February 2008 Archives

We all love, admire and are aghast at the dynamite world of the internet. Emails, google, blogs, youtube... amazing stuff.

But it bugs the hell out of me when things go wrong as a result of people relying on it too much.

We had a good story the other day which a reporter was trying to stand up. He called the orgainsation we needed a quote from, and nothing was forthcoming.

The story was quite big and the organisation's part was quite crucial, so the reporter called them again and explained the need to provide information.

They still did not respond and so the reporter filed his story... with a par saying the such and such organisation was unavailable for comment.

The reporter took care in telling the organisation that he was then off... and so if they did have anything to say could they call him at home or on his mobile.

Anyway, later, much later, the organisation finally go itself together to make a full comment. And they emailed this to the now absent reporter. Did they call him as requested? No, did they heck, they assumed that the email meant everything was now done and in order.

Did they call the newsdesk, or even me, to make sure we were aware that a response was now available? Er, no.

And then, when the story the next day was published in the Birmingham Mail, the said organisation's press office goes mad, saying we ignored their response.

Tough. I'm sorry, but replying with an out of hours email when a reporter has called at least twice and left home and work numbers is a naff response.

Yes, we will carry a follow up now reflecting the fuller version.

But don't rely on unreliable communications.

The only way to reply or respond to an important press inquiry is to speak personally to the journalist or newspaper responsible. To relegate such responses to the email process should never happen.

I hope now that this organisation, for whom I normally have a tremendous amount of respect, will learn this important lesson.

The Birmingham Mail is moving premises en masse later this year, the first full-scale office move since the late 1960s.

Not just the Mail. The Post, Mercury, advertising, finance... the entire company.

Goodbye Weaman Street, Printing House Street and Colmore Circus. Hello The Fort Dunlop building, that iconic tyre factory from the past that you can see from the motorway next to Jaguar.

The entire top floor will be ours, refitted as the largest single floor space outside London.

Huge changes are taking place in readiness for the move... and one of the most important is rubbish.

Lodged for so long in premises that are so old-fashioned, you can currently find sandwiches from 1974 at the back of filing cabinets. Some reporters' desks look like my old Grandad's attic. All this must and will change for the move.

We're told that on average all 500+ people on the move from our premises can expect to take a third of what they have with them. In some reporters' cases (Graham Young, our fanatical Film and TV editor being a great example) I've told them it's going to be one tenth, such in the mass of archives, papers, books and strange clutter on their desks.

Out will go press releases from the 1980s, favourite videos of Porridge from the same decade, and books that have not been opened in 20 years.

In will come neatness, shine and efficiency for our brave new world of gleaming multi-media waiting for us at The Fort.

Some staff (they will remain nameless) will get a real shock. So smart are the offices that my colleagues who wear trainers, jeans and T-shirts will look, and feel, out of place.

Let's hope they smarten up.