BotW: A digital levy for platforms now looks likely; Is the ad recession finally ending?

Welcome to Best of the Week, written on a grey Saturday morning in Hobart, after a tremendous couple of days running around at the south end of the island taking part in fireside chats, news jams and suchlike.

Today: The planets are aligning on a digital platforms levy – could it head off a war over the News Media Bargaining Code? And the end of year SMI numbers hint that the advertising recession may finally be bottoming out.

Happy International Hangover Day. I am an inadvertent participant. There can be no finer place in the southern hemisphere to drink Guinness on a wintery Friday night than The Whaler on Salamanca Place.

If you’ve been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, this is the perfect time. Your membership includes: