Your Noon Briefing: Andy Coulson, affordable way to broadcast on DAB?, etc

REPORTS the BBC (here): “Former Downing Street communications director, Andy Coulson, is to stand trial in Scotland on a charge of perjury.

“The trial is in connection with the trial of Tommy and Gail Sheridan in December 2010 at the High Court in Glasgow.

“Mr Coulson, 47, a former editor of the News of the World, attended a day-long pre-evidential hearing at the High Court in Edinburgh.

“It fixed a trial date of 21 April.”

The story is covered by, among others, The Herald (here) and The Scotsman (here).

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A RECENT former arts editor at The Scotsman is returning to the paper, on a short-term, freelance contract to assist with the paper’s coverage of the upcoming Edinburgh Festivals, this summer.

Andrew Eaton-Lewis was group arts editor of The Scotsman and sister title, Scotland on Sunday, when he left to go freelance last year.

Among his current commissions is an arts development role for the Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival.

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BEGINS The Drum media and marketing magazine: “[Edinburgh-based] craft brewer, Innis & Gunn, has hired Frank PR, following a competitive pitch ahead of a year-long push to establish itself in the category.

“The brand has grown 40 per cent year on year, and Frank will handle consumer PR around a series of activations to further cement its position. This will include broadening Innis & Gunn’s national reach and positioning them as ‘credible beer experimentalists’.”

Read more, here.

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AN awards ceremony run by The Drum media and marketing magazine has included additional categories, including Breaking News Story of the Year and Best Media Podcast.

The new categories feature in the Online Media Awards, which has a deadline, for entries, of the 13th of next month.

Read more, here – including details of the judging panel.

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BEGINS a media release issued by the broadcasting regulators, Ofcom: “Ofcom has today announced trials of a new technology that could provide small radio stations across the UK with an affordable way to broadcast on DAB digital radio.

“If the trials are successful, UK radio listeners could benefit from more local and community radio stations on DAB.

“Currently, the cost of broadcasting on DAB is beyond the reach of many small radio stations.

“But a new approach, pioneered by Ofcom engineer Rashid Mustapha, means that small scale radio stations could start broadcasting on DAB radio for a fraction of current costs.”

Read more, here.

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