Mediagazer: How Al Jazeera's AJ+ Became One Of The Biggest Video Publishers on Facebook (Janko Roettgers/Variety)

5:15 PM ET, July 31, 2015

Top News:

Lucy Dalglish / Philip Merrill College of Journalism:

American Journalism Review to cease publication; archives and site to remain available — AMERICAN JOURNALISM REVIEW TO CEASE ONLINE PUBLICATION — COLLEGE PARK, Md. - American Journalism Review will no longer be published by the Philip Merrill College of Journalism.

Discussion: @pottsmark, @jbenton, @jbenton and @jbenton

Peter Kafka / Re/code:

LinkedIn asks its top 500 “Influencers” for blanket permission to syndicate posts, with no money changing hands — LinkedIn Starts Building a Syndicated Content Network — LinkedIn has gotten a lot of mileage out of the free content that famous people like Richard Branson write for the social network.

Jennifer Palmieri / Hillary for America:

Clinton campaign writes New York Times Executive Editor Dean Banquet, slamming the rush to publish and the delay in correcting its story on emails — Letter to the New York Times' Dean Baquet — Dear Mr. Baquet: — I am writing to officially register our campaign's grave concern …

Janko Roettgers / Variety:

How Al Jazeera's AJ+ Became One Of The Biggest Video Publishers on Facebook — Al Jazeera isn't exactly the media brand that comes to mind as a top choice for today's news junkies. And yet, a year after its launch, Al Jazeera's AJ+ offshoot has emerged as a huge success story, thanks largely to Facebook video.

Discussion: Poynter, @etharkamal, @tomgara, @tarek, @franifio and @malsaafin

Kate Connolly / Guardian:

Germany halts treason inquiry into journalists after protests — ‘For the good of media freedom’, Germany's prosecutor general suspends investigation into reporters who said state planned to boost surveillance — A treason investigation into two journalists who reported that the German state planned …

Discussion: The Intercept

Cyrus Farivar / E&:
After Publishing Secret Spy Docs, German News Site Investigated for Treason

Discussion: Boing Boing and BBC

Mark Mooney / CNNMoney:

Hulk Hogan vs Gawker showdown put off until March — The Hulk Hogan versus Gawker smackdown has been put off until next year. — Florida Judge Pamela Campbell, who will preside over Hogan's lawsuit against the gossip site, said her docket was clogged with cases until March 2016.

Discussion: Mashable, Poynter and International Business Times

Lisa O'Carroll / Guardian:

Cost of News of the World phone-hacking prosecutions nears £2m — CPS reveals that it has spent more than £100,000 on prosecuting Neil Wallis and Jules Stenson, in addition to £1.79m cost of case against Andy Coulson and others — The Crown Prosecution Service's bill …

Patrick Frater / Variety:

Viacom to pay $153 Million for 50% of India's Prism TV — Viacom has agreed to buy a half stake in Indian regional broadcast group Prism TV. — The company owns and operates regional entertainment channels in India, including ETV Marathi, ETV Kannada, ETV Bangla, ETV Oriya and ETV Gujarati …

Discussion: Multichannel News, TelevisionPost.com and Hollywood Reporter

Peter Kafka / Re/code:

Fuisz Media raise $10M Series A, led by Evolution Media Partners, for video ads that you can touch to get more information — Fuisz Media Raises $10 Million for Video Ads You Can Touch — The media business is obsessed with video ads. Justin Fuisz says his video ads are better — because you can click on them.

Discussion: Adweek, Variety, bizjournals, Tubefilter and AdExchanger

Natasha Tynes / IJNET:

Huffington Post launches Arabic version, promises to protect contributors — The Arab World remains an area of interest to many reporters and newsmakers mostly due to the constant political turmoil happening on its soil. From the Arab Spring to the rise of ISIS, the Middle East has no shortage of news.

Discussion: The Huffington Post and Al Bawaba

Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter:

James Woods Sues Twitter User for $10 Million Over “Cocaine Addict” Accusation — The actor files a defamation lawsuit against an individual who replied to his tweets about Barack Obama and Caitlyn Jenner. — Incivility on social media seems to be a regular occurrence …

Discussion: Popehat, Mediaite, Techdirt, ValueWalk, @jamesemajure, Wall Street Journal, Mashable, The Wrap, Gawker and Guardian

Paul Sandle / Reuters:

Liberty Global ups stake in broadcaster ITV to 9.9 percent — European cable operator Liberty Global said it had raised its stake in ITV to 9.9 percent through a hedging deal but still had no intention of taking over Britain's biggest free-to-air commercial TV firm.

Discussion: Telegraph, Bloomberg Business, London Evening Standard, City A.M., Hollywood Reporter, New York Times, Deadline and Variety

Jackie Calmes / Shorenstein Center:

Conservative media is pushing the Republican Party further to the right: a report from Shorenstein Center Fellow Jackie Calmes — Conservative Media's Influence on the Republican Party — A new paper by Jackie Calmes, Joan Shorenstein Fellow (Spring 2015) and national correspondent …

Discussion: @ingrahamangle, Washington Post, @thtleader and @mattsheffield

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

MSNBC cancels 3 hours of daytime programming as it moves toward hard news: The Cycle, Now With Alex Wagner, and The Ed Show — MSNBC Spikes Three Hours of Afternoon Lineup — MSNBC is canceling three more hours of daytime programming as it works to rechristen itself as a place for hard news …