November 2008 Archives

Blues boss Alex McLeish arrived at our offices today to mark his first year in charge.

Here he is (centre) meeting with our man at Blues Colin Tattum (left), myself (right) and Ken Montgomery (far right).

Alex was fascinated by our new building and impressed that it was slap bang in the middle of Brum's remaining industry (Jaguar, Dunlop aircraft tyres, etc).

Don't miss Thursday's paper for a three-page exclusive on his first 12 months at St Andrew's, and click birminghammail.net tomorrow for the full video interview.

(For keen fans, there's also an 8-page picture pull-out in Saturday's paper).

Well, I'm not pretending it's the entire future of local media, but taking and uploading images from the debate platform is certainly something that I wouldn't have done two months ago.

Pictured here is NUJ northern organiser Chris Morley, making his points at the Press Club's debate at Austin Court last night. Chris, in fairness, was pretty understanding about the challenges faced by a local media squeezed between the vice-like grip of the credit crunch on one side and a move towards the internet on the other.

But he was scathing of what he called the greed of plcs in reducing investment, staffing and pay, making newsrooms an environment where journalists under 30 were "leaving in droves" because of the pressures.

Needless to say, not everyone on the panel agreed. Former ITV Central boss Laurie Upshon was definitely on that wing, however, nostagically commenting on the demise of broadcast journlaism which he felt would see ITV news dead and buried in years to come.

Also on the panel were Marc Reeves, editor of the Mail's sister paper the Birmingham Post, who was ferocious in his criticism of BBC plans to use public cash on local news websites. Local BBC boss Chas Watkins tried to defend this by suggesting such public-funded competition would help... er, yeah.

The Mail's Tony Collins was there to pen a few words for the paper (see page 61 tonight) and to compete for best Nokia photo with myself (it's Tony's shot with the new N96 below versus my two with an N95 above).

For me, the biggest 'debate' occurred with a local government PR who claimed she was trying to stuff press releases into our hands but no longer knew anyone at the papers because they had left. I think I upset her when I quipped that any decent PRs would make sure they knew one of 100+ journalists at our new premises in Fort Dunlop. She did not like that...

Just to put the icing on the cake of the future of local journalism, a live blogger was in the audience. She actually uploaded last night on the comments to my previous blog, but I think her report is so worth a read I've linked it here again. Thanks, Fiona.

And thanks to the Press Club for hosting a debate that attracted a 100+ audience. Plenty of learning points to come (not so may whimsical looks back maybe, and more factual debate about the specifics of the future?) But a great start.

What a week to be taking part in a debate examining the future of local media!

But there you go... the things you sign yourself up to when they are months away.

Birmingham Press Club is staging tonight's debate, free and open to all, at Austin Court behind the NIA in Brum tonight from 6pm-ish.

It will address, according to organisers, the question of which direction the media is heading in the area.

Chairing the questions will be Peter Tomlinson, who has over 30 years experience as a broadcaster in Birmingham... including five years presenting Tiswas with Chris Tarrant in the 70s.

I'm on the panel with colleague Marc Reeves, editor of the Birmingham Post, Laurie Upshon, former ITV Central boss, and Chas Watkin, head of BBC regional and local programmes in the Midlands.

Could be dead boring with no-one turning up. Could be a full, raucous house with lot's of nasty, bruising questions...

I'll let The Editor's Chair audience know tomorrow!

An alert photographer took the first shot of a live 'one-newsroom' conference at Fort Dunlop.

For anyone doubting that the Mail, Mercury and Post are working together, here's the caption:

(Left to right) Big Dyson (Birmingham Mail Editor), Stacey Barnfield (Executive Editor, Birmingham Mail), Andy Richards (Content Editor, Birmingham Mail), Gemma Tandy, standing, (newspaper sales), Sarah Probert, (Content Editor, Birmingham Post), James Cartledge, (Assistant Content Editor, Birmingham Mail), Fionnuala Bourke, (Assistant Content Editor, Sunday Mercury), Tony Larner, (Content Editor, Sunday Mercury), Marc Reeves, (Editor, Birmingham Post), Phil Vinter, (Assistant Content Editor, Video).

Brand integrities are protected by the desk heads who have specific title responsibilities, although all work across all brands.

An example is today's Mail splash (not yet printed) which highlights a plush £7k Xmas party planned by council chiefs.

The story was written by Paul Dale, formerly a Post reporter. The story was around last night, but the staff on the Post shift felt it was more suited to the Mail's readership and left it untouched for today.

So there I was, thinking I was off the the hook for a while on the blogging front, when the posts began to drop suggesting The Editor's Chair should continue. (Not everyone, I might add, but enough to make me frown).

And then a few colleagues (and a boss) said the same: "Why are you stopping the blog?! Like it or hate it, it's got a following." Or words to that effect.

And so, instead of driving off into the dusk following a hard day at it, I'll knock out a few lines on how Day One and Day Two at Fort Dunlop went to those who want to know.

It was bloody hard graft all round. Friday saw us producing the Mail, Post and Mercury from Printing House Street AND packing our 'bags' to move.

On Saturday and Sunday the removal firm sprang into action (well done BMG, IT and project manager Richard Newbould).

And by 12 noon yesterday when the journalists turned up for the Post shift (and Mail overnight pages), the whole editorial floor was ready for us to continue as if nothing had happened!

The result? The Post came out this morning, followed by the Mail later today, without a major hitch. Plenty of problems. but all tackled by heroic efforts all round. Not a missed page between us. (Production of the Mercury continued at Printing House Street until end of play Saturday, and will be continued in the Fort from tomorrow for next Sunday's edition).

So what was all the fuss about then? DON'T say that!! The stresses and strains behind the scenes to move without hitches were momentous, from all departments. In editorial iteslf, teams stretched every sinew at all hours to make sure we coped.

On top of the move, remember, we're coping with the brand new Content Watch system, with all the user-issues that any new system brings. And despite all the very best intentions, there are plenty of creases to iron out on the initial seating plan.

It's not just a case who of who's sitting where in terms of pals, lights, drafts, etc. In fact, none of that. It's all about where to place scores of people in six new teams in a one-newsroom, no secrets structure, with centralised 'page finishing' and all-in-one conferences.

But again, it's now towards the end of Day Two, and the papers are on sale.

Plenty of improvements to come, but Fort Dunlop has begun.

...or the lights in the office containing the editor's current chair, anyway.

I'm going to do that at the end of today.

An era is ending. A new beginning awaits.

Quite what will happen to the Editor's Chair as a blog, we'll have to wait and see.

Perhaps the moment of physically changing chairs - a new piece of furniture that matches Fort Dunlop decor is where I'll be parking my bum from Monday - is the time to sign off this blog.

After all, the new beginning involves the restructure we have discussed, the one-newsroom approach, the editing ultimately of more than one title. And I don't fancy calling it The Editor's Chairs...!

At such times of change, perhaps it would be false anyway to continue with a blog that described a different existence.

But I've enjoyed the banter, so thanks to ALL who've contributed.

Fort Dunlop here we come!

(For those at Printing House Street this morning, this blog entry title has a great double entendre thanks to the multiple power cuts! But we have the power... the back-up generator kicked in, and today's first edition is printing as I tap.)

With tomorrow the last day, some of us are feeling a little nostalgic at the years that have passed. In my case, the first time I tapped away at keyboards in editorial here was 18 years ago.

But can you imagine the feeling you get when you move on from a job after 60 years?

This sprung to mind today when I was clearing the last drawers at the editor's desk and came across a letter from a great old hack.

Fred Norris - colour writer, story-getter and old-fashioned showbiz correspondent extraordinaire - penned his thoughts on September 23 2003:

"It is with a very sad heart that I write this letter as it brings down the curtain on a career which began almost 60 years ago when, still wearing a school blazer and cap in 1944, I joined the editorial staff of the Mail as pencil sharpener, tea boy and cigarette hunter in wartime Birmingham city centre."

Imagine that... 1944 to 2003. I still keep in touch with Fred, and know he won't mind me quoting him. And each time I meet him he recalls a different dazzling story from those 59-odd years when print was king.

The great trials; Coronations; Churchillian visits; Enoch Powell speeches; executions; riots; (not-so) secret shenanigans of the then stars of stage and screen.

But what I also remember from Fred is how he, too, moved with the Mail across town from the old Cannon Street premises in the mid-1960s to where we are now on Printing House Street.

"Back in those days we lost whole days of editions, such were the technical hitches created by the move," he recalled. "I remember interviewing the then MD for a story explaining to readers why their beloved paper had not been on sale the previous day."

That's not going to be the case in 2008, of course, as the digital age means it's literally a case of some well-planned unplugging and plugging in by our computer superiors in IT. (Fingers crossed).

A week's a long time in politics!

And a lot has happened since the last time I blogged a new entry, and I'm not just talking packing boxes for our move. Most amazing was Obama's victory, and we were certainly busy ensuring that this historic moment became a collectable for readers.

The Birmingham Mail edition of November 5 sought to catch readers' eyes with a rare 'stars and stripes' masthead following the election of new US President Barack Obama, a story that missed all morning paper deadlines.

The sparkling result provoked interest in the shops and a reported increase in sales. Well done to Stacey Barnfield for the masthead and Gary Young for the poster page one. The front can be viewed here

Meanwhile, of course, the days are slipping away fast before we move.

In between editions, staff are filling boxes; next week, labels will be attached to all equipment; and, as previously mentioned, the Mail team will move out of Printing House Street lock, stock and barrel at the end of play this coming Friday.

It's creeping up on us!

Yep, a few days off at the tale end of last week and suddenly it's November. November 3 to be precise... and my last day here will be November 14.

Arrgghhh!

No packing, no clearing, no real thought on what to do first or next re. the actual move.

There's empty boxes awaiting me outside the office. And various bags for the contents of drawers. And a skip pending for the rubbish that will go nowhere but the dump (majority of office content).

But oh for the time to do it or think it. For at the same time as the upcoming move, we're trialling the new 'one newsroom' approach.

Separately, we're upskilling new desk-heads on both desking and placing of content on pages via our new ContentWatch computer system.

And, somewhere in the midst of this 'change, change. change' scenario there is a definite need to think content, plan the paper, maintain quality.

I think the move will, ultimately, just happen. Apart from packing the appropriate single box and bag, there ain't much time left for anything else.