A version of this article first appeared in the “Reliable Sources” newsletter. You can sign up for free right here.
Once a week, I want to showcase some sources of inspiration, examples of media and tech industry creativity amid crisis, and general reasons to cheer at an otherwise devastating time. So here’s the latest list, focusing on the media world, since that’s my beat.
– Lin-Manuel Miranda and the cast of ‘Hamilton’ surprised a young Broadway fan with a Zoom session, Marianne Garvey reports…
– It all went down on John Krasinski’s YouTube show, “Some Good News,” which is quickly becoming one of the breakout hits of the shutdown… Sunday’s episode featuring “Hamilton” has already topped 4 million views…
– The stage production of “Fleabag” is coming to Amazon for charity, Sandra Gonzalez reports…
– Broadway Cares continues to organize inspiring fund-raisers…
– Many media companies are supplying resources for newly home-schooled kids and their parents. Here’s one great resource, from National Geographic, full of “quizzes, videos, science experiments, and even at-home classroom resources…”
– Bookshop is getting lots of love, and deservedly so. The online store helps support independent bookstores that really need help right now…
– Facebook and Instagram are working with the Small Business Association to make sure owners and operators know about loan options…
– Apple has sourced 20 million N95 masks for hospitals, and now it is ramping up to produce one million face shields for medical workers per week…
– From newsletter subscriber Eric Smillie: The Design at Indeed publication “created a set of peaceful video conference backgrounds to brighten people’s days now that we’re spending so much time on calls…
– HBO supplied some helpful backgrounds on Monday, including a “Succession” conference room setting…
– Staying on the background theme, coronavirus-themed murals are popping up around the world…
– “Sunday Today” featured “good deeds” by model citizens like Sue, who is helping keep the Stop and Shop in West Islip, NY, functioning for customers…
– CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman is teaching Kindness 101, an online course for kids about courage, character and other values…
– WJW, the Fox affiliate in Cleveland, went viral last week with a new public service segment: “What Day Is It?” Todd Meany has the daily report for those who have lost track of time. Here is Monday’s installment…
– Disney Animation is releasing a new digital series, “At Home with Olaf,” “created at home by Hyrum Osmond. Voiced from home by Josh Gad…”
– America’s late-night shows are all “Quarantine TV” now, and the shows are incredibly creative…
– The Guardian’s weekly newsletter The Upside is finding “silver linings, survivor stories and funny interludes” during this pandemic…
– The AP is running a new daily feature titled “5 things to know today – that aren’t about the virus.” Here is Monday’s list…
– And last but not least, CNN’s weekly “Good Stuff” newsletter, about the better things in life, is more essential than ever…
The Furlough Fund
Paige Cornwell, a reporter for The Seattle Times, created something wonderful last week: A GoFundMe page to support journalists who have been furloughed, laid off, or had their hours cut back because of the pandemic. “The response has been incredible,” she told me via email. The page topped $40,000 in donations on Monday, and she’s about to raise the bar higher. “I’ve now received submissions from more than 100 journalists across the U.S. who have been impacted and will use the funds for rent, bills and, in one journalist’s case, to cover the costs of medical treatment after she was diagnosed with COVID-19,” she said. Journalists in need of financial assistance can fill out the submission form here…