Mediagazer: Google still surfaces news in search results in Spain after shutting down the News site (Danny Sullivan/Search Engine Land)

2:50 AM ET, December 23, 2014

Top News:

Jason Koebler / Motherboard:

Sony Threatens to Sue Twitter Unless It Removes Tweets Containing Hacked Emails — Sony's battle on people disseminating its hacked and leaked emails has extended from news outlets to random Twitter users to, now, Twitter itself. Sony's lawyer has threatened Twitter with legal action …

Joe Pompeo / Capital New York:

HuffPost plans to drop AP stories, relaunch site in 2015 — Heading into the new year, The Huffington Post is planning to stop using Associated Press stories while increasing its reporter headcount, gearing up for a relaunch and rolling out more international editions.

Discussion: @alexweprin, @sarahw, @samsteinhp, @clarajeffery, @alexweprin and @katienelson

Jordan Chariton / The Wrap:

Rolling Stone Outsources Internal Investigation of Botched UVA Rape Story to Columbia Journalism School — Rolling Stone Magazine added a new editor's note to its inaccurate University of Virginia campus rape story Monday. — Also Read: Rolling Stone UVA Rape Controversy: Friends of Alleged Victim Remember It Differently

Discussion: Washington Post, @brianstelter, @brianstelter, @erikwemple, @erikwemple, The Huffington Post, FishbowlNY and Columbia University …

Brian Merchant / Motherboard:

Behind the Daily Paywall: The Site that Pays You to Read Pirated Articles — The Daily Paywall is a new website that's loaded with tens of thousands of pirated articles from some of the world's top paywalled newspapers, and its proprietor will pay you to read them.

Discussion: Engadget, @mikeisaac, @bcmerchant, @bcmerchant and @paolocirio, Thanks:@rossneumann

Margaret Sullivan / New York Times:

Making ethical choices about Sony emails requires news judgment; legal analysis is murky and complicated — Sony Emails, Free Speech — and Trying a Little ‘F2F’ — Somewhere in academia, an enterprising law professor is putting together a lecture on the hacked Sony emails, considering the legal and free-speech issues they raise.

Discussion: Forbes

Bryan Bishop / The Verge:

Art house theaters petition Sony to let them show The Interview — Sony Pictures has been blaming theater chains for its decision to cancel the release of The Interview last week, but US independent movie theaters are making that a tough argument to sell. First the director of Art House Convergence …

Discussion: The Wrap, Gawker, New York Times, Politico, @verge, drafthouse.com and Hit & Run

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:

New Republic Editor Gabriel Snyder Promises Ambitious Journalism, More Diverse Voices — NEW YORK — Gabriel Snyder, who was tapped as editor-in-chief of The New Republic amid a recent staff exodus, wrote in his first editor's note that the 100-year-old magazine “has always been both in love and at war with its prior self.”

Discussion: The New Republic, The Dish, bookforum.com, @heoj, The New York Observer, @jcstearns, @mattyglesias, @jenny8lee, @antderosa, @tomgara, @jayrosen_nyu, The Wrap, New York Magazine, Politico, Talking Points Memo and Capital New York

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Google Adds Song Lyrics To Top Of Search Results, Points Searchers To Google Play — Google is now displaying music lyrics at the top of its search results pages when you search for “song name” plus “lyrics” on Google - a move that may reduce the number of visits to music lyrics sites …

Discussion: The Next Web, @joshconstine, 9to5Google, Search Engine Land, @rolfewinkler, Wall Street Journal, Business Insider and Search Engine Roundtable

Danny Sullivan / Search Engine Land:

Google still surfaces news in search results in Spain after shutting down the News site — How Google News Lives On In Spain Despite Being Closed — Did Google News really close in Spain? If you consider Google News to be the ability to browse stories by topic, especially from a dedicated home page, yes.

Discussion: 9to5Google

Sarah El Deeb / Associated Press:

Al-Jazeera shuts down its Egypt channel — CAIRO (AP) — The Qatari-owned Al-Jazeera news network on Monday shut down its Egypt channel, quieting a major source of tension between the two countries at a time when regional efforts are underway to reconcile between the two countries over the Gulf nation's support for Islamists.

Discussion: Daily News Egypt and Al Bawaba

Todd Spangler / Variety:

DirecTV Launches First Over-the-Top Video Service, Yaveo, for U.S. Hispanic Audiences — DirecTV, seeking a revenue stream beyond pay TV, has launched Yaveo: its first Internet-only subscription video service aimed at U.S. Hispanic consumers, with partners including Viacom and broadcast giant Univision Communications.

Discussion: Multichannel News, AdAge, Home Media Magazine and BroadwayWorld.com

Seth Liss / Poynter:

Elisa Jackson Named Executive Director of Poynter Foundation; Chris Martin Leaving to Pursue Opportunities in Academia — Chris Martin, vice president of external relations and president of the Poynter Foundation, is leaving her position. Elisa Jackson has been promoted to executive director …

Discussion: JIMROMENESKO.COM