook and Mixer grew by more than 66% in Italy between the first week of February and this past week, according to StreamElements, and viewers were watching nearly double the number of channels. – Sarah Perez, TechCrunch
Poll: Fewer Americans see pandemic as a real threat
In February, a little more than a quarter of U.S. adults believed the coronavirus was being blown out of proportion. Now, that number has risen to nearly 40% of respondents. – Bobby Allyn, NPR
Penske Media closes NYC, LA offices
Penske Media, owner of WWD (formerly Women’s Wear Daily), Variety and Rolling Stone, has shut down all nine floors of its New York City offices after one confirmed case of coronavirus last week.
The closure affects some 500 NYC employees and has also resulted in the media company closing its Los Angeles-based headquarters, where another 500 people work, sources said. – Keith J. Kelly, New York Post
Airlines seek a financial parachute
Airlines for America, an industry group representing U.S. carriers, said on Monday the country’s airlines could ask for more than $50 billion in aid ― a far larger sum than the aid package airlines received after the 9/11 attacks in 2001. – HuffPost
US hotel industry decimated
Some 45% of all hotel jobs have been eliminated or will be eliminated in the next few weeks, says the American Hotel and Lodging Association. Current forecasts of a 30% drop in hotel occupancy over a full year would result in the loss of nearly 4 million hotel jobs, from general managers to housekeepers. – Axios
AI: Ethics and Copyright
If work produced with or by AI (even if under human “supervision”) cannot be copyrighted, what impact will this have on creativity? In this case, any AI-produced output would be in the public domain immediately, with no economic return to or incentive for the creator. – Hugh Stephens Blog
Dead Sea Scrolls forged, report claims
Last year, the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC, said five of its most valuable artifacts -- once thought to be part of the historic Dead Sea Scrolls -- were fake.
Now the museum is facing a harder truth: All of its 16 expensive fragments are forgeries. – CNN
Radio, what’s your (Covid-19) strategy?
If you've hesitated to promote your app because “you can't make any money from streaming,” you might want to rethink that strategy right about now. For a growing number of listeners, your stream – and specifically, your app – may be the only way they can hear you. – Fred Jacobs
Amid social distancing, neighbours mobilize over Facebook
Social media has fomented a lot of division, but people are using it to strengthen their communities against the coronavirus pandemic too. – Artelle Pardes, Wired
