• Mike On Ads » Blog Archive » Using your browser URL history to estimate gender
  (tags: technology statistics social)
• News media APIs: more on mashups | Fleet Street 2.0 | Press Gazette
  news organsiations are beginning to adopt this approach and are beginning to release application programming interfaces – more commonly abbreviated as APIs – to allow outside web developers easy access to their content for use in non-commercial online projects.
  (tags: mashup)
• News International merges mobiles unit with commercial and digital divisions | The Wire | Press Gazette
  News International has effectively scrapped its mobile division and merged it with its commercial and digital divisions, reports New Media Age.
  (tags: mobile)
• Mobile regulation assessment: Competition and customer service in a converging mobile world | Ofcom
  over 90% of us are happy with our mobile service – but too many are not. Ofcom is concerned that complaints by consumers about mobile services appear to be rising.
  (tags: mobile)
• BBC NEWS | Magazine | Will crime maps work?
  "Last month the Home Office announced that everyone in England and Wales will have access to crime maps of their local area by the end of this year. But will they help cut crime, or could they have unforeseen consequences?"
  (tags: mapping journalism maps)
• Major and minor reasons for US newspaper crisis. Strange Attractor: Picking out patterns in the chaos
  So many journalists that I meet still believe that there is something exceptional about what they are doing and producing. They still operate on the assumption that information is scarce, which is why the industry has largely failed to adapt to the information and media-saturated society that we live in.
  (tags: newspapers)
• Oosah – Homepage
  1TB of storage, manage music and photos remotely, optimised for the iPhone
  (tags: storage social)
• US sports columnist: papers are dying | Greenslade | guardian.co.uk
  he decided to quit to pursue opportunities on the web after covering the Olympics in Beijing because newspapers are in serious trouble
  (tags: newspapers)

• Video: RSS in Plain English | Common Craft – Explanations In Plain English
  (tags: training technology)
• Custom Video: Google Reader in Plain English | Common Craft – Explanations In Plain English
  The Google Reader team hired us to create this one minute introduction to Google Reader.
  (tags: training technology)
• Advertising recession: The state of play | Media Money
  As last time, the percentages refer to all ad revenues including digital (or in the case of Newsquest, to classified revenues only, where mentioned). The months mentioned are those in which the declines actually occurred (rather than when they were reported to the market by the companies in question). All % comparisons are year-on-yea
  (tags: business advertising)
• PA set to launch listings data API through BBC Backstage | Fleet Street 2.0 | Press Gazette
  The Press Association’s events listings database is to be made available for non-commercial use by web developers and will be released through the BBC’s web developer network.
  (tags: mashup)
• Six models / approaches for social media adoption or implementation « Whitehall Webby – digital media in government
  # Observation: Do nothing or Listen
  # Interaction: Reflect or Converse
  # Initiation: Experiment or Embed
  (tags: training multimedia,)
• Embedding digital media: lessons from my father-in-law – Mission Creep | Neil Williams » Blog Archive »
  Digital cameras and digital media can make your life better and easier – but not at first. Initially they introduce a problem you didn’t previously have. So our job as web geeks is to create that problem and then solve it, so that any difficulties are quickly outweighed by the benefits.
  (tags: multimedia, training)
• Video exclusive: Families of Croydon's knife crime victims speak out
  A fantastic use of multimedia on a story about knife crime.
  (tags: multimedia)
• When Twitter beats local news outlets: SteveOuting.com
  Something happens locally, like, say, a fire; there’s a lot of smoke in the distance, and I want to know what’s going on. But I visit my local newspaper’s website, and there’s nothing. Ditto for other local news outlets’ websites. Eventually (but not always), a reporter will get around to writing up something and it’ll be posted online.
  (tags: twitter journalism)
• Widget Channel: Yahoo promises to bring wonders of the web to television | Media | guardian.co.uk
  A new project announced by internet giant Yahoo is promising to bring the wonders of the web to television, allowing viewers to customise their TV screens with a swathe of internet services including eBay listings, weather, financial news and Twitter updates.
  (tags: video, multimedia,)
• Levels of social web engagement | DavePress
  I have been reading Li and Bernhoff’s Groundswell just recently, and I came across an interesting division of levels of interaction with the social web. I’ll type it out here for your edification.
  (tags: participation)
• Is Content King Once More? – Forbes.com
  After years of waning interest amid the social networking revolution, content appears to be king again–or at least getting new respect. Driven by advertising demands, large media companies are scrambling to pump up the volume of professionally produced offerings
  (tags: newspapers)
• MAPS AND INFOGRAPHICS ARE BETTER THAN FAKE PICTURES AND NO FACTS at WHAT’S NEXT: INNOVATIONS IN NEWSPAPERS
  These are the first maps and infographics from the air accident today in Barajas Madrid.
  (tags: mapping journalism)
• Flickr Releases Handy Embeddable Slide Show – ReadWriteWeb
  There's never been a really easy way to embed a nice slide show of your photos off site, until now.
  The new Flickr slide show (example below) is available for the photos on any page you're looking at, meaning you should be able to display your friends' photos, photos with a particular tag etc.
  (tags: flickr photo)
• Moderation a Virtue? How 10 Top Sites Handle Online Comments
  The Washington Post sets a friendlier tone as it invites readers to submit videos, photos, articles and comments. "In order to keep these interactive forums enjoyable and interesting for all of our users, we ask that you follow the rules outlined below." Though many of the rules are identical to those listed by the Los Angeles Times (and other papers reviewed), they were not followed by threat of prosecution.
  (tags: journalism community)
• Technology Review: TR35
  The goal of sharing data in smaller, better-defined chunks is to make Drupal a key part of the growing eco­system of websites that share structured data.
  (tags: semantic_web)
• The Future of Investigative Journalism Part 1 – Interview: "Flat Earth News" author Nick Davies – editorsweblog
  The big change in the business over the last ten years is precisely the reduction of time available for almost all reporters to do their work.
  (tags: newspapers)
• CounterValue – » How lean does a media company need to be?
  When the cost of publishing has fallen to zero, who in their right mind could disagree with the chief executive of Fairfax, David Kirk, when he says that “media companies fit for the modern media world need to be lean and agile”?
  (tags: newspapers business)
• Multi-media training sessions « Sarah Hartley
  With my training hat on, I’ve recently been planning some sessions. Looking back over them I thought these notes might prove useful to a wider audience – perhaps for those attempting to arrange such things themselves.
  (tags: multimedia newspapers)
• Search Geo-Data With Finder. Sneak Peak At GeoCommons (Map) Maker.
  A startup in Arlington, Virginia called FortiusOne (based on technology out of George Mason University) is developing a service called Maker! that will let anyone easily find geo-tagged data available on the Web and map it. One piece of the service is already available: a search engine for geo-data called Finder! It lets you find sets of geographical data already on the Web, store it, and organize it, or upload your own.
  (tags: technology mashup mapping maps)
• Is the era of classic newspaper headlines over? :: 10,000 Words :: multimedia, online journalism news and reviews
  "If old school copywriters were thrust into the modern era here is probably how famous headlines may have turned out"
  (tags: seo newspapers journalism)
• Read NUJ chapels' letter to Trinity Mirror bosses | Media | guardian.co.uk
  It is our duty to inform you that in line with members in Coventry, Solihull and Midland Weekly Media North, members of the Birmingham Post and Mail chapel have voted to ballot for industrial action.
  (tags: trinity_mirror newspapers nuj)
• UK media prepares for a crunch week – Business News, Business – The Independent
  Media companies' struggles with the impact of the internet are being exacerbated by the downturn. "There are three factors all happening at once: the structural, the cyclical, and the structural multiplied by the cyclical," Mr Liechti said. "All of which makes for a pretty miserable outlook in the near term."
  (tags: newspapers business)
• 21 Mindblowing Premium-Like Free Wordpress Themes – Opensource, Free and Useful Online Resources for Designers and Developers
  "This is not the long list with all the available wordpress themes on the internet but its an exclusive collection of free wordpress themes which are not less than premium themes."
  (tags: wordpress blogging wpthemes)
• Johnston Press 1H08 Results: The Conference Call | Media Money
  Tucked away at the base of Johnston’s press release is the real stinker: “advertising revenues for the first 7 weeks of the second half are down by 21% year-on-year”.
  (tags: business johnston newspapers)
• If There Aren’t Enough Readers For News on Newspaper Web Sites Then How About Offering Other Attractions Such As Social Networking?
  The major problem for newspapers is that the additional digital pennies earned from their news web sites come nowhere close to replacing the analog dollars lost by their print products. So maybe a solution is to run additional web sites that have nothing to do with news but that can attract the real masses and hopefully new advertisers – such as social networking sites for the local community?
  (tags: newspapers business social)
• Save our Star petition seeks to curb Johnston cutbacks | The Wire | Press Gazette
  They are concerned about plans for five compulsory redundancies at the Sheffield Star and related titles and the closure of the Barnsley and Rotherham offices.
  (tags: newspapers johnston)

• On The Press: Echoes of despair
  Surely, journalists say, publishers should lower margins and protect their own future. But this misunderstands how capitalism works. As investors see it, perhaps rightly, newspapers have few prospects for growth, even if they are well-managed. With no expectations of long-term gains, they demand high, short-term dividends.
  (tags: newspapers journalism business)

• 7 Google Analytics Plug Ins & Reports You Probably Didn’t Know About » aimClear Search Marketing Blog
  scattered amongst the screen shots of how to get the most out of your Google Analytics, lay a number of plug ins and reports that you probably didn’t know about"
  (tags: google statistics)

• WhatDoTheyKnow – file and explore Freedom of Information (FOI) requests
  Make requests in public for UK government information
  (tags: mashup government)
• US: Wall Street Journal launches new mobile application – editorsweblog
  The Wall Street Journal Digital Network launched another mobile application today – WSJ.com Mobile Reader. This service provides users with instant access to business, finance and technology news and analysis from WSJ.com, as well as MarketWatch.com, Barrons.com and AllThingsD.com.
  (tags: mobile)
• Moving to Mobile – Newspaper Association of America: Advancing Newspaper Media for the 21st Century
  "Moving to Mobile" is a growth and development guide from the Newspaper Association of America that covers the many aspects of mobile for newspapers.
  (tags: technology mobile newspapers)
• Uh-oh. Now Online Revenues are Falling | Newspaper Death Watch
  newspapers have failed to establish and train dedicated online sales forces. Their reps did okay when online ads were a simple add-on to free value-add to an ROP advertiser, but now that the online business is becoming the engine of growth, those simple upsells don’s work very well.
  (tags: journalism advertising)
• US: Time users spend on top 30 newspapers sites decreased since July 2007 – editorsweblog
  The average time spent per person on nearly half of top 30 US newspaper websites in July 2008 has decreased year-on-year, according to Nielsen Online data.
  (tags: newspapers websites)

• Online Event Registration Service – Eventbrite
  Online Event Registration Made Easy.
  (tags: business social calendar)
• iMacros for Firefox :: Firefox Add-ons
  Automate Firefox. Record and replay repetitious work. If you love the Firefox web browser, but are tired of repetitive tasks like visiting the same sites every days, filling out forms, and remembering passwords, then iMacros for Firefox is the solution you’ve been dreaming of!
  (tags: development extension firefox)
• Google Insights for Search
  With Google Insights for Search, you can compare search volume patterns across specific regions, categories, and time frames.
  (tags: business google advertising statistics)
• bit.ly, a simple url shortener
  Shorten Long URLs With bit.ly
  (tags: development social twitter)
• FlickrBabel: CrossLingual Multimedia Retrieval
  (tags: mashup flickr photos)
• Mloovi RSS Blog Translator
  Mloovi is a tool which will translate RSS newsfeeds into 24 languages using Google Translate.
  (tags: blogging mashup feeds translator)
• The Conversation Prism on Flickr – Photo Sharing!
• LjSEEK.com: LiveJournal Blogs Search Engine
  (tags: blogging community internet search)
• URL Rewriting for Beginners – Apache – Added Bytes
  URL rewriting can be one of the best and quickest ways to improve the usability and search friendliness of your site. It can also be the source of near-unending misery and suffering.
  (tags: development seo)
• PM's tribute to cancer campaigner
  My sympathies and thoughts are with Adrian's family.
  (tags: journalism blogging trinity_mirror)

• Diary of a wordsmith: A luxury? Sub-editors revisited
  Subs do not just clean up typos and dodgy punctuation or cut copy to fit. They also need an excellent working knowledge of media law, which is ever-changing, in order to prevent all kinds of legal howlers that could see a paper being sued.
  (tags: newspapers subbing)
• UK: Bauer Media launch interactive advertisements – editorsweblog
  "The SnapNow technology means that by using a WAP-enabled mobile camera phone, magazine readers can take a picture of an ad in a magazine and send the image via text message or e-mail to Bauer." Would you use this?!
  (tags: advertising)
• RIP Muxtape? | PDA: The Digital Content Blog | guardian.co.uk
  Perhaps inevitably, the five-month-old site has been shut down while it wrestles with the Record Industry Association of America.
  (tags: technology)
• Google Maps Mania: Create Your Own Feed Maps
  Feed Maps is a new API from Map Channels that lets users create Google Maps mash-ups from a number of different data sources. The data sources that can be combined in one map are; KML files, GeoRSS, My Maps, Tab-delimited text and Google Spreadsheets.
  (tags: mashup maps google)
• QIK | Stopped under S.44 of the Terrorism Act 2000
  Stopped under S.44 of the Terrorism Act 2000
  (tags: qik video,)
• Podnosh Blog » Archive » Qiker stopped and searched under Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000
  This morning Terence Eden was walking through Waterloo Station when he was stopped and searched by the proactive anti terrorism unit. Part of a random search pattern.
  (tags: video, qik)

We’re just come back from a big announcement about the future of Trinity Mirror Midlands, part of that was a major announcement about the future of The Birmingham Post.

I think I want some of the dust to settle before blogging my own thought (and don’t want to gazump my Editor!), but I thought I’d provide a bundle of links to other people talking about what is happening.

I will post my thoughts a bit later, so if you want to leave some questions in the comments, I’ll try and answer them. Suffice to say there are some very interesting times ahead.

– The Birmingham Post Editor, Marc Reeves, on the newspaper’s announced relaunch…
- …and he also blogs about it.
- Birmingham Post news story on the relaunch (we will update this during the day).
- There are a few interesting comments appearing on Birmingham Mail editor Steve Dyson’s blog.
- The Guardian’s report on the wider Trinity Mirror changes.
- …and documents the NUJ’s reaction to the announcements.
- The Guardian has now followed up with the story that we have all technically been made redundant.
- Brand Republic report.
- The Journalism.co.uk report on the Birmingham Post…
- …and it’s report on the wider Midland announcement…
- … and then on the change of roles for our editors.
- Holdthefrontpage.co.uk focuses on the new roles for our editors.
- … and the titles that are set to close…
- … and has now done a report on the job losses.
- Money invested and jobs lost lead in Press Gazette report on Trinity Mirror Midlands…
- … and a focus on the new tabloid sized Birmingham Post.
- The inaccurate corrected BBC report (it’s not The Post cutting 65 jobs, but TM Midlands) seems to miss many of the crucial details is here.
- The Express and Star report.
- Press Gazette’s The Wire does it’s own round-up.
- …then reports on Birmingham Mail editor Steve Dyson’s response to criticism on his blog.
- Paul Groves gives his reaction to the announcement on his blog.
- Rick Waghorn comments on the job losses.
- Roy Greenslade says he understands why the changes are happening, although he takes no pleasure in it.
- His blog seems to have inspired much of the content on the Editors Weblog.
- They have also blogged about the Post changes.
- Justin Williams, assitant editor of The Telegraph wonders if regional papers will outlive the NUJ after the announcements.
- The NUJ’s official response.
- The already infamous blog post from Nigel Hastilow.
- Birmingham Post’s political editor Jonathan Walker’s blogs about the changes.
- Jon Bounds offers a good local angle on The Post relaunch on Birmingham: It’s Not Shit.
- Peter Morgan gives his summary on Info:node.
- PR Bristol.
- World Association of Newspapers.

• How do we save journalism? Since newspapers' business model is just disappearing very quickly, and advertising money is moving away from TV too, how do we fund journalism that we all need? Living off of $1 CPMs isn't gonna be it (that won't fund serious j
  “How do we save journalism? Since newspapers' business model is just disappearing very quickly, and advertising money is moving away from TV too, how do we fund journalism that we all need? Living off of $1 CPMs isn't gonna be it (that won't fund serious journalism).”

• beeline-online-community-objectives-successfully-achieved.jpg
  The greatest value of online communities is they increase word-of-mouth (35%), increase brand awareness (28%), bring new ideas into the organization faster (24%) and increase customer loyalty (24%), according to a survey…
  (tags: social community)