With some debate continuing, Italy has ruled that news publishers and newsstands are 'essential' businesses, while in the US, the News Media Alliance has written to Mike Pence asking for the same recognition.

The vice president has been asked to recognise news publishing and reporting as "essential" to public health and welfare, and to encourage state and local public officials - as they implement shutdowns of "non-essential" businesses to - to make the same designation. We're not clear why they didn't write to the president.

So far, newspapers have been identified as essential businesses in these orders - akin to grocery stores, pharmacies and other businesses that are critical to public welfare. "Newspapers and their dedicated journalists and other employees are working closely with government agencies at the federal, state and local levels to provide essential health information to readers across all platforms," says the NMA.

In New York, governor Andrew Cuomo has announced that media organisations and news publishers would be considered essential businesses and exempt from an upcoming order for 50 per cent work reduction in the state.

Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf has also assured the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association that news publishers are not among the "non-essential" businesses being asked to temporarily close (Note the double-negative there).

The Colorado Press Association and the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition have written to governor Jared Polis requesting that employees of news publishers be considered "essential" staff during the state of emergency and be given freedom of movement to continue to report and deliver the news.

The city and county of San Francisco have also cited news publishers (newspapers, television, radio and other media services) as essential under its newly enacted shelter-in-place order.