Your Noon Briefing: Backpage Press, Hawick News, etc

BEGINS The Herald: “A publishing company has raised more than £30,000 through a crowdfunding drive to help maintain and improve a popular football podcast.

“Glasgow-based Backpage Press, which counts books on the likes of Italian midfielder Andrea Pirlo, Chelsea striker Diego Costa and Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola in its catalogue, has worked with journalist, Graham Hunter, since the launch of his The Big Interview podcast in April.

“The show is essentially an in-depth interview with a well-known figure from the world of football, typically lasting up to one hour.”

Read more, here.

* * *

THE local newspaper serving Hawick, in the Scottish Borders, is moving out of its current home, with the likelihood that it will no longer have a permanent base in the town.

The lease on the Hawick News office on Towerdykeside will be surrendered at the end of the year and alternative arrangements made for those working out of that office – one full-time journalist and a small number of part-time staff.

Said a Johnston Press spokesperson: “We will be closing the Towerdykeside office at the end of December and are currently looking for new premises that better suit the needs of our news team.

“We live in an age when people are more connected than even via online and on mobile and, in fact, our news teams prefer to be out and about in our communities rather than sitting at a desk behind a computer screen or at the end of a phone line.”

* * *

HIS long-running investigation into claims of police spying on at least one journalist and their sources received front page treatment last week, in The Herald.

And now, Paul Hutcheon continues, with more on the story, in yesterday’s Sunday Herald.

Here.

* * *

JANE Bradley, in yesterday’s Scotland on Sunday, begins: “They are familiar faces on the streets of any major city, ­selling the magazine which gives them a chance to earn a little money to make ends meet.

“Now, images of Edinburgh’s Big Issue sellers have been captured in a series of 49 paintings by local artist, Karen Bates.”

Read more, here.

* * *

A COMMISSIONING editor (fiction) is being sought by the magazine, My Weekly.

The vacancy is being advertised, here, on the allmediascotland.com media jobs board.

* * *

IN today’s Scotsman newspaper, Karrie Gillett begins: “Financial support for the film and television industry is proving a ‘major boost’ to the number of productions being shot in Scotland, according to the Scottish Secretary.

“David Mundell pointed towards two projects currently filming on location in Edinburgh which he said are taking advantage of UK Government tax relief measures.”

Read more, here.

* * *

AND in today’s Herald, its Agenda slot features Amanda Millen, director of the creative industries festival, in the Highlands and Islands, XpoNorth.

Read more, here.

* * *

CHECK out the latest circulation-in-Scotland figures for national newspapers – here, in the regular allmediascotland.com feature, The Media in Figures.

* * *

SEEN anything you think readers of www.allmediascotland.com should be made aware of? Then just send the weblink to here and we’ll do the rest. All suggestions gratefully received. We’re back at noon tomorrow.