The latest ABC release for the regional newspaper market is very illuminating – not for the continued percentage declines in newspapers sold, which continues unabated, but for the online usage stats.

The natural hierarchy of things in the national newspaper market has changed. In most markets a hungrier number two can eventually wear down a market leader. In the newspaper market this can take decades – it really is a war of attrition and in this particular case it is between two heavyweight sluggers.

According to our estimates for 31 July (for Sunday Popular and Mid-Market titles), the market is now down nearly half a million copies from June’s ABC figure.

After the scale of the famine in Somalia, the atrocities in Norway and Amy Winehouse’s premature death, the news agenda (both print and broadcast) is led once again by the phone hacking saga…

Sunday 17 July was the big one – the once in a quarter of a century opportunity for newspaper publishers to grab a larger circulation base and market share following the closure of the News of the World the week before. Sales were up but this week tells a different story…

Last Sunday was a once in a quarter of a century opportunity for newspaper publishers… the closure of the News of the World was the opportunity to grab a larger circulation base and market share.

So Richard Desmond said last month that the Express titles (including the Daily Star) are not and were never up for sale. This is a totally mischievous remark from someone who revels in controversy…

Never underestimate a Murdoch to spring the ultimate surprise and deliver a bigger response to a crisis than any commentator would have forecast…

Last month I finished on Osama Bin Laden’s lingerie model niece. Although Bin Laden’s demise was big news at the start of the month, it was dwarfed by column inches devoted to celebrity super injunctions and privacy legislation.

If you have a voyeuristic tendency, it has been a great week to watch politicking across all media platforms.