When David Cameron ordered an inquiry into media standards, no one - least of all the PM himself - could have predicted the saga that would unfold. From embarrassing text messages and Oscar-worthy celebrity performances to inappropriate QC crushes and editor spats, no one has emerged totally unscathed. Even bearing all that in mind, I'm sure Cameron didn't expect it to conclude with the coalition's most public disagreement so far.

Calling all London HuffPost fans (and HuffPost fans visiting London this Christmas)!

By the time the Duchess left the King Edward VII Hospital, back to her professional, smiling self, there can't have been a media outlet across the world that hadn't carried the news that she was expecting. Of course as we all now know, sad to say, the story did not end there. Hilarity at a prank call to the hospital by two Australian DJs, turned to horror as news broke towards the end of the week that the nurse who had taken the call had allegedly committed suicide.

From tragedy in the US to tragedy closer to home, the clamour for answers in the wake of the death of nurse Jacintha Saldanha continued this week with calls for an inquiry into both how the hospital handled the prank call that preceded her suicide, and also practices at the radio station where the calls where made from. With the revelation this weekend that three different suicide notes were left, including one which allegedly criticised colleagues at the King Edward VII hospital where Jacintha worked, and where the Duchess of Cambridge was treated, those calls for answers are not going away.

As austerity measures bite even harder, there's little festive cheer for many queuing up to receive donated food. That amongst those lining up for the hand-outs it's not just individuals on benefits, but plenty of men and women who work, is a harsh reminder of life in Britain today. "So many people who need to use the food bank actually think of themselves as someone who gives to the food bank, not who receives," Louise Wratten, who runs the Trussell Trust's Salisbury Food Bank, told The Huffington Post UK.

When I wrote my end of year blog last December, in my infinite wisdom, I'm fairly sure I declared it the Year of News, impossible to surpass... However, if 2011 kept news editors across the world on their toes, I think it's fair to say 2012 certainly rose to the challenge. The difference this time? There were plenty of positives to report on, talk about and debate. And - joy, of joys - lots of it was happening on our doorstep.