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BAGUIO, PHILIPPINES (AFP) - Anchor Dhobie de Guzman has been the face of a popular news show in the northern Philipines for more than a decade. Now the closure of his regional station - and dozens of others countrywide - has left him out of work.

He is among hundreds of journalists to lose their jobs at ABS-CBN as the broadcasting giant - a critic of President Rodrigo Duterte - slashes its operations after advertising revenues were ravaged by the loss of its free-to-air licence in May.

The closure of 53 regional television and radio stations that broadcast in six languages will deprive millions of Filipinos of their main source of local news and entertainment.

"It's painful," Mr de Guzman, 43, told AFP last Friday (Aug 28) after presenting the final "TV Patrol North Luzon" in a studio 240km from the capital Manila.

"You do your job responsibly, you do your share to change the life of ordinary people, then at the end of the day you lose your platform to do that."

Congress last month rejected ABS-CBN's application for a new 25-year franchise and a Supreme Court petition over the issue was dismissed.

ABS-CBN, which is owned by the wealthy Lopez family, has broadcast continuously since 1953 except between 1972 and 1986 when it was seized by dictator Ferdinand Marcos - who Mr Duterte admires.

Mr Duterte has a history of clashing with media outlets critical of his policies, including his controversial drug war that has killed thousands of people.

While he has denied any involvement in Congress's decision to reject ABS-CBN's application, he had previously pledged to block its licence renewal.

In the months since losing its free-to-air permit, ABS-CBN has kept showing many of its popular news and drama programmes on cable TV and online.

But much of the advertising revenue it used to rake in has been wiped out, forcing the broadcaster to dramatically cut costs.

"Unfortunately, (digital advertising revenue) is not at the same level as broadcast, so that's where the challenge is nowadays," said ABS-CBN news and current affairs boss Regina Reyes.

After the closure of the regional stations on Friday, more parts of the network will be shuttered on Monday and many of its stars are expected to move on.

Thousands of jobs - including staff and contractors - could be lost, ABS-CBN warned previously.

For decades, ABS-CBN's regional network has played a vital role in broadcasting information on natural disasters, such as typhoons, and health crises - including the coronavirus pandemic - to isolated communities that have little or no Internet access.

For many, it is their only source of news.

Fishermen in some regions have long relied on their local broadcaster to know if it was safe to go out to sea, said Ms Reyes.

"Not everyone has access to the Internet, to radio or newspapers," said Ms Micaella Ilao, a TV reporter in Baguio. "Removing (TV broadcasters) deprives the people of the privilege to receive proper information."

The Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines has described the closure of ABS-CBN's regional stations as a "black day for independent media" in the country.

"It's an avoidable national tragedy, inflicted by the very people who should protect Filipinos from all adversity," it said.

ABS-CBN is allowed to file a fresh petition, but its success would require members of Congress, dominated by Mr Duterte allies and whose terms expire in 2022, to change their minds.

For now, they are mourning the loss of their network.

"It's not just a channel... it's a relationship, a connection that has been lost," said Mr Stanley Palisada, who was head of the regional news group.

"You become the medium of preference for people, for the local community, to complain, to ask for help in reaching out to the government officials and (entities) who may have the solutions to their problems."

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Off the air: Top Philippines broadcaster ABS-CBN shuts regional stations - The Straits Times

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, BELGIUM (AFP) - Lewis Hamilton saluted actor Chadwick Boseman on the podium after a majestic 89th career win at the Belgian Grand Prix and then said he would prefer to have to fight harder for victories.

The championship leader and six-time Formula One champion made the crossed-forearms gesture from the Black Panther movies in respect for Hollywood star Boseman, who died on Friday, and to whose memory he had dedicated his 93rd pole position on Saturday (Aug 29).

Hamilton said he had been inspired by Boseman to produce another flawless performance.

"It feels great to finish on a high this weekend, particularly with Chad dying because he made everyone feel like a superhero."

Hamilton claimed his fifth win in seven outings this year to increase his lead in the title race to 47 points.

His team-mate Valtteri Bottas was second.

"I know it is not necessarily what everyone wants to see - the two Mercedes at the front," said Hamilton.

He said he would prefer to have closer racing with multi-stop racing, instead of one-stop, as most drivers finished Sunday's race managing their tyres.

"Today was really all about tyres. Everyone doing this one-stop thing - it's really boring. At the end of the day, we are all managing out there, which is not racing. At the end, we are backing off, maybe it would have been fine but it was too big a risk today," he said.

"I really, really would like to have more of a fight, but that is not on me." Hamilton said that the Mercedes domination was a product of the team's approach.

"No matter how much success we have, we have to keep our heads down," he said.

"It's an incredible mentality and I feel so privileged to be a part of this team."

He said that although his race appeared to be under control from lights to flag, it had ended tensely as he nursed his car to the finish on worn tyres.

"It was a bit of a struggle, but nonetheless it was ok," he said.

"I was a little nervous that we may have something like that which we had at Silverstone with the tyre - so I was nursing it to the end."

Hamilton won the British Grand Prix on three good wheels after suffering a last lap puncture.

He added that, on a personal level, he felt confident, fit and strong ahead of the races ahead, starting with two in Italy in successive weeks.

"I am 35 now, going towards 36, but I feel better than ever," he said.

"That is a positive."

Bottas said he had been unable to catch Hamilton.

"Lewis played the start really well and I couldn't get the momentum. I think he was faultless today and yesterday, of course, he was quick. I did my best and I am glad there is another opportunity next weekend."

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Formula One: Hamilton salutes actor Chadwick Boseman and pleads for end to 'boring' racing - The Straits Times

SINGAPORE - Tighter regulations on what constitutes a mask and how it should be worn also came into effect on Saturday (Aug 29), according to a notice gazetted the day before.

It comes as the Ministry of Health (MOH) reiterated on Saturday that makeshift face coverings such as bandanas, scarves and neck gaiters should not be used as masks.

MOH's recommendation is also in line with those by the multi-ministry task force tackling the Covid-19 pandemic.

The definition of a mask has been revised to mean a covering made of paper, plastic or textile solely designed to be worn over the nose and mouth as protection against infection or air pollution.

Previously, a mask was defined as "any paper or textile covering designed or made to be worn over the nose and mouth to provide the wearer protection against infections or air pollution, but excludes a face shield".

A mask is now also required to touch the wearer's nose, cheeks and chin when worn.

The previous legislation only stated that it needed to touch the wearer's nose and cheeks.

The amended regulations under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act come after an incident earlier in August where a bus driver refused to allow a man wearing a neck gaiter to board.

The amended regulations come after an incident earlier in August where a bus driverrefused to allow a man wearing a neck gaiter to board. PHOTOS: STOMP

A Health Ministry spokesman said at the time that neck gaiters and bandanas were not recommended to be used as masks.

A study published by Duke University in the United States earlier this month looked at 15 types of masks and found that wearing a single layer neck gaiter made of 92 per cent polyester and 8 per cent spandex is worse than not wearing a mask at all.

In a statement on Saturday, MOH noted that there have been recent queries on the efficacy of makeshift coverings in preventing disease transmission.

The ministry said that they may not perform as well as purpose-built masks as they may not have a good fit around the wearer's nose and mouth and are made from materials that are not specific for disease prevention.

"A mask should be worn such that it closely and completely covers the wearer's nose and mouth, without leaving a gap between the mask and the face," the ministry added.

Senior criminal lawyer Rajan Supramaniam said that the amended regulations mean that there is more clarity over what constitutes a mask and are "more decisive".

Commenting on what are possible repercussions should a member of the public be caught wearing face coverings like scarves or neck gaiters instead of a face mask, he said: "They can be reprimanded or be given a warning, or could be prosecuted, which means they could be fined."

Regulations state that those who are caught not wearing a mask can be fined $300.

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Tighter regulations on what constitutes a mask and how it should be worn come into effect in Singapore - The Straits Times

(The Gateway Pundit himself, Jim Hoft, didnt respond to an inquiry but posted pre-emptively that The Gateway Pundit has been 100% correct in all of our reporting on every major story.)

It was Facebook that became the first target of coordinated right-wing outrage in 2016, when conservatives seized on a Gizmodo article to suggest that editors of Facebooks Trending section were censoring conservative voices. The story had, in fact, uncovered a secret: that Facebook was turning to human beings, with editorial judgment, to make decisions about what content to show its users, rather than simply relying on algorithms.

A former Facebook employee recalls the companys Republican lobbyist, Joel Kaplan, pushing in those early days to do away with human editorial choices, and to let Facebooks algorithms choose what news made its Trending section. Instead, Facebook killed the feature entirely, and prostrated itself to the right in a public meeting with Republican media figures and a private 2016 visit by Mark Zuckerbergs executive team to Fox News headquarters.

Since then, Facebook has sought to ingratiate itself to the Trump administration, while taking a harder line on Covid-19 misinformation. As the presidents backers post wild claims on the social network, the company offers the equivalent of wrist slaps a complex fact-checking system that avoids drawing the company directly into the political fray. It hasnt worked: The fact-checking subcontractors are harried umpires, an easy target for Trump supporters ire.

Its the fact-checking business that is causing all this trouble, Brent Bozell, the founder of the conservative Media Research Center and a veteran professional ref-worker told me.

BuzzFeed News and NBC News reported last week that Facebook executives have acted in recent months on pleas from pro-Trump voices that they not be punished for misleading readers. Its a sign of the pressure on the company but also of a reality that Facebook wont say aloud: The pro-Trump media is in the misinformation business with scale and energy that lacks parallel, and in part because simply repeating the president often means spreading misinformation.

In fact, two people close to the Facebook fact-checking process told me, the vast bulk of the posts getting tagged for being fully or partly false come from the right. Thats not bias. Its because sites like The Gateway Pundit are full of falsehoods, and because the president says false things a lot.

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How Pro-Trump Forces Work the Refs in Silicon Valley - The New York Times

Beijing, Aug. 11, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Glory Star New Media Group Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: GSMG, GSMGW) (Glory Star or the Company), a leading mobile and online digital media and entertainment company in China, today released a letter to shareholders from Mr. Bing Zhang, the Company's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. In the letter, Mr. Zhang provided an overview of the Glory Stars progress in 2020 and outlined the Companys future growth strategies. The original letter was written in Mandarin Chinese and can be accessed on the Companys investor relations website at http://ir.gsmg.co/. The following excerpts are English language translations of key messages from the letter to shareholders.

To Shareholders, Colleagues, and Business Partners,As this is my first letter to you as Chairman of Glory Star, I would like to take this opportunity to provide you with an overview of our progress in 2020 to date as well as our vision for the future. I would also like to thank all of our colleagues, shareholders, and business partners for their unwavering support, particularly during this challenging time. We are deeply serious about the trust placed in us by all parties and consider it an honor to move towards a common vision of the future together. In times like these, we cannot help but be reminded about what really matters, our family, our friends, and our health.

Since our successful listing on the NASDAQ stock market on February 19, 2020, we have sustained our remarkable growth trajectory, which continues to be driven by Chinas rapid digitization progress as well as its social and economic developments. Now, after three years of operations, we have built a digital entertainment ecosystem that offers premium content, interactive live streaming, supply chain services, big data analysis, smart search services, and recommendation services. These services have helped our CHEERS app to not only attract over 100 million users nationwide, but also form partnerships with hundreds of established brands and service providers. In the 2020 China Content E-commerce Industry Overview Report by iResearch, Glory Star was named one of China's pioneers for the proprietary professionally generated video content e-commerce sector, the report also ranked us as number two in the market in terms of sales volume, which once again demonstrated our industry-leading position.

So far, in 2020, the outbreak of COVID-19 has presented each and every one of us with unprecedented challenges. Additionally, as the pandemic swept the globe, the world economy was also severely disrupted. These challenges and the resulting uncertainties will undoubtedly have a profound impact on the future economic developments of both China and the rest of the world. However, we believe that behind every adversity lies an opportunity, and as the outbreak continues to be brought under control in China at a steady pace, we are all beginning to return to our normal ways of life while the economy gradually recovers. Moreover, as a result of the travel restrictions and quarantine measures, we have also accelerated the pace of our digital transformation.

Despite the challenges from the outbreak of COVID-19 in the first half of 2020, our business lines maintained their solid growth trajectory. As of June 30, 2020, downloads of our CHEERS App had exceeded 121.0 million while the average daily active users for CHEERS App had reached 4.9 million. In the first half of 2020, our video content generated over 17.1 billion views online. We also delivered strong financial results in the first half of 2020 as our total revenues reached $29.4 million and our net income attributable to ordinary shareholders increased to $12.0 million. Gross Merchandise Value in the six months ended June 30, 2020, was approximately $20.0 million. Based on our results in the first half of the year, we remain fully confident in our ability to continue delivering robust financial and operating metrics for the remainder of 2020.

Looking beyond 2020, our goal is to grow our CHEERS App user base to 800 million users. As such, we will remain committed to our strategy of 1) fueling our e-commerce initiative with premium content, and 2) strengthening the capabilities of our CHEERS App and e-Mall marketplace to serve more of those consumers who have the desire to achieve a better lifestyle. Over the past year, Glory Star has also continuously introduced innovative services and created new business models, including the CHEERS video series, original short-form videos, e-commerce with PGC live streaming, online game portfolios, and product review programs. These content offerings not only enable consumers to experience a better lifestyle, but have also helped to fuel our business expansion and will sustain our rapid growth trajectory for years to come.

In the era of the fast-evolving internet, we believe that only those solutions capable of creating real value for customers will be able to stand the test of time. At Glory Star, we consider the attractiveness of our value propositions to be the core driver of our business success. Going forward, we will continue to experiment and drive innovation in order to better position ourselves at the forefront of the industry and thus generate increasing value for our users, partners, and shareholders in turn.

Bing ZhangChairman and Chief Executive Officer of Glory Star

About Glory Star New Media Group Holdings LimitedGlory Star New Media Group Holdings Limited is a leading mobile entertainment operator in China. Glory Stars ability to integrate premium lifestyle content, including short videos, online variety shows, online dramas, live streaming, its Cheers lifestyle video series, e-Mall, and mobile app, along with innovative e-commerce offerings on its platform enables it to pursue its mission of enriching peoples lives. The Companys large and active user base creates valuable engagement opportunities with consumers and enhances platform stickiness with thousands of domestic and international brands.

Safe Harbor StatementCertain statements made in this release are forward looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this press release, the words estimates, projected, expects, anticipates, forecasts, plans, intends, believes, seeks, may, will, should, future, propose and variations of these words or similar expressions (or the negative versions of such words or expressions) are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, conditions or results, and involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors, many of which are outside the Companys control, that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Important factors, among others, are: the ability to manage growth; ability to identify and integrate other future acquisitions; ability to obtain additional financing in the future to fund capital expenditures; fluctuations in general economic and business conditions; costs or other factors adversely affecting our profitability; litigation involving patents, intellectual property, and other matters; potential changes in the legislative and regulatory environment; a pandemic or epidemic; and other factors listed in the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2019 and in other filings made by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. Such information speaks only as of the date of this release.

ContactsGlory Star New Media Group Holdings LimitedYida YeEmail: yeyida@yaoshixinghui.com

ICR Inc.Jack WangTel: +1 (646) 308-0546Email: gsnm@icrinc.com

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Glory Star New Media Group Holdings Limited Releases Letter to Shareholders on Progress to Date and Future Growth Strategies - GlobeNewswire