surge.
Major dailies in Brazil and Mexico have already switched to online-only or dropped some days' editions, while in the Philippines 10 of the 70 newspapers in the PPI association have shuttered. Major British media brands could boast of 6.6 million new online readers in the first quarter in what their industry association said was a new record.The coronavirus has become "the greatest threat to the global news industry since the 2008 economic crash" wrote industry publication Press Gazette -- which itself moved online-only in 2013.
Around the world, audiences have melted away for the free sheets once handed out in busy urban centres. "Printing is expensive, but it's swings and roundabouts," said Gilles Dechamps, head of a printing company in northern Paris, arguing that "it's important for readers and for advertisers to have the landmark" of a printed paper".