Ho, ho, Hope

• Posted by Rob Irvine at 11:52 AM | add or read comments (0)

I am embarking on a strict diet and training regime for an important running event. I reckon I need to put on at least four stone. Oh, and I'd better start to grow a large white beard, fast.
Yes the team at Hope House-Ty Gobaith have press-ganged me for the Santa Fun Run in Oswestry on December 3.
They need more than 5,000 Santas to take part to win a place in the record books. The sponsor money raised raised will help fund crucial care for hundreds of terminally ill children and their families in North and Mid Wales plus Shropshire Cheshire through Hope House at Oswestry and the second hospice, Ty Gobaith in Conwy.
It's a 2.5 mile run (but take it at your own speed). To find out more or to sign up, visit www.hopehouse.org or call the appeals office 01691 671671.
Join in, it should be fun.

The sting

• Posted by Rob Irvine at 1:24 PM | add or read comments (1)

The online video at www.dailypost.co.uk has really come into its own over the past few days. I felt it was the right thing to do to show the footage of the yobs in Wrexham who filmed themselves stealing a charity worker's glasses. It was the best way to ensure they were caught - and to arouse universal condemnation.
Today saw our first "caught on camera" sting - the car park attendant doing half price discounts for people who speak Welsh. Believe me, we've had lots of interesting comments, quite a few of them singing the guy's praises.
I kind of agree that there are occasions when residents should be entitled to discounts - although I am not sure the criteria should be based around ad hoc language tests. If that was the case I would learn rudimentary Spanish or Greek and get lots of discounts when I go shopping on my hols.
A strong paper today. A very sad story on page one although I hope you agree with me that David Greenwood's report into the tragic car crash which claimed the life of a young North Wales rugby player was handled sensitively. There were so many people who wanted to pay their personal tributes to Myfyr Lloyd Thomas.
For tomorrow's paper we are working on a shocking school story (I'll update the blog later as details emerge but I don't want to give the game away yet). And we will have plenty of reaction to the fact that North Wales Police are only going to get back a fraction of the near £250,000 they wasted on preparing for the Home Office's half-baked merger plans.
Enjoy the half-term sunshine - go on, sit in the garden with your Daily Post and catch the last rays of 2006!

What's a scoop worth?

• Posted by Rob Irvine at 2:50 PM | add or read comments (0)

If you want to know why newspapers are always desperate for scoops, here's your answer ...the Daily Mirror's exclusive interview with Richard Hammond on Monday is reported to have boosted the paper's circulation by 200,000.
Not a bad day's work and it will no doubt have had The Sun's senior team spitting tacks, although in this case the Hamster was always likely to tell his story in the paper which employs him as a motoring columnist.
It's just before 3pm in the afternoon and we're still on the look-out for our big scoop tomorrow. It's been a busy week with the abduction story - and a very different splash today, praising the performance of North Wales Police who have done a great job in the past year, according to HM's Inspector of Constabulary. And that means North Wales is an even safer place to live, which is great news...such a shame it rains so much.
It rained at the weekend on the excellent "Conwy Feast" food festival. But you know what that rain didn't do? It "failed to dampen the spirits" of the crowds who attended (one of my very favourite newspaper crap cliches).

Taking a chance...

• Posted by Rob Irvine at 11:08 AM | add or read comments (0)

Colleagues past and present have been suggesting some of their favourite headlines for my list of all-time crackers (to appear on the blog soon). Old pal Peter Rowe (now in Australia) has also given me an idea for another theme - the cheeky, naughty and downright daft.
Not that I want to encourage these kind of things but...
Peter, when sports editor at the paper we worked on in Bradford, wrote a New Year's list of sporting predictions when he backed 'Norfolk N Chance' for the Grand National.
The Yorkshire Post once famously listed in its farming section, potato prices for King Edwards...and Mrs Simpsons.
And a cracker from Derby. Not sure if this was deliberate or just mad typing but an advert appeared in the Evening Telegraph for "Two storey cheetahs". I'll let you work it out.

Anymore, to serious matters...we broke the story on the website last night of the arrest of a suspect in connection with the abduction of a 15-year-old from Wrexham - the full story is published in the Daily Post print edition today (TUESDAY).
And more breaking news as I write - an explosion at a school in Wrexham. We'll put more details on the site as they come in and fully update the situation in the paper tomorrow.
The other big news in today's paper is the revelation that Bryn Terfel will be performing at our Thousands of Christmas Voices concert in Llangollen on December 10. The tickets went on sale today and the phone is ringing off the hook, so if you want to be there call 01492 574489 as soon as possible.
We've just had our morning conference to discuss tomorrow's paper - look out for the latest from the budget discussions at the Welsh Assembly.
We're aiming to find out what exactly is keeping the presiding officer Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas so busy that he can't find the time to chair this very important debate. That means his deputy John Marek will have to chair the meeting - so he can't vote and, in such a delicately balanced chamber, that could have a huge impact.
Dr Marek and the peer are not pals at the moment - we certainly hope their
squabble will not interfere with the smooth running of democracy in Wales.

School's out for dolphins

• Posted by Rob Irvine at 3:09 PM | add or read comments (1)

A healthy start for dailypost.co.uk which in its first week made a big contribution to the total number of hits received by our North Wales websites.
Several thousands of people have made a first visit to the site - I hope a few of you have made it here to the blog.
Videos have proved very popular. The footage of the police video of two law-breaking motorcyclists quickly clocked up over 1,000 hits. Richard Williams's excellent film about one of the North Wales lifeboat crews proved similarly popular.
Check out the site now for an incredible new video of a school of dolphins spotted at play off the North Wales coast (well, it is half-term).
The internet is going to be a big part of our future and comes at an important time for newspapers who, like TV stations, have been troubled of late by a decline (hopefully short term) in advertising.
Apparently it's far worse the other side of the pond with big papers like the New York Times and Boston Globe all being forced to cut costs because of a fall in revenue. The Tribune in Chicago have even had to put their private plane up for sale.
How will they manage, the poor lambs?

Caught on camera

• Posted by Rob Irvine at 4:25 PM | add or read comments (0)

Thanks to North Wales police today for passing on some amazing video footage of two ne'er do well speeding motorcyclists, caught on camera by the police chopper (and subsequently banned from the roads).
You can reach the video on our home page at www.dailypost.co.uk.
The Daily Post will bring you more plaudits for the force tomorrow (FRIDAY) in a Home Office report - the detectives in the north west of Wales are revealed as stars of the show nationwide.
It's no secret that the relationship between North Wales police and the Daily Post has its ups and downs, but when this newspaper got behind the campaign to defend the future of NWP when the Government wanted to create an all-Wales force, it was good to know that we were defending one of the best performing and most forward thinking constabularies in the country.
Also tomorrow, reaction to plans for a task force to look at ways of solving Anglesey's economic problems when the Wylfa nuclear power station shuts. A few worried islanders are asking how much money will be forthcoming.
In a future blog I will be listing some of my favourite all time headlines - and will leave you with this surreal gem from the Jersey Evening Post to ponder over
"Cauliflower Disaster Averted"
I defy anyone not to want to read the story behind the headline.

Good start - better to come

• Posted by Rob Irvine at 10:06 PM | add or read comments (0)

Several thousand additional visiters to our new site on Monday (haven't seen the Tuesday stats yet). Videos have proved particularly popular. Mostly enthusiastic comments - though one correspondent questions my sanity...thanks nephew, I think your dad might have had something to do with that.
A few grumbles along the lines of "looks a bit like the old site, ie old-fashioned". Fair play, it still isn't the prettiest site. We have adapted the existing ic template and are using an oldish content management system while we develop a whole new template using a far more advanced creation system. Sadly this won't be ready until the New Year. To be honest we just wanted to switch to the Daily Post online service as soon as possible so we can bring you more regular news feeds, updates, video and audio plus the chance to interact via message boards, votes etc.
These are the key elements and we will be able to present them to you in a more congenial format soon. But in the meantime if you want proof that you don't have to be the prettiest to thrive online then look at the Guardian's site. Clunky as hell - and one of the world's most popular sites for news and comment.

Welcome to our new site

• Posted by Rob Irvine at 9:19 PM | add or read comments (2)

WELL if you’ve made it to here that means you’ve had a chance to see our new website, www.dailypost.co.uk.
We have been online for the past few years at icnorthwales, where some of the Daily Post’s news and sports content has featured alongside content from our fellow weekly titles in North Wales.
The new site is dedicated to the Daily Post and will complement North Wales’s most popular daily newspaper with special, additional coverage.
Every morning we will bring you a round-up of some of the headlines from our news, sports and feature pages.
Keep visiting the site throughout the day as we bring you the latest news and sports stories as they break – in North Wales and around the UK.
Fans of icnorthwales will have seen that we have started to feature video news stories – these will be a regular feature on the new site along with picture galleries of major events (and of beautiful North Wales).
One of the greatest things about the web is the ability it offers to exchange news and views. We hope that you will join in the debate at one of our new message boards for news and sport.
Other content includes a growing back catalogue of restaurant reviews, a what’s on guide, plus a massively expanded sports section with news updates from the Welsh leagues, Wrexham PLUS Liverpool, Everton and Manchester United.
We hope you like what you see. Let us know what you think – and what you would like to see on the website.

Better than Davey-cam

• Posted by Rob Irvine at 3:37 PM | add or read comments (0)

I've just been watching webcameron. Gave up after a minute (bit boring).
Hmm, don't think that's the future of the internet - or politics.
Far more exciting is the launch of dailypost.co.uk - it's just two days away, folks. I have just completed a couple of presentations to our journalists and advertising colleagues about the new site which launches on Monday. I'll stick up a fresh blog entry over the weekend to give you a preview of what to expect come next week.
Almost as exciting is the e-mail from Chloe that the details of the Daily Post Christmas Party have been confirmed. An outdoor BBQ in sunny Llandudno - fantastic.
Hope you enjoyed the video of Froncysyllte Male Voice Choir today - the story of their rise to Hollywood stardom (page 3 of the paper today) has attracted massive media attention around the world.
We have some incredible video footage lined up for next week of one of the North Wales lifeboats in action. The aim is to get a fresh video on the site every day - and you can join in the fun.
To send us your video, simply email the file to: dailypostwales@googlemail.com

Please keep your video file to under 10Mb.

We accept video in the following formats: Windows Media (.WMV), QuickTimes (.MOV), AVI (.AVI), MPEG (.MPG) and RealMedia (.RM or .RAM)

Have a great weekend

Well done, Bodden of the Bay

• Posted by Rob Irvine at 4:25 PM | add or read comments (0)

We all like to be appreciated.
So culture minister Alun Pugh's statement today on the review of English language papers in Wales was noted with keen interest here at the Junction - and the acknowledgement of the success of the Daily Post as the best selling paper in North Wales, plus the praise for our knowledgeable reporting team, was very well received.
We attach a great deal of importance to our coverage of the Assembly and the Assembly Government. And we are fortunate in having the talented Tom Bodden as our man at Cardiff Bay. The many AMs I have met respect Tom very highly - and appreciate the firm, fair and honest coverage of Assembly matters in the Daily Post.
Anyway, tomorrow's paper - we have an interview with the family of a Porthmadog soldier injured in a roadside bombing in Iraq, and the latest from Rhosneigr, where the body of a man was found in a car destroyed by fire. We've some great news about the Welsh ambulance service (can't tell you what as it's embargoed but what I can say is that all our tub-thumping about the state of the service has been paid off), a report on a Rhuddlan air gun sniper - plus five pages of reports from tonight's match at the Millennium Stadium.
Come on Wales!

Rail and road rage

• Posted by Rob Irvine at 10:42 AM | add or read comments (1)

I had my first experience of a Welsh football international at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday.
I don't think they'll ask me back.
Enough's been said about the match so I'll just moan instead about the four-and-a-half hour cross-border cross-country ordeal that is necessary to endure to see our national side perform. Looking at the flags around the ground, quite a few Gogs had made the journey - and shared the miserable trip home.
Poor road links to the capital justifiably remain the biggest gripe when two or more business people in the North gather. The same can be applied to the many passionate Welshmen and women who love their football. We all deserve better - on the road and on the pitch.
I'd had enough of driving by Monday and so headed to a meeting in Chester by train. Here's a sobering thought - in a carriage packed with about seventy people (mostly young), just two were reading newspapers and one a magazine. Everyone else stared out the window or into space. Many burbled on mobiles and others jarred the peace with their MP3 players.
The journey back was as bad. There were about sixty people in the carriage but it felt like double that because just about everyone was bawling down their mobile. Obviously it was important stuff, such as:
"Yeh, right. Where am I? yeh we're just comin' through Shotton. Yeh. Right. Yeh. Have I seen Baz? No, why? Has he? Yeh, right. No, did he? Yeh, Gawd he's just mental, right. Me, yeh ah'm just knackered. I need a holiday, you know, just chillin' out for a bit, you know. Did you? Did you like it? Went there a couple o' years back with Linzi. Yeh, right, it were all right, yeah, but I dunno, bit minging, you know. Yeh.....(and so on and so on for FORTY BLOODY MINUTES).
Time to invest in some earmuffs.

George of the bungle

• Posted by Rob Irvine at 3:33 PM | add or read comments (0)

Who'd be a politician, eh? You spend months trying to convince people that yours is a party of iceberg huggers with a social conscience - then your best pal on the front bench makes a smart alec remark and manages to insult everyone with autism.
Perhaps George Osborne should replace Sharon Osbourne as an X Factor panellist so he can sit next to Louis Walsh, that fellow master of the unfortunate phrase (see 18 Sep entry).
To matters local - a compelling newslist for tomorrow's Daily Post.
The front page will focus on the moving story of Sadie Campbell, the Abergele girl who died in a swimming pool tragedy earlier this year. Today the inquest concluded and Sadie's courageous family, who have now learned the circumstances of what led to the tragedy, have spoken of the loss of their beauiful daughter.
The business section leads on more gloomy news for the A380 Airbus - the delays have now got Emirates worried and they are reviewing their huge order.
We also bring you news of a young woman from Anglesey who has been streaking on trains, Plaid's debate on the hospital shake-up and the latest from the Tory conference (not icebergs but devolution).
That's all for now - and don't get fed up with all the rain. It's why Wales is so lovely and green.

Pressing problems

• Posted by Rob Irvine at 11:48 AM | add or read comments (1)

One criticism occasionally levelled at my blog is that I tend to steer away from mentioning when things go wrong.
Let me redress the balance.
I was pretty chuffed with Saturday's paper - a strong front page, really good inside news pages and features plus a bumper crop of property pages. A good 88-page package.
So why was there a bloody mountain of unsold Daily Post's when I popped in to Tesco at about 9pm?
A major problem on the presses meant that they hadn't started rolling until hours after the deadline. And that meant papers were late getting to the wholesalers and later still getting to the shops.
An investigation is underway but sincere apologies to all who were affected - I'm very sorry if you were not able to get hold of your Daily Post this weekend.
Things are back on track today. Monday's front page reveals how much money cash-strapped councils spend on those leeches who call themselves consultancy firms. Why do organisations - public and private - throw money at this useless lot? When do they ever tell you anything you couldn't work out for yourself?
Tory leader Nick Bourne has called for a review of the Welsh Language Act. It's made me think that we need to look at this whole issue in much more detail - keep your eyes peeled for a special report on this over the next few weeks.