Gawker 'saga' ends, BBC criticised over Wales, Christmas ad bonanza

Hulk Hogan during his court case against Gawker. Photograph: Steve Nesius/AP

MediaGuardian’s top stories

‘The saga is over’: Gawker reaches $31m settlement with Hulk Hogan

UK Christmas ad spend to hit record high of over £5bn

Quebec scandal of spying on journalists widens to national broadcaster

BBC chief accused of failing to represent Welsh life on TV

Rolling Stone defamation trial nears end as lawyers say facts of UVA case ignored

Mexican activists demand soap operas about drugs be banned before midnight

Lionel Morrison, tireless activist for black journalists, dies

‘I felt like Morse tapping his first code’ – the man who invented the podcast

Best of the rest

Greg Rutherford during Saturday’s live edition of Strictly Come Dancing Photograph: Guy Levy/BBC/PA

BBC Studios unveils Auntie Productions (Broadcast £)

Apple not interested in buying Time Warner at present (CNBC)

Strictly star Greg Rutherford had ‘total meltdown and threatened to quit’ after harsh feedback (Mirror)

Gannett/Tronc: ugly print (Financial Times £)

Fact-checking doesn’t ‘backfire,’ new study suggests (Poynter)

Radio is ‘20% more cost-effective’ at building brands, research claims (Brand Republic)

Publishers welcome consultation on repealing law penalising those outside Royal Charter press regulation (Press Gazette)

And finally …

The Only Fools and Horses Christmas Special from 1996 Photograph: BBC

In the week of British broadcasting’s 80th anniversary, Stuart Heritage has taken a look back at the classics (and not so classics) that have drawn in the biggest audiences to the UK’s TV screens.