A council gagging its own councillors? No match for digitally-savvy journalists

Politicians, should they wish, have more means than perhaps ever before with which to communicate their thoughts to those they represent. There’s blogging, social media, Youtube even. Community newsletters. And, of course, good old local media – be it newspapers, websites, TV or radio. Unless you happen to be a councillor in Birmingham, in which

The Second City Derby and the other problem with Facebook Trending

The ‘Second City Derby’ took place yesterday – between Aston Villa and Birmingham City. Having worked with the Birmingham Mail for almost a decade, I now understand why so many fans of the two sides get so frustrated with the national media’s attitude to the city’s football clubs. You don’t need to spend a long

FOI FRIDAY: 10 FOI ideas for journalists is back!

Welcome to the return of FOI – a weekly look at FOI stories which are worth sharing (and in many cases, copying). As an added incentive to read on, this blog will also celebrate/shame those councils who prove that actions speak louder than words when it comes to delivering on the principles of FOI and

Infographic: How to create great journalism online

Feeling inspired (and not a little hungry) as a I left the Regional Press Awards last Friday, I did what any sane person in that situation would do: Head to Upper Crust at Euston for a sandwich, before turning my thoughts into a Venn Diagram. The result of a two-hour train journey on a packed

FOI Friday: Council credit cards, mental health beds crisis, schools with asbestos and 50 Shades of Grey…

So, what are councils using credit cards for at the moment? < Bristol Post Taxpayers in Bristol have been footing the bill for council workers to stay in expensive hotels, eat at posh restaurants and buy designer clothes, the Bristol Post has learned. Almost £680,000 was spent on Bristol City Council payment cards last year,

The power of digital journalism: The appeal for information solved in just 30 minutes

Here’s a story to warm the cockles of any journalist worried that digital journalism means losing many of the things we hold dear as regional journalists. Shortly after lunchtime on Thursday, the Birmingham Mail published an appeal from National Express, which runs the buses across Birmingham, for information about a man wanted in connection with

FOI FRIDAY: Clown crimes, daily A&E visitors, attacks on buses and pauper funerals

Sexual exploitation within a police force < Birmingham Mail Three West Midlands Police officers abused their position of authority by sexually exploiting underage children in the last two years. The predators in uniform were sacked or resigned after being convicted at court for targeting a 15-year-old and two 14-year-olds. Meanwhile, other officers from the force

The day a newsroom showed a strong opinion and an understanding of social media can carry just as much weight as a campaigning front page

Until today, it could have been argued that a newspaper’s most powerful tool when seeking to make a point which grabbed attention was the the printed front page. Indeed, I suggested as much last October. And while it will remain a powerful weapon for newsrooms to deploy when they stand up and fight for their

FOI Friday: School places, child exploitation, serial criminals and council home waits

How likely are you to get your child into a school? < Teesside Gazette Hundreds of schoolchildren in Middlesbrough are missing out on a place at their school of preference. Figures from a Freedom of Information request show that while places are in high demand, non of the town’s secondary schools were able to cater

FOI Friday: Nightmare roadwork roads, self service checkout crimes, cost of PFI and student disciplinary offences

The roads dug up more than 600 times in a year < Birmingham Mail Road repairs in Birmingham are causing traffic chaos with some routes being dug up almost every day for the past FIVE years, the Birmingham Mail can reveal. Workmen have had to carry out maintenance on Birmingham’s Broad Street three times a