Mediagazer: Aol Is Restructuring, Layoffs And Site Closures Likely (Ingrid Lunden/TechCrunch)

12:15 AM ET, January 20, 2015

Top News:

James Ball / Guardian:

British spy agency GCHQ intercepted emails from NYT, Washington Post, NBC journalists, among other international media — GCHQ intercepted emails of journalists from top international media — • Snowden files reveal emails of BBC, NY Times and more — • Agency includes investigative journalists on ‘threat’ list

Press Gazette:

Every UK national newspaper editor urges Prime Minister to stop RIPA spying on journalists — Every national newspaper editor has backed the Press Gazette Save Our Sources campaign and signed a joint letter of protest to Prime Minister David Cameron over police spying on journalists' phone records.

Discussion: @arusbridger, @jayrosen_nyu, @raju, @dangillmor, @anthonylongden1, @jamesrbuk, @indexcensorship and @spencetimes

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Amazon Studios to Produce Movies for Theatrical, Digital Release in 2015 — Amazon Studios said it will begin to produce and acquire original movies for theatrical release and early-window distribution on Amazon Prime Instant Video starting in 2015. — According to Amazon …

Emily Steel / New York Times:

ComScore starts tracking video audiences across computers, mobile, tablets and streaming devices — ComScore to Tally Viewers Across Their Many Devices — People are spending an exploding amount of time watching video on their mobile phones or streaming programs to their television sets …

Discussion: AdExchanger, @vivian and The Next Web

Lisa O'Carroll / Guardian:

Sources say The Sun newspaper has quietly dropped its topless ‘Page 3’ section following campaign by critics — Has the Sun axed Page 3 topless pictures? — Is the Sun poised to drop Page 3 after more than 44 years of topless pictures? Several close to the tabloid have indicated …

Discussion: @nomorepage3, @davidfolkenflik, @jo_elvin, @suttonnick, @janinegibson, @undercovermutha, @rossalynwarren, @tomgara, @arusbridger, @charlenewhite, @lisaocarroll, @dylsharpe, @mattkmoore and Digital Spy

Ricardo Bilton / Digiday:

Techmeme's Gabe Rivera on tech media: ‘A lot of intellectual dishonesty’ — Gabe Rivera has a love-hate relationship with the tech media world. Known both for helming curation site Techmeme and for his often sarcastic Twitter personality, Rivera is knee-deep in the cut-throat Silicon Valley …

Discussion: @peterhimler, @rich_trenholm, @ryanlawler, @martinsfp, @mgsiegler, @laurengoode, @gaberivera and Talking Biz News

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:

Aol Is Restructuring, Layoffs And Site Closures Likely — Aol, owner of TechCrunch, is gearing up for some housekeeping. TechCrunch has learned that the company is preparing to lay off staff and close or fold up underperforming titles as part of a bigger restructuring …

Discussion: AdExchanger, @millie, @tomgara, @nbj914, @mathewi and FishbowlNY

Richard Verrier / Los Angeles Times:

Sources: DreamWorks Animation may cut over 350 production and support jobs in California — DreamWorks Animation plans substantial layoffs — Stung by a series of box office misfires and failed sale attempts, DreamWorks Animation plans a substantial number of layoffs, two people familiar with the matter said.

Discussion: Home Media Magazine, Hollywood Reporter, @danielnmiller, Variety and The Wrap

Brian Stelter / CNNMoney.com:

Fox News apologizes 4 times for inaccurate comments about Muslims in Europe — Fox News took time out of four broadcasts on Saturday to apologize for four separate instances of incorrect information that portrayed Muslims in a negative light. — Several of the cases involved incendiary comments about …

Discussion: New York Times, OnPolitics, @vplus, Fox News, Talking Points Memo, Gawker and Mediaite

Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:

Magzter Launches Magzter Gold, Offering Unlimited Access To 2,000+ Magazines For $9.99 A Month — Startup Magzter is already selling many magazines on the web and mobile devices, but it's been focused on traditional purchase models — buying single issues, or annual subscriptions to individual titles.

Discussion: Businessweek.com, @mathewi, Wall Street Journal, The Next Web and Gigaom

Alicia Banks / The Wrap:

MTV to Go Black and White for MLK Day Specials on Race — MTV is going old school and will air in black and white Monday, a first for the 34-year-old network. — The color change will run for 12 hours, and is part of the network's #TheTalk campaign, encouraging viewers to talk openly about race with friends and family.

Discussion: MTV, Deadline, Variety, TIME, Guardian, Death and Taxes, Adweek, Capital New York and Aljazeera

Roy Greenslade / Guardian:

Telegraph Media Group made £55m operating profit in 2014 — Newspaper group ‘quietly pleased’ despite £6m fall on previous year's performance — The Telegraph Media Group (TMG) made an operating profit of £55m last year, according to unaudited figures leaked to the Guardian.