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RT America, part of Moscow-based media company RT (formerly known as Russia Today), is getting ready for the 2020 election by hiring additional staff in the US, according to the New York Post. A quick search on LinkedIn shows that the company is looking to fill positions including news correspondent, newscast producer and digital media specialist—all to be based in the company’s Washington, DC bureau. Igor Ogorodnev, the Web editor-in-chief for the company in the US, told the Post that the recruitment drive is “an expansion and an upgrade.” A Post source who responded to an ad for one of the positions was allegedly told by Ogorodnev that he was interested in such stories as the “rumor” that COVID-19 deaths are being exaggerated by US media outlets. He also specified “no anti-Trump coverage… We’re not the Washington Post.”
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Traditional pay TV is taking a big hit from the coronavirus crisis. A report from independent research firm MoffettNathanson says that subscriptions to pay TV services fell by 1.8 million in the first quarter, which it says is the biggest quarterly drop ever recorded. The percentage of U.S. households with pay TV service sits at 63 percent—the lowest number since 1995. The report adds that satellite services were particularly hard hit, down by 1 million for the third quarter in a row. But things are tough for cable operators too, with 600,000 cutting the cord during the first quarter. “With sports off the air, and with the pain of the tsunami of unemployment just beginning to hit as the quarter ended, all these numbers will get worse in the second quarter," the report said.
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TIME for Kids, a weekly magazine for elementary school students, has launched a Spanish language digital edition, with new digital editions in additional languages planned in the coming weeks. This marks the first time that that the publication has been available in any language other than English. TIME for Kids in Spanish is available globally through the TIME for Kids free digital library, launched in March, which brings the previously classroom-only publication to homes. The company says that the digital library is part of its effort to support teachers, families and students around the world who are dealing with school closures due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump Media and Technology Group Corp. has replaced CEO and former California Congressman Devin Nunes with Kevin McGurn, a seasoned media sales executive.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is being bought by the Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism, a nonprofit that is the parent organization of the Baltimore Banner... The British Broadcasting Corporation is axing approximately 2,000 jobs, about 10 percent of its work force... Snap, the company behind Snapchat, is also succumbing to layoff fever, announcing plans to lay off 16 percent of its employees, about 1,000 people.
CBS News Radio will go off the air on May 22, part of the axe-swinging managerial plan put into play by CBS editor-in-chief Bari Weiss... The Economist, which was first published in 1843, is changing hands. Canadian billionaire Stephen Smith has agreed to acquire a 26.9 percent stake in the publication from Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild, her family and family foundation... Nexstar Media Group says it has closed its acquisition of TEGNA, the broadcast, digital media and marketing services company that was formed in 2015, when the Gannett Company split into two publicly traded companies.
USA TODAY brings on Jamie Stockwell as VP of news, effective March 30. Stockwell was most recently deputy managing editor of news for the Washington Post... YouTube expands its likeness detection capabilities to a pilot group of government officials, journalists and political candidates... The AP Fund for Journalism adds 50 news organizations to its local news program, bringing the total number of participating newsrooms to 100. 
Versant Media Group, the NBCUniversal cable TV spin-off, today reported its first financial results as 2025 revenues dipped 5.3 percent to $6.7B and standalone EBITDA dropped 9.1 percent to $2.2B.
