Media

It's the new Sex and City – but with double the ratings – and it has just arrived on Irish television. Emma Browne examines the phenomenal success of Desperate Housewives

Fears of civil war, an apology for 800 years of British callousness, a proposal to conscript all single Irish men and a crackdown on condom possession were among the revelations in the State papers for 1974. But why is so much still withheld, ask Diarmaid Ferriter and Paul Rouse

The first reports I heard of the tsunami put the possible death toll in hundreds. That was before the real impact had emerged. On a daily basis the death toll mounted and the human stories of loss emerged. So too did the stories of courage and generosity and bravery. Events such as this put everything in context, including the begrudgery and the minimalist pace of the peace process in our own place.

Cock-a-doodle-doo! Next year will either herald a new dawn for the opposition or see the government continuing to rule the roost. Either way, expect plenty of political crowing, not least because 2005 is the year of the Rooster in the Chinese calendar.

Meejit looks ahead to 2005 when public broadcasting will be in the frame and Iraq will be a big story again.

Nestled at the foot of Tooth Mountain overlooking Kenmare Bay, it's hard to pull oneself away from the hypnotic landscape and re-enter the wrestling match of real life. But Village has thrown down a challenge to its readers to envisage the Ireland of 2005 they would wish to see and it is one that has succeeded in distracting me even in this beguiling place.

The work of news journalists is vital to a functioning democracy, yet they operate with no special powers or privilege and even risk imprisonment. New legislation is badly needed, writes Conor Brady

What will you think of when you look back on 2004? The Olympics, the war, the cabinet reshuffle, the local elections? For Bertie Ahern the year was a mixed bag. The high point was the agreement on the European Constitution, and the low point was undoubtedly his appearance at the Mahon Tribunal.

Events and debates in recent weeks have brought to a head a central theme in the Iraq occupation and in the Irish "peace process", but it's a theme that the media can't seem to get their heads around. Admittedly, it's a tough one: when does "resistance" become "criminality"?

France's best effort at a national title, Le Monde is a superb publication, but has never succeeded in being a newspaper for all of the country – and it's a big lossmaker. By Conor Brady