Readers: Yes, we're still toughing it out Morale is holding up among media planners and buyers, though they see recovery further out on the horizon than they did this summer   Behind the decline in online advertising Spending this year is now expected to fall 2.9 percent, led by search and classified. Talking with eMarketer's David Hallerman.   Scoping out the recovery in advertising Fourth-quarter spending will sink another 9 percent, which in one sense is a good thing. Speaking with Magna's Brian Wieser.   For local internet, a whole new game Torrid growth in ad spending has come to a halt as the medium matures, and competition for those dollars has grown intense   Sir Martin: It's been a rough year for us WPP chief likens shape of the recovery to an L, saying he feels cautious about next year despite the Olympics   Readers: Recovery? What recovery? Most report the ad economy is still bumping along and that clients remain cautious when it comes to increasing their ad spending   Psst! What's hot? Word of mouth. Marketers are increasing their spending on buzz-building strategies by more than 10 percent this year, despite the economy   Still a tough job market for media folks Buyers are having a tougher go of it than planners. Most in demand: The digitally savvy. Talking with recruiter Patricia Sklar.   Forecast: Ad $ will drop 7.6 percent And no rebound until 2011, according to a report from Veronis Suhler Stevenson, with newspapers and magazines among hardest hit   At last, the upfront roars on through Broadcast networks are fetching prices flat to last year, or down a tad, and by tomorrow night much of it should be done next >>