And the loser is….The Spectator! In the most recent round of circulation figures for UK magazines, newsy and current affairs titles such as Private Eye and Prospect rose by around 3 to 4 per cent across the board, save for the Speccie which has lost 9 per cent of its readership, a whopping fall from its high of 2008. What changes could have taken the Queen of Great Queen St over the cliff? Well, the editor for a start.

Matthew D’Ancona was replaced in 2009 after only three years in the job. He’d done some…erm…interesting things, such as devote a whole section to advertorial reviews of luxury goods — pure Armani porn — and he’d taken the publication back to a more reliably neoconservative POV, after the more pluralist years of ‘Boris Johnston’ (when the magazine was effectively edited by Stuart Reid). But overall he’d maintained the publication’s centre-right course.

Under new editor Fraser Nelson, the Speccie has become increasingly identified with the rabies-afflicted Right, just as David Cameron’s Tory Party veered centrist. It made a big splash of climate change scepticism, spruiking Ian Plimer’s Heaven and Earth in a piece by resident toothy twit James Delingpole. Treatment of the issue was light on pluralism but getaway-able with. Dallying with arguments that HIV does not cause AIDS, as it did in October last year, is less so, moving you closer to the crank case. Recently the mag’s self-consciously politically incorrect columnist Rod Liddle was caught posting racist comments on, of all places, the Millwall football club website, under the soubriquet ‘Monkeymfc’ — posts he initially blamed on enemies trying to embarrass him.

And so on. The outfit, in other words, is a rabble. If Nelson’s aim was to get a sales bump with shlock shock, it has backfired magnificently, wiping out a decade or more of gains (of course it may just be the internet’s effect). There’s no word on how the Australian edition is doing — indeed the Brits have only just put a link to the colonial cousin on the website. — Kim Serca

Seven says sorry to SA Premier for sex slur. Channel Seven has retracted its claim that a former parliamentary waitress had a sexual relationship with South Australia Premier Mike Rann. During its Sunday Night program last night, Channel Seven acknowledged Mr Rann’s denial of Michelle Chantelois’ claim made in November last year. — Herald Sun

Not keen on catching Chlamydia? Buy a newspaper. With the latest figures showing circulation down  for almost all Australia’s major newspapers, media bosses desperate to attract readers – younger readers in particular – could do worse than look to Mozambique, that famed hotbed of journalistic innovation, for inspiration. Last week the free weekly newspaper Verdade offered a free condom with each purchase of the paper, an initiative supported by NGOs promoting safe sex. — Media Spy

Commercial radio stations to Conroy: “Show us the money”. Fears the federal government’s $250 million licence fee rebate for commercial free-to-air TV networks would set a potentially expensive precedent have been realised, with the commercial radio sector pushing for a handout. — The Australian

Iceland: Economic basket case, journalistic heaven. Iceland aims to be a bastion for global press freedom under a package of laws proposed by opposition MPs to defend freedom of speech, and protect sources and fight libel tourism. With the help of Wikileaks, the online whistleblowing site, the MPs have launched the Icelandic Modern Media Intiative, with the goal of turning the country into a global haven for investigative journalism. — The Guardian

Tech-savvy pooches declare barking “sooo 20th century”, take up tweeting instead. Fears Twitter couldn’t get any more inane have been allayed, with the geniuses at Mattel releasing a new device allowing you to keep track of your dog’s daily experiences via tweets sent from their dog collar. — Escapist Magazine

Seven reasons to watch the Winter Olympics. “Sexually ambiguous” athletes. Cool animals. Global warming stoushes. And you thought curling was the most exciting thing coverage of Winter Olympics had to offer. — The Atlantic