Chronicle asks readers to choose Page 1

The Chronicle in Newcastle asked its readers which front page it should publish last night. The paper tweeted two options and the readers voted via Twitter. They chose the P45due headline and that is the page that graces today’s Chron. It is another example of how social media and print can work together for publishers. It is also an example of a paper standing up for its readers and not just taking the corporate bollocks that comes out of many football clubs. Oh, and it's also a good lesson (NB Mr Ashley) in how to judge the mood of your customers and react to it. Good innovative stuff from Darren Thwaites and the Chronicle team.

You've got to be joking here ...

The appointment of Joe Kinnear as director of football at Newcastle United has certainly got the Press's creative juices flowing. Kinnear's interview on Talksport (full transcript here courtesy of The Guardian) was comedy gold. He got several names wrong, including Shola Amamobi (Ameobi)  Ben Afri (Hatem Ben Arfa), Yohan Kebab (Yohan Cabaye), Jonas  Galteirez (Gutiérrez) and Derek Lambazee. This inspired the Mirror to run its Kinnear quotes tweets including this one: @MirrorFootball Kinnear: "I aim to bring back the glory days of Jill 'Gazza' Gascoigne, Supermax, Sid Waddle and the great Jackie Sunburn."
It also led to this Evening Chronicle back page:

The Chronicle also had a bit of Twitter fun, asking fans 'what would Kinnear call you' and getting some excellent responses. It gets worse though. Kinnear claimed that he brought goalkeeper Tim Krul to the club. Krul has been at Newcastle since 2005, three years before Kinnear shipped up on Tyneside. Kinnear also claimed he had never been sacked as a manager. Maybe, but he certainly left Luton abruptly in 2003. On his playing record he said he had played over 400 games for Spurs - records suggest he actually played 196. The Daily Mail neatly turns it all into a true or false game. As you may have gathered there a few truths.
All this left the Chronicle with a dilemma for its front page today. It initially considered running this:

But opted for this:

Both are innovative and well crafted. The blank page is brilliant. The published page will no doubt get the Chron banned from the Press box but it's good to see a paper saying it how it is, and reflecting the fans' views, regardless of the consequences.
One of the best pieces on the whole affair was by George Caulkin of The Times who catalogues the many, many errors in Kinnear's ramblings. It's here ... albeit behind a paywall.
Less articulate - but still funny - is this resurrected video of the fans' reaction when Kinnear first arrived in Tyneside. If you are easily offended, don't watch it.
Where does this leave me? Well, I have followed Newcastle United for 50 years so I know what misery means. Last season I spent a small fortune to watch the team routinely humiliated. The nadir was seeing them capitulate 6-0 to Liverpool at St James's. I had opted for a family occasion and bought hugely expensive tickets for second rate sausage and potatoes and no drink. This season I will watch from the sidelines ... unsure whether to laugh or cry.

New compact era for the Strathy Herald

The new compact Strathy

The final broadsheet edition

The Strasphey and Badenoch Herald went compact on Thursday, marking the start of a new period for the paper. For me and colleague Mike Brough, though, it was the end of a fascinating project that began almost two years ago. In June 2010 we were asked by editorial director David Bourn (a fellow Geordie boy and Newcastle supporter who used to edit the Norwich Evening News and was deputy editor of the Hull Daily Mail) to look at his newly acquired portfolio of papers. Since then we have helped the editors in Northern Scotland redesign the Inverness Courier, the Highland News (see the changes here), the Northern Scot, the Banffshire Journal and the Forres Gazette. The change to the Strathy, though, are the boldest. It's a hugely popular title and taking it from its text-heavy broadsheet format to a lively compact is, inevitably, a risk. The early signs, I am pleased to say, are very positive. Gavin Musgrove, the Strathy's editor, emailed me on the day of the relaunch to say: “The initial feedback this morning has been fantastic and our fingers are crossed that this will turn into extra sales and advertising revenue this week and for the road ahead. I’m absolutely delighted with the results of the redesign."

The paper looks great but there have been tough decisions on the way. Taking one of the most successful titles in the UK and radically changing it wasn't something embarked on lightly.

Gavin said: "It was not an easy step to take as an editor or for Scottish Provincial Press. Our sales have held up well at a time when many other titles in the UK are suffering declines.
“However, the time had come to freshen things up. Whilst the appearance of the Strathy has changed radically and there is plenty of new content, the emphasis is still very much on local news. That is our unique selling point."

And Gavin (also a Newcastle supporter) was kind enough to give the SMS team a mention too. 

“Peter came up with some very thought-provoking concepts on what a new Strathy could look like which really got the whole process off to a flying start.  And the contribution made by Mike in bringing our vision to reality cannot be under-estimated. I was hugely impressed by his expertise – and he was a pleasure to work with, which always helps." 

Thanks Gavin, it was our pleasure too. The Strathy looks modern and vibrant and is rammed with great content. My only sadness is that our role has finished ... not only because we will miss the Geordie exiles and native Highlanders but also because the Castle Tavern in Inverness has become one of our all-time favourite pubs. Still, I am sure the papers will need some training, consultancy, conference, publishing work in the near future. Won't they David?

Footballing weekend pays off

It's been a real footballing weekend for me ... working with Allan Prosser, Mike Brough and Paul Wick to produce a 56-page Champions Full Time supplement for the Irish Examiner. It is published today, free with the paper. Great fun to do but I could have done without the relegation issues on Sunday. I had taken a gamble that Wigan would go down and Birmingham would stay up, so apart from updating every Premier League club's page I had to set about on two major rewrites. Then Carlo Ancelotti was sacked. We made the deadline though. It marks another fantastic commitment by the Examiner to sports coverage. The supplement  includes a club by club analysis, the best quotes, the top 20 goals, the worst fouls and howlers and a 12-page Champions League preview. It's a great read. Above are a few pages, including the cover and my review Newcastle's season. If you are a footballer fan, try to get hold of a copy. I can guarantee it will be worth it.

Half-Time: The pantomime that is Newcastle Utd

  

I have spent the last week putting together a 40-page Premier League Half-Time magazine for the Irish Examiner and was up to the early hours making changes following last night's fixtures. The Wolves, Chelsea, Newcastle, West Ham, Spurs, Everton, Arsenal, Manchester City, Wigan, Bolton, Liverpool, Blackburn, Villa and Sunderland pages all needed updating. It was a labour of love though, especially with Newcastle putting five past a hapless West Ham to go up to eighth. The magazine is published tomorrow free with the Examiner. If you are a football fan, try to get hold of a copy. It includes a page on every club, the 20 best goals of the season, the games to watch, the best pictures of the year, the team of the season, SPL and Championship rounds up, the best quotes and chants, the whackiest incidents and every statistic you need. Once again it is a great commitment from the Examiner to quality sports coverage. Above is the cover designed by my colleague Mike Brough and below is my half-time report on the pantomime that is Newcastle United. 

Double click on page to read.

    

Give us an 's

Those of you who get irritated by apostrophe abuse might enjoy this. It's St James's of course ... why penalise James just because his name ends in an s? If they reinstated the 's we might win something.