Your Noon Briefing: Local Newspaper Week, time spent online, etc

IT’S Local Newspaper Week – described by its organisers as “an annual initiative by the local newspaper industry and Local Media Works to highlight the important role played by local papers in communities across the UK” – and local newspapers throughout Scotland are celebrating it – such as the Dumbarton and Vale of Leven Reporter (here).

The director of the Scottish Newspaper Society, John McLellan, is widely quoted, including in today’s Herald newspaper.

And also here, in a media release posted on allmediascotland.com, by The BIG Partnership.

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A MODEST crowdfunding target of £1,500 – to help fund a new, Dundee-based feminist arts magazine – has been exceeded, meaning an anticipated July 1 launch, with copies being sold, UK-wide.

Artificial Womb is the brainchild of a former trainee reporter at newspapers, comics and magazines publisher, DC Thomson.

Ana Hine – and her illustrator boyfriend, Alfie Pound – is also a former section editor of The Skinny culture magazine.

Artificial Womb will be distributed, in the main, via 100 shops, with a cover price of £1. It will be monthly, with an initial print run of 750, with hopes of soon doubling.

The £1,500 is to be used to purchase a printer. Artificial Womb content will include photography, poetry and painting.

Visit the crowdfunding site, here.

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PEOPLE are spending twice as much time online, compared to ten years ago – according to research published by the broadcasting regulators, Ofcom.

And, says the watchdog, the increase has been “fuelled by increasing use of tablets and smartphones”.

Says Ofcom’s Media Use and Attitudes 2015 report, now in its tenth year, internet users aged 16 and above claimed to spend nearly ten hours (nine hours and 54 minutes) online each week in 2005. But by last year, it had climbed to over 20 hours and 30 minutes.

Read more, here.

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A PR account manager is being sought by Clark Communications – as advertised here, on the allmediascotland.com media jobs board.

And repeated on twitter.com/allmediajobs.

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SAYS the trade website, holdthefrontpage: “A sports journalist at a regional daily has been given £1,000 and a trophy after winning an award for two exclusive stories.

“Chris Jack, from the Glasgow Evening Times, has won the Jim Rodger Memorial Award, set up in 1997 to honour the late veteran journalist of the same name.

“Chris, 25, became one of the youngest winners of the award in its history, which is open to sports journalists aged 35 and under who are working on a Scottish newspaper.”

Read more, here.

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REPORTS the Daily Record: “Suzi McGuire is preparing for her first big return to the airwaves on Saturday as she presents a show on BBC Scotland.

“Suzie is sitting in for Tom Morton this Saturday on Morton through Midnight on Radio Scotland (10.05pm til 1am) as Tom is currently off sick.”

Read more, here.

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BEGINS Scott Wright, in today’s Herald: “A Scottish audio business, which supplies equipment to T in the Park and the Edinburgh International Festival, has set out plans to expand following a multi-million pound management buyout.

“The Warehouse Sound Services, currently celebrating 35 years in business, aims to build its presence south of the Border after its takeover by long-standing director, Derek Blair.”

Read more, here.

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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.