According to the full-year forecast by TNS Media Intelligence, total U.S. measured advertising spending is projected to increase 4.2 percent in 2008. Measured expenditures are forecast to grow by 3.6 percent in the first half of 2008 followed by a gain of 4.7 percent in the second half.

Continuing "Trend Week," the consumer holds the reigns to the near future. As reported in the recent BIGresearch economic news briefing of Consumer Insights, consumers aren't willing to put present economic conditions behind them to start a new year. With holiday bills rolling in, gas prices hiking up, and a housing market without a foundation, only 33.6% indicate that they are very confident/confident in chances for a strong economy, the lowest reading since the 33.4% recorded in September '05 (post-Hurricane Katrina). This month's reading is down more than three points from December's already-weak 37.0%, and almost 17 points lower than …

While the Research Brief yesterday summarized several consumer media trends in 2007, today is forward looking from newspaper executives who identify the current trends they believe will have an impact on the future of businesses. The list of 66 trends provided by eight newspaper executives will serve as the center piece for a "scenario planning" workshop, to be held in January, and published by the WAN Shaping the Future of the Newspaper project.

According to a summary by Marketing Charts, the Nielsen Company released a yearend look at US trends in 2007, issuing top 10 media and consumer spending lists, including television, the internet, advertisers, mobile, consumer purchasing trends, videogames, movies, DVDs, music and books, and more.

The Pew Internet & American Life Project finds that 93% of teens use the internet, and more of them than ever are treating it as a venue for social interaction -- a place where they can share creations, tell stories, and interact with others. 64% of online teens ages 12-17 have participated in one or more among a wide range of content-creating activities on the internet, up from 57% of online teens in a similar survey at the end of 2004.

According to projections in "Radio Station Deals & Finance," a new study from SNL Kagan. radio's annual revenue growth will average 3.2%, reaching $28.7 billion by 2016. Although revenue growth is slow, radio station values have held relatively firm - largely due to higher margins and ample free cash flow, SNL Kagan said.

According to the latest Horowitz Associates report, Broadband Content and Services 2007, six out of ten high speed Internet users watch/download online video content at least once a week and 86% do so on a monthly basis, compared to 45% and 71%, respectively, in the 2006 study. News and user-generated, non-professional content are the most often viewed genres, followed by movie previews/trailers, music videos, and previews/segments of TV shows.

Summarized by Ben Macklin, Senior Analyst at eMarketer, a PQMedia benchmark study finds that outdoor advertising is taking advantage of digital, video and wireless technologies to become the largest component of what is described as the "alternative" out-of-home advertising sector.

According to an update from comScore, Inc. for the 57 days of the 2007 holiday season (November 1 - December 27, nearly $28 billion has been spent online during the season-to-date, marking a 19-percent gain versus the corresponding days last year.

"Circular Entertainment," identified by Nokia as a result of a global study into the future of entertainment, predicts that up to a quarter of the entertainment consumed by people by 2012 will have been created, edited and shared within their peer circle rather than coming out of traditional media groups.