YouTube star!

Well… hardly. But still. Aargh!

Not a fan of being captured on camera, this came as a bit of a shock. While googling “Birmingham Post“, I came across this clip from something called Business and Learning Connections: http://youtube.com/watch?v=bl_Y7r2-y7Y (embedding disabled for some reason).

Mostly it’s our editor Marc Reeves but check out the girl with the dangly earrings! I almost choked on my lunch! That be lil’ ol’ me before I dyed my hair (which means it must be over a year old). And yes, my desk is ALWAYS that messy.

Any Qs: Sly Bailey

Sly Bailey[Answers are here]

Ok, this one is a HUGE longshot and I probably shouldn’t be blogging about it. But… what the hell! I’m excited!

It appears that Sly Bailey, chief executive of Trinity Mirror will be in the Post & Mail house tomorrow (Monday)… and The Birmingham Post has requested an interview with her for the Media & Marketing page. That means I’ll be doing the interview! Cripes!

We’ve not had any confirmation yet on whether or not she’ll do it (I’m not even sure how long she’s going to be in the building). But, if this actually comes to pass, I think I’ll be asking her to outline her digital strategy for the Trinity Mirror Midlands division, now she’s decided not to sell it.

If you have got any others, let me know ASAP!!!

Ill

You might have noticed this blog has been a little quiet over the last week. I’ve been trying to fight off this infernal cold bug that’s going around, but it’s currently winning.

I’m going to write off this weekend and try and get some sleep, but suffice to say there’s tons of stuff I want to write about including new interview subjects, my first Birmingham Post column (which doesn’t appear to be online), the future (or not) of newspapers and the image of Birmingham.

Fort Dunlop

One of M Moser's office designsOK, while we’re on the subject of the trials and tribulations of media organisations, you may be aware that the Post & Mail management team recently departed.

Before they went on their way, they emailed us an update on Fort Dunlop, which I thought I’d share here:

We confirmed last week that the departments based in the Birmingham office in Weaman Street will relocate next summer to the Fort Dunlop development.

You will have seen I am sure some of the coverage in our own titles, and wish to know more about the move and its implications for you and your colleaguesWe have signed the lease on the entire top floor, some 53,000 sq. ft. of open plan office space, which at an acre is the largest single open plan office in the country outside of London.

The design is incredibly modern and comes with 24-hour access, security, on-site parking and a bus service. This is a free, dedicated Fort Dunlop service that will pick up and drop off at stations and other main locations in Birmingham city centre.

You will probably have seen the 100 bedroom hotel let to Travelodge, on the side of the main building when passing. On the ground are a Daily Grind Coffee coffee house, Vinappris Wine Bar, The Flower Room florist and a Funky Monkeys kids activity centre. It also boasts a 150m roof garden expanding the length of the building. Coming soon to Fort Dunlop will be a Select convenience store, a gym and a nursery.

We have agreed with the developer, Urban Splash, that staff can be shown around our floor in small groups prior to the time of moving. However, now that building works have begun to prepare our floor for habitation, visits will commence in the New Year.

You can of course visit the building in your own time when you will be able to see and access the ground floor facilities mentioned above.

Design Consultants, M Moser Associates, will be working with us helping us make the most of our new space in terms of the environment, personal space and furniture requirements.We know that there are lots of questions to be answered about workspace, shifts, equipment and not least, travel, transport and parking.

We will, over the coming weeks and months, address everything you want and need to know. We do, however, ask you to be patient if we don’t have all the answers until further into the planning stages and nearer the time of the move.

We are very excited about Fort Dunlop and we are sure you will be too, especially when you have visited the building. On seeing the space we will occupy and the enormous opportunity it creates for a change in atmosphere and culture of an office, we hope you will be encouraged by the significant benefits of this move.

So… there you go. Thoughts?

Any Questions?

Right. I think I have found another use for this blog. Tell me what you think:

Very often in journalism you have interviews booked in the diary in advance.

Now, before you go and talk to these people, obviously it’s a good idea to do your research and try and understand what they are about and what things your potential readers might want to know about them.

So why not, as part of that research, actually ask your potential readers?

So, from now on, if I have an interview in the diary I will try and post information about it on the blog in advance. That way if anyone thinks there is something they would particularly like to know about, they can put their question forward.

Now, I can’t make any promises that I’ll be able to ask them all, but it might contribute to a better informed interviewer and interview.

This week I’ve got two quite interesting subjects to write about, so I think I’ll use the next two posts to give some background on them…