For the Record

Metro Papers Discuss COVID-19 Coverage:

Top executives at leading metro and regional newspapers spoke to Columbia Journalism Review's Mathew Ingram this week about the impact of their COVID-19 coverage. "Before COVID-19 struck, we were busy getting the business functions ready, setting up a board of directors, updating the website,” said Jennifer Napier-Pearce, editor of The Salt Lake Tribune, which recently transitioned to nonprofit status. "Since we got our nonprofit approval, we’ve been fundraising so those donations and philanthropy will give us a much-needed cushion right now. But the long-term economic effects of coronavirus remain to be seen.”

Slate Launches Metered Paywall:

Slate Editor in Chief Jared Hohlt announced Wednesday that the news site has implemented a metered paywall for the first time in its 24-year history. "[G]oing forward, we think the way we will truly thrive is by continuing to diversify our revenue — by asking readers like you to support us more directly," he said. "In the coming months, some of our most engaged visitors will be prompted to join Slate Plus in order to keep reading articles on the site." The Slate Plus membership, which was launched in 2014, it has primarily featured exclusive content, including bonus podcast episodes.

Reporting from the Digital Campaign Trail:

Reporters covering the 2020 presidential election sat down with Vanity Fair's Tom Kludt to discuss the logistical challenges of covering a campaign season confined to remote video feeds as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. "What makes covering the race so much more difficult now is that your vantage point is only what can fit on your screen," said Ken Thomas of The Wall Street Journal, who served as pool reporter at a virtual fundraiser held for Joe Biden last Friday.

Esquire Decreases Print Edition to Six Per Year:

Esquire will publish only six issues per year after dropping its print frequency from 10 to eight issues last year amid a sharp decline in advertising revenue. Hearst Magazines President Troy Young told Keith J. Kelly of the New York Post that the decision is not related to COVID-19 and reflects a decision to "put more money into the digital side of the publication."

Twitter Deletes Federalist Post Promoting Voluntary COVID-19 Infection:

Twitter "temporarily locked the account of The Federalist Wednesday after the conservative opinion site published a piece, written by a dermatologist based in Oregon, that proposed the deliberate spread of the coronavirus in order to boost immunity to the disease," according to Zachary Petrizzo of Mediaite. After the tweet was deleted, the account was restored. The tweet led several users to question the funding structure of the site, which has remained opaque since its 2013 launch.

Journal Applies Election Tools to COVID-19:

According to Sarah Scire of NiemanLab, The Wall Street Journal has repurposed a suite of tools designed for coverage of the presidential election (including "a clickthrough module to quickly catch readers up on political news, redesigned live update presentations for election nights and debates, and Q&A features") in its coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic. "All of these things are based on the needs of our audience — they're all reusable," said Louise Story, the publication's chief news strategist and chief product and technology officer.

Judge Allows Limited PEN Suit Against Trump:

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that PEN America has "establish a causal connection between" President Trump's revocation of press credentials and security clearances and potential First Amendment violations, allowing a lawsuit from the free speech organization to proceed. According to Eriq Gardner of The Hollywood Reporter, Trump had "moved to dismiss with the argument that PEN lacks standing to sue because none of its members have been injured" and that "the court lacks the power to control the official, discretionary actions of a sitting president," among other grievances. 

Terrence McNally (1938–2020):

1994 Drama finalist Terrence McNally died Tuesday from COVID-19 in Sarasota, Fla. He was 81. Although McNally was associated with a series of commercially successful musicals (notably an adaptation of fellow Pulitzer finalist E. L. Doctorow's "Ragtime") later in life, he was best known for an "outpouring of work [that] dramatized and domesticated gay life across five decades," according to Jesse Green and Neil Genzlinger of The New York Times. In a tweet, 2016 Drama winner Lin-Manuel Miranda lauded his "staggering body of work and [...] unfailing kindness."

White House Reporter Suspected to Have COVID-19:

The White House Correspondents Association on Monday announced that "a reporter who was at the White House multiple times over the last two weeks is suspected to have coronavirus," according to Myah Ward of Politico. "We ask again that all members who can stay home or work remotely please do so. Please do not come to the White House if you do not have a workspace or an assigned seat on that day. And please DO NOT come into the White House if you are feeling at all ill," the organization said in a statement. The group also has reduced the number of available seats in the White House briefing room from 25 to 14 to maintain social distancing, while officials check the temperatures of reporters throughout the day.

Times, Journal, Post Publishers Issue Joint Statement on China Ban:

The publishers of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post issued an "unusual" joint statement Tuesday "critical of the Chinese government’s decision to bar American journalists for the three publications from working" in the country last week, according to Marc Tracy of The Times. "We strongly urge the Chinese government to reverse its decision to force the Americans working for our news organizations to leave the country and, more broadly, to ease the growing crackdown on independent news organizations that preceded this action," the publishers said. Since the ascension of President and General Secretary Xi Jinping in 2012, the news organizations "have reported on issues that Chinese officials consider sensitive, including camps for Muslims in western China, the suspicious business of some Chinese leaders' relatives and the government’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak."