NT News editor: Bloody idiot. After running a front page ” Bloody idiots” campaign against drunk drivers, NT News editor Julian Ricci was himself charged with a DUI offence on Friday, December 19 2008. On page 5 of the December 21 2008 Sunday Territorian , Julian Ricci writes about the events that lead to his “positive” breath-test — his excuse? ” It was raining“. Julian Ricci is one of the 51 charged, reported in this article. — Crikey reader Shane Caple

While you were sleeping at the SMH. Over the break the SMH website published a story in their world news section about a power failure in Singapore that stranded people in the observation wheel:

And on the same day in the travel section — below on the same page — the SMH have an article in their travel section touting the joy and benefits of travelling in the ‘wheel’:

Hmmmm. — Crikey reader Malcolm Grant

Steve Rosenbaum’s five trends that will change media in 2009. While some years I’ll post some thoughts about what may or may not happen in the year ahead, this year — the changes are so clear and the drivers so much in place that I’m going to go out on a limb and say what WILL happen in 2009: trends you can bet on. The growth of the curation economy; The emergence of targeted CPA / CPC as contextual content revenues; The merging of ecommerce and content; Digital goods — consumers begin to pay for content; Cottage media takes off. — The Huffington Post

Music industry to abandon mass suits. After years of suing thousands of people for allegedly stealing music via the internet, the recording industry is set to drop its legal assault as it searches for more effective ways to combat online music piracy. The decision represents an abrupt shift of strategy for the industry, which has opened legal proceedings against about 35,000 people since 2003. Critics say the legal offensive ultimately did little to stem the tide of illegally downloaded music. And it created a public-relations disaster for the industry, whose lawsuits targeted, among others, several single mothers, a dead person and a 13-year-old girl. — Wall Street Journal

Wal-Mart and Coke throw giant holiday party. A co-branded Wal-Mart/Coca-Cola ad from The Martin Agency starring John Magaro as the host of a holiday party that everyone (and his mother, and his “surprisingly cool” stepmother) has crashed. He strolls around handing out Cokes from a Wal-Mart bag — no eggnog here, not even rum to mix with the Coke. The guest list also includes “my judo coach, my allergist, my MySpace friends and Twitter list.” No room for the Facebook crowd, evidently. You can download the MP3 of the song and even the sheet music. “When you stock up on joy, there’s enough to go round,” Magaro sings at the end, in a very Coke-y refrain — but where are the gay friends and their kids or single parents? — AdFreak

Samuel L Jackson fronts Virgin Media UK ultrafast campaign. And we can’t even get reasonably fast broadband in Australia… Pulp Fiction star Samuel L Jackson has been drafted in to front Virgin Media’s first UK TV campaign to promote its super-fast 50Mb broadband service. The company says the new service will allow TV shows to be downloaded in 60 seconds. The TV campaign features Jackson telling consumers that 2009 will be the year that the real internet revolution happens. “It is 2009,” says Jackson, standing in front of a wall of lights that represents Virgin Media’s fibre optic network. “Remember the time when the internet revolution really happened.” — The Guardian Media