For the Record

COVID-19 Facilitates Internet Stress Test:

The United States' "internet and wireless networks are coming under immense pressure to deliver reliable connectivity as schools and businesses confronting the novel coronavirus have shifted their day-to-day operations out of the workplace and into homes," according to Brian Fung of CNN. "There are a lot of different elements of bringing internet into the home, and a lot of places where we could find stress in the system," said FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, including virtual private networks for sensitive data that "are not built to handle entire companies or organizations logging on at the same time." However, former FCC staffer Blair Levin believes that most service providers can handle the expected traffic spikes.

Beijing Expels U.S. Media Staffs:

China announced Wednesday that journalists working for The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal must "halt reporting and hand in their press cards within 10 days if their credentials expire before the end of 2020," according to Emma Graham-Harrison of The Guardian. As the nation "usually gives journalists only 12-month visas and press cards," the decision is expected to affect most correspondents employed by the news organizations. The journalists also are restricted from working in Hong Kong and Macau, which are classified as special administrative regions, while the three organizations must "declare in written form information about their staff, finance, operation and real estate in China." This latter restriction also has been applied to the Voice of America and Time magazine. The United States imposed restrictions on domestic Chinese state media bureaus last month after three Wall Street Journal reporters were expelled from Chins.

Seattle Times Hones In on COVID-19:

The Seattle Times has directed nearly all of its 58 reporters to cover the COVID-19 pandemic since an outbreak centered at the nearby Kirkland, Wash. Life Care Center assisted living facility manifested in late February. "That’s what local papers are meant to do," said Sydney Brownstone, a reporter assigned to the publication's Project Homeless initiative. "We're not built for a lot of other things, but we’re built for this." Executive Editor Michele Matassa Flores also has consulted with colleagues from other regional papers on best safety practices.

Wintour Endorses Biden, Criticizes Trump:

In a Monday op-ed, Vogue Editor-in-Chief and Condé Nast Artistic Director Anna Wintour endorsed Joe Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination, lauding the former vice president as a "man of character [who] has so many qualities that we are in desperately short supply of in Washington right now: decency, honor, compassion, trustworthiness, and best of all experience." Wintour also condemned President Trump's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and announced the "unavoidable and responsible" postponement of the Met Gala.

COVID-19's Advertising Fallout:

According to Seb Joseph of Digiday, the advertising industry is bracing for a "prolonged downturn" in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, with ID Comms CEO David Indo anticipating an "avalanche of reviews through the second half of the year or perhaps a delay until the beginning of 2021." Although Adidas CEO Kasper Rorste believes that the apparel giant will "continue to buy media where it [makes] sense," the company and its peers withdrew most buys from mainland China after the country implemented an unprecedented lockdown to contain the virus.

Trump: Pichai "Apologized":

President Trump said Sunday that Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai "apologized" for an unspecified matter amid reports that the holding company's Verily life science division "was working on a far more limited project" than the mass COVID-19 screening site described at a Friday news conference. Trump also characterized initial reporting on the limited project as "fake news."

NSC Debunks National Quarantine Chain Message:

The National Security Council "issued a statement" late Sunday night "confirming that the texts suggesting that President Donald Trump will enforce a two-week period of national quarantine within the next 72 hours after evoking the Stafford Act are a hoax," according to Ewan Palmer of Newsweek. The message, which allegedly is derived from a military source, "advises people to stock up on two weeks worth of supplies and to forward the text onto other people to warn them too." 

Stranger, Austin Chronicle Request Contributions Due to Coronavirus:

Seattle alt-weekly The Stranger "posted a plea for contributions on its social media and as a banner on their website" Thursday, according to Sarah Scire of NiemanLab. "90% of our revenue—advertising, ticketing fees, and our own events—is directly tied to people getting together in groups," the newspaper said. "The coronavirus situation has virtually eliminated this income all at once." The Austin Chronicle published a similar request after the cancellation of South by Southwest, a major revenue source.

Manning Released, Fined:

A federal judge ordered the release of Chelsea Manning on contempt-of-court charges Thursday and a fine of $256,000 following a suicide attempt. Manning, a former U.S. Army analyst "who leaked hundreds of thousands of documents and diplomatic cables to WikiLeaks in 2010," had been detained since last May for refusing to testify to a grand jury investigating the organization, according to Martin Pengelly of The Guardian. 

Cuomo Closes Broadway Following Pandemic Declaration:

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Thursday that no gatherings of more than 500 people will be permitted except for limited circumstances (including schools, hospitals, nursing homes and mass transit) due to the coronavirus pandemic on an indefinite basis, resulting in the closure of all Broadway productions through April 12. Many anticipated productions had been slated to open in the coming weeks, including revivals of three-time Pulitzer winner Edward Albee's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and 1993 Drama winner Tony Kushner's "Caroline, or Change."