Advertising expenditure in the UK reached £17,172 billion in 2012, up 2.3% on 2011 according to figures released today in the AA and Warc Expenditure Report – figures not seen since 2007.

Quaint and twee country soap Emmerdale (ITV, 7pm) signalled the start of Wednesday night’s top shelf content as the poor man’s Robert Downey Jr, Cameron, escaped another bullet in the nick of time.

The NUJ has expressed outrage over talks between the Government and newspaper owners, accusing them of creating secret deals for a new press regulation.

The real reason why Hacked Off, which has been annoyingly effective over the past year, is angry is that they know in their hearts that they have lost the battle to achieve the full implementation of the Leveson recommendations, in particular the statutory underpinning of a new regulatory body.

Jim Marshall, chief client officer at Aegis, saw the US election campaign as a fascinating aspect of the American political way and a wonderful media jamboree, but thinks most people in the UK would be horrified if our own politics went the same way.

comScore has released new insights on the U.S. tablet market from comScore TabLens, its forthcoming monthly syndicated service providing insights into tablet ownership and usage.

The Urban Dictionary’s definition of zeebox is “a drug infested overflow of the mind and a representation of a madman’s inner most mental desire to manipulate the viewer and make you feel and think that you yourself are going or are already insane.” Man…!

Channel 4 Sales has agreed a contract with BBC Worldwide to sell advertising in the UK around its on-demand content on Virgin Media’s TV Choice VoD platform.

Richard Nicholls, The Future Foundation, on personal policing of the social space and the rise of the super-highway code…

Greg Grimmer, partner, Hurrell Moseley Dawson & Grimmer, on how media consumption habits change in the holiday season…