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PARIS French Open officials are hoping an exemption from the local authorities would enable them to welcome 5,000 fans each day amid new government restrictions.

The French government has limited public gatherings to 1,000 people in Paris as part of measures to control the coronavirus pandemic, raising the prospect that the year's final Grand Slam tennis tournament, which starts on Sunday in Paris, will have to further reduce the number of fans allowed.

French tennis chiefs had lowered spectator capacity to 5,000 from 11,500. The original plan was to have 20,000 fans.

"Today, we are at 5,000 people, which is very little in a 12-hectare site, which represents 15 football fields," tournament director Guy Forget told French cable channel BFM TV. "In terms of safety protocols, we meet all the criteria."

Allocated seating will be available in the main Philippe Chatrier court.

"Today, it is more risky to go to a supermarket, to an amphitheatre and to take the metro," the former world No. 4 added yesterday. "We hope we will be able to welcome fans to the French sporting event with the most international reach, by any measure."

France has reported over 481,000 coronavirus cases and more than 31,400 deaths. In Paris, the infection rate is higher than 150 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

Six players in the qualifying draw were withdrawn after either testing positive for Covid-19 or coming in close contact with a coach who tested positive.

Henri Leconte has backed the French Tennis Federation's decision to allow fans to attend the tournament. "It's much better with crowds coming," the last Frenchman to contest a Roland Garros final, when he was defeated by Mats Wilander in 1988, told Sky Sports.

Record 12-time winner Rafael Nadal will begin his attempt to equal Roger Federer's 20 Grand Slam titles against Belarus' Egor Gerasimov. Top seed Novak Djokovic faces Swede Mikael Ymer in the opening round.

The spectator capacity was cut to this figure 11 days ago from 11,500, with the original plan catering for 20,000 fans.

In the women's draw, Serena Williams launches her bid for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam singles crown against fellow American Kristie Ahn. Top seed Simona Halep, in the same half, takes on Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo.

REUTERS

Original post:
Roland Garros hopes latest curbs won't hit capacity further - The Straits Times

Topline

Chinese state-controlled media has accused the Trump administration of bullying and hooligan logic after the U.S. President threatened to thwart TikToks deal with Oracle and Walmart if its Chinese parent ByteDance retains control, highlighting the challenge the companies face in getting approval both from the U.S. and Chinese government.

Chinese State media has asked Beijing to reject the TikTok U.S. deal.

The state-controlled Global Times initially called the deal reasonable after news emerged on Saturday that Oracle and Walmart have agreed to acquire a combined 20% stake in a new U.S. based entity called TikTok Global that would operate the video-sharing platform.

However, both Trump and Oracle pushed back against assertions that ByteDance will hold an 80% stake in the newly formed company, insisting that the Chinese firm will need to further dilute its stake or risk the deal being rejected.

Following this flip-flop, an editorial in the Chinese paper slammed the deal as unfair adding that China will not yield to US intimidation and will not accept an unequal treaty that targets Chinese companies.

On Monday, ByteDance put out a statement on the Chinese blogging platform Toutiao, where it tried to play down speculation that it was giving up control of TikTok, asserting that it will continue to hold an 80% stake in TikTok Global after the deal is complete.

However, speaking to Fox News, Trump said that ByteDance will have nothing to do with it, and if they do, we just wont make the deal. Its going to be controlled, totally controlled by Oracle and if we find that they dont have total control then were not going to approve the deal.

Signaling that Beijing may reject the deal being touted by Trump, the Global Times editorial states, It's hard for us to believe that Beijing will approve such an agreement. Any deal will require approval from the Chinese government, ByteDance said last week. This is because the Chinese government added AI technologiesincluding personalized content recommendation tools like the one used by TikTokto its export controls list last month.

On Saturday, Trump asserted that the companies involved in the deal have agreed to commit $5 billion towards a fund for the U.S. government which he plans to use to "educate people" about the "real history of the country. But in its blog post, ByteDance contested Trumps claim. ByteDance argued that Trumps $5 billion figure was simply an estimate of the amount of taxes the new company, TikTok Global, would pay over several years if the business is successful.

The confusion around the nature of the proposed TikTok deal stems from contradictory statements made by the key players. On Saturday, TikTok announced that Oracle and Walmart agreed to acquire a 20% stake in TikToks global business as part of a pre-IPO financing round, moments after President Donald Trump told the press that he had given his blessing to the deal. As part of this deal, Oracle has agreed to acquire 12.5% of the video-sharing platform, while Walmart will hold a 7.5% stake, but that now looks to be at risk. In a statement shared with Forbes, Oracle executive vice president Ken Glueck echoed Trumps position statingAmericans will be the majority and ByteDance will have no ownership in TikTok Global, without offering any additional details. Meanwhile, as Trump insists Oracle will control TikTok, the company doesnt appear to have a seat on TikTok Globals new board as ByteDance says the board will include its founder and current directors, along with Walmart CEO Doug McMillon. Glueck's belief that Americans will control TikTok Global comes from the fact that U.S. citizens make up the majority of the board, while U.S. investors in ByteDance, Walmart and Oracle may end up holding a majority stake in the newly-created company, according to CNBC.

Trump, Oracle Push Back Against ByteDances Claim Of 80% Ownership Of TikTok Global (Forbes)

TikTok deal puts U.S. owners in charge, but Chinese parent company still has some say (CNBC)

Link:
Chinese Media Calls On Beijing To Reject TikTok Deal As Trump Seeks U.S. Control Of App - Forbes

CHATHAM, NJ - The Chatham Board of Education president, district superintendent and board members all urged residents to knock off the "shaming" on social media at its regular meeting held Monday night in the Chatham High auditorium.

BOE President Jill Critchley Weber, Superintendent Michael LaSusa and board member Ann Ciccarelli all urged people to back off on criticism of students and parents following a non-school party that prompted a spike in Coronavirus cases and sent CHS into an "all-virtual" mode.

"I know it's been super stressful for people, but I really urge everybody to think twice before they are posting on social media," Ciccarrelli said. "The social medial frenzy since this happened has been absolutely out of control. These kids have been shamed, these parents have been shamed andfalse statements have been made.

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"It's really, really counterproductive. I fearit's going to lead to other people not reporting if they do have positive results because people are afraid of what otherpeople in the community are saying about them. We all know the effects of social media comments, especially on these teenagers and adolescents and I think we need to be very conscious of their emotional well-being and the fact that shaming kids for having a virus, whether they made a poor decision or not, is not going to be productive for anybody. We really need to come together as a community and be kind to each other about this. This is not easy for anybody."

BOE president Weber acknowledged students who came forward to report the transmission: "We are not going to be punishing any students who reported."

Weber also urged a "We are Chatham" attitude when it comes to the pandemic in the video below.

LaSusa followed the advice of the health departmenton Sept. 11 and orderedChatham High Schoolstudents to switch toall-virtual instruction until Sept. 29.

The full video from the Sept. 21 BOE meeting can be viewed below.

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Chatham Board of Education Member on CHS Students Infected at Party: 'The Social Media Frenzy has been Out of Control' - TAPinto.net

The podcast landscape in Norway is still nascent, but news group Schibsted is gearing up an attempt to turbocharge that growth.

The publishing group which currently produces 40 podcasts across its handful of news titles in Norway has spent the last year integrating podcast publishing into its proprietary editorial technology platform, what it calls Core News Product. The effort has taken roughly 30 people across different parts of the business, including product teams, developers and content teams across its news titles. The goal: Learn more about podcast usage on its brands, experiment with how they drive subscribers and ultimately earn more ad revenue depending on the business model of each of the groups titles, which are mostly general news titles.

Using premium audio to drive subscriptions is a pretty underused tactic partly because it requires wonky tech workarounds, as Digiday has previously reported, especially as Apple, Google and more recently Spotify are globally the dominant podcast platforms. To take podcasts seriously, its becoming vital that publishers break away from platforms and build their own podcast models.

I do believe other news media companies would follow, said Schibsted product manager Erik Saastad. Its easy to see benefits. It has a lot of potential for strengthening the existing business models, but also to open for new revenue sources.

Schibsted has had its fair share of knocks by coronavirus. From April to June, the group generated 498 million Norwegian krone ($53.5 million), according to its financial statement, thats an 11% decrease year-on-year, due to the pandemic. Despite low ad revenue, for now, podcasts are playing a more central role in its content strategy. One of its most popular podcasts, Forklart (Explained), from subscription Norweigan general news brand, Aftenposten, is approaching 1 million streamed episodes every week.

Aftenposten has nearly 240,000 print and digital subscribers. Now, the title can publish certain podcast episodes behind the paywall for subscribers for a time frame before opening them up on third-party platforms like Acast and iTunes. Publishing podcasts on its own platform lets the publisher drill down into consumption habits, informing content, as well as how podcasts drive retention.Readers can also listen to podcasts while browsing news in the news apps.

For Schibsted specifically, podcast ad revenue has not been significant. The publisher expects podcast ad revenue to grow by 50% this year compared with 2019, (it wouldnt say from what base) driven by its native publishing of the format and the maturation of the market, which is fledgling. Estimates from Interbuss Kantar say 45% of Norways population (which totals 5.4 million) listen to podcasts once a month. Podcast platform Acast counts more than 11 million monthly listens in Norway.

Schibsted estimates Norway generates 4 million ($5.1 million) annually from podcast ad revenue. In the U.S., ad revenue is nearing the $1 billion mark, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau. In July, Acast increased advertising revenues with 800% in Norway compared to the same month last year.

And with the new platform, ad buyers can book podcast campaigns using Schibsteds normal ad tools, in theory increasing the market. Before, sellers had to do this manually via Acast, which will still serve ads on Schibsted podcasts that are played on external platforms.

All the platforms have the problem that they are based on a business model of free podcasts at scale, and its insanely hard to fit premium podcasts into that, said media analyst Thomas Baekdal, who points to different models by Danish publisher Zetland and Dutch publisher The Correspondent. Not just from a technical and UX perspective, but more so from a business perspective. Spotify, for instance, is buying up podcasts to be featured exclusively on its platforms while also wanting creators to hand over podcasts for free. We are being used in a very unfair way by these platforms, he added.

Schibsted says it knows from ongoing tests that it wouldnt share results on that publishing podcasts both in its own channels as well as on the external platforms increase the total listening.

For example, the publishers tabloid-style news brand VG, mostly funded by ads, but 24% of the population of Norway pay for access (according to Reuters Digital News Report 2020), has around 15 different podcasts and is planning to launch an additional five to 10 during the next few months. The most popular is true-crime podcast Krimpodden, which had 20,000 listeners on VG last week, making up about 25% of its overall listens (the rest came from other platforms like iTunes, Google and Spotify).

Partly, this increase is driven by Schibsteds podcast player integration improving the user experience, making podcasts more visible and cross-promoting with similar and related content. More podcast ad inventory and not having to cede control over to distribution platforms means VG can, in theory, charge higher ad rates for spot ads and podcast sponsorship.

This is both a necessity and a revenue opportunity, said commercial business developer podcasts, Helene Svab. This is the smartest way to be forward-facing in the market. We have the data and easy access to the tool and for us to use ourselves. Its an innovation that was necessary for opening up a larger chunk of the market and gives us more control.

Update: An earlier version of this article incorrectly omitted that podcast listens outside of VG come from platforms including iTunes, Google and Spotify.

https://digiday.com/?p=378309

See the article here:
Gives us more control: To grow revenue, Schibsted built its own podcast platform - Digiday

Quick Take

Viral social media posts falsely claim that no one has died at home from COVID-19, implying that poor medical care contributed to the deaths or that the disease is a hoax. Nearly 10,000 coronavirus victims have died in their homes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As the United States reached a grim milestone of 200,000 deaths from COVID-19, recent social media posts falsely claim that no one has died from the novel coronavirus in their homes implying that poor medical care contributed to their deaths or that the pandemic isnt real.

Not a single person with corona virus has been found dead in their home; every death has occurred at a hospital reads one of the posts. Some comments on the post speculated that victims were murdered in hospitals or nursing homes, while others claimed the pandemic is a hoax.

But contrary to the posts claim, nearly 10,000 people have died in their home due to COVID-19 as of Sept. 12, according to the provisional death count from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Cities hit hard by the novel coronavirus also saw an uptick in home deaths. In Houston, officials saw a spike in people dying at home with an increasing number of deaths coming from COVID-19, according to a ProPublica and NBC News report from July.

Authorities in New York City saw a similar trend early on in the pandemic when 200 people were dying at home each day in the city in early April, according to Gothamist and WNYC. Prior to the pandemic, there were 20 to 25 at-home deaths per day in the city, the report said.

Although some commented on the false Facebook post that victims were murdered in hospitals, the mortality rate in intensive care units has fallen over the course of the pandemic. Improvements in care have come as doctors have gained more experience in treating the disease, Dr. Craig Coopersmith, director of Emory Critical Care Center in Georgia, told NPR.

Theres certainly nothing routine about the pandemic, Coopersmith said, but in terms of how were managing it, once you have taken care of something for the tenth time, it is normal.

Along with experience, Coopersmith told NPR studies showing the benefit of steroids for sick patients has improved COVID-19 patients chances of surviving a trip to the ICU.

A commenter claimed that hospitals are being paid $39,000 for each COVID-19 death and that theyre killing them for money. But FactCheck.org reported in April that while legislation pays hospitals higher Medicare rates for COVID-19 patients and treatment, theres no evidence of fraudulent case reporting.

Editors note: FactCheck.org is one of several organizationsworking with Facebookto debunk misinformation shared on social media. Our previous stories can be foundhere.

The New York Times. Covid in the U.S.: Latest Map and Case Count. Accessed 22 Sep 2020.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Provisional Death Counts. Accessed 22 Sep 2020.

Ornstein, Charles. Hixenbaugh, Mike. A Spike in People Dying at Home Suggests Coronavirus Deaths in Houston May Be Higher Than Reported. ProPublica and NBC News. 8 July 2020.

Hogan, Gwynne. Staggering Surge Of NYers Dying In Their Homes Suggests City Is Undercounting Coronavirus Fatalities. Gothamist and WNYC. 7 April 2020.

Outcomes from intensive care in patients with COVID19: a systematic review and metaanalysis of observational studies. Association of Anaesthetists. 15 June 2020.

Harris, Richard. Advances In ICU Care Are Saving More Patients Who Have COVID-19. NPR. 20 September 2020.

Fichera, Angelo. Hospital Payments and the COVID-19 Death Count. FactCheck.org. 21 April 2020.

Read the rest here:
Nearly 10000 COVID-19 Victims Died at Home - FactCheck.org