Birmingham Mail Communities - http://www.birminghammail.net/your-communities/ - involves the creation of 34 hyperlocal sections hosted on the fast-growing Birmingham Mail website, providing readers with multimedia news and information from their local area.

In a first for the regional press, the Mail is also seeking to work with existing hyperlocal websites in the city.  More than 25 have already agreed to join the initiative - these include Digbeth is Good, The Lichfield Blog and Bournville Village.

By signing up, people running hyperlocal sites in and around the city agree for their content to be used by the Mail, in print and online, correctly credited and with links back to their site.

In return, RSS feeds from the hyperlocal sites will appear prominently within the Mail Communities section, and the Mail will make relevant pictures available for those sites taking part.

Participating sites will also have a say in how a proportion of the Birmingham Mail Charitable Trust's donations are spent, and be able to set the agenda for four-times-a-year communities workshops.

Details of the project were formed after consulting a variety of authorities on hyperlocal in the city, including Talk About Local founder William Perrin and respected journalism lecturer Paul Bradshaw.

David Brookes, editor of the Birmingham Mail, said: "This is a truly innovative hyperlocal partnership and the response we have had so far has been fantastic. Many hyperlocal sites want to promote their area of Birmingham and we're confident we can help them with that, and at the same time develop a relationship which is beneficial to both sides, and ultimately, and most importantly the residents of Birmingham."

Will Perrin, Talk About Local founder, said: "The future for local news and information is one where people work together, so I welcome Trinity Mirror's initiative in trying to work with local sites.

"Talk About Local has helped Trinity Mirror reach out to some local sites and develop a package that recognises many sites generate great stories but are volunteer run and motivated by civic good, rather than financial return. Initially the relationship between newspapers and hyperlocal sites didn't get off to a good start - with a lot of sharp elbows and misunderstanding - so let's hope that Birmingham can show the way for others to follow."

Trinity Mirror led the regional press in developing hyperlocal sites with the launch of its Teesside sites in 2007. It now has hyperlocal sites in London, Middlesbrough, Northumberland and Coventry, with an innovative community site in Cardiff also attracting praise.

The Financial Statement is now available to download:

2010 Interim Results Financial Statement

This was a combined weekly aggregate week-on-week increase sale of 379,000 for the two titles. 

It was the first time that a new album by a major recording artist has been released and distributed exclusively in national daily newspapers in the UK and was one of the most successful marketing promotions for the Daily Mirror and Scotland's Daily Record in recent years.

Prince's 10 track CD 20TEN was given away free to readers in the Mirror and Record after a week long promotional campaign - spearheaded by agenda-setting editorial properties which were heavily blurbed on the front pages of both papers.  

In his first British interview for more than ten years, the reclusive singer gave the Mirror's Associate Editor Peter Willis a tour of his Paisley Park studios, claimed that the "internet is completely over" and defended his decision to boycott websites including iTunes and YouTube.  His controversial comments sparked debate around the world  - including on websites such as CNN and ABC  - and the interview has become one of the most read articles of the year on the Mirror website mirror.co.uk.  

Well-known Prince fans, ranging from Mirror columnist and music expert Tony Parsons to England captain Rio Ferdinand and comedian Lenny Henry were full of praise for the album in reviews which were published in the papers.  Elton John requested to be sent copies of the album and fans around the world snapped up copies sold by enterprising readers on Ebay.  CDs were fetching up to £22 -  not a bad profit when the Mirror cost just 65p.

Mark Hollinshead, Managing Director of Trinity Mirror Nationals, said: "We are delighted with the huge response to the Prince promotion which has proved to be a successful sampling opportunity for both titles.

"This was also a great example of our editorial and commercial teams working closely together which resulted in the most effective way for Prince to reach his legion of UK fans.   

"Last Monday Prince gave his first UK interview for ten years - sparking international interest in the Mirror in the run up to Saturday's promotion.

"This was followed quickly by yesterday's exclusive interview with Marissa Reid, Raoul Moat's former lover, which again set the agenda for the UK's media."

Over 2.5 million copies of the free CD will be given away to fans with the papers on Saturday 10 July, the only place in the UK and Ireland where the album will be available at that time.

The album giveaway is part of a multimedia collaboration with the artist which will see the Daily Mirror and Daily Record run a series of Prince-themed features devoted to one of pop music's most iconic personalities.

Fans can look forward to his first British newspaper interview in more than 10 years - exclusive to the Daily Mirror and the Daily Record - as well as ticket giveaways to his European concerts.

Kiran Sharma of KIKIT, Prince's representative and producer of his live shows, said: "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World in 1995 was Prince's first number one selling single as a completely free artist.

"Fifteen years on, Prince is demonstrating that in 2010 it is still possible for artists to work in an independent and innovative capacity, highlighted here in a world first of delivering the new album across multiple territories, through complementary distribution channels.

"The new album, 20TEN, is a celebratory, quintessential Prince masterpiece and marks the start of the international tour."

Richard Wallace, editor of the Daily Mirror, said: "We're proud that Prince has chosen the Daily Mirror and Daily Record as the best way to get his new album to his legions of fans in the UK."

"As well as the release of the album itself, we have a packed programme of Prince-related activity to keep his fans happy - including his first UK newspaper interview for over a decade - all exclusively with the Mirror and Record."‪

The announcement follows the significant investment and successful implementation of ContentWatch, a web-based state-of-the-art content management system. The new system and processes enable the production of high quality content across multiple channels while ensuring each title retains its quality, integrity and unique identity. Importantly each title retains its own editor.

The transformational plan developed by the senior editorial team includes the outsourcing of elements of the subbing process; the merger of news and features on each title into single content units creating super pools of reporters and writers; the merging of digital and print publishing teams and the end of editionising the Mirror titles in Scotland.

It is anticipated that this will result in around 200 editorial job losses across the three titles, of which a significant number are not employees of MGN Ltd but casual workers. Mirror Group Newspapers has now entered into a period of consultation with those staff likely to be affected. The company today has also launched a voluntary redundancy programme. 

Richard Wallace, editor of the Daily Mirror, said: "Our future is a multimedia one and we need to transform ourselves into an agile media business, ready to grasp the opportunities and challenges of the multimedia world we now inhabit." 

"Our traditional skills and processes have to change to embrace the emerging platforms and keep our titles in good health. We cannot continue to do what we do in the way that we have always done it. We simply have to evolve in order to keep our historic and world famous newspapers as relevant and successful as when they first launched over 100 years ago."

David Black, Trinity Mirror's Group Director of Digital Publishing, said: "With Paul's promotion, we will accelerate delivery of the next stage of our strategy for our online property and recruitment businesses.

View full statement below:

Interim Management Statement - 17 weeks of trading to 2 May 2010

The Dumfries & Galloway Standard won the 'Weekly Newspaper of the Year' for its high calibre of journalism.

While journalists from The Scottish Daily Record and Sunday Mail led the tabloids again scooping no less than three of the major categories.

Scoop of the Year was given to the Record's Donna Watson for revealing Britain's first swine flu couple.

Keith Jackson of the Record also collected the Sports News Writer of the Year award. Keith broke several major front page and back page exclusives.

One in particular, Scotland's World Cup booze shame, led the sports agenda for weeks afterwards. The article also earned him a nomination in the Scoop of The Year category.

Columnist of the Year was awarded posthumously to Daily Record crime writer Reg McKay, who chronicled The Cancer Diaries describing his battle with the disease right up until a few days before his death, aged 56.

Lynn Davidson of the Record was also awarded runner-up in the Reporter of the Year category and Marion Scott of The Sunday Mail was a finalist.

The launch of the app, which will have a one-off price of £1.19, will bring the Mirror's specialist, standalone football website to a new audience of iPhone users.

Building on the success of the Mirrorfootball.co.uk website, the app allows users to personalise their homepage with a bookmark for their chosen Premier League club.

It will also offer extensive photo and video-led content, club-specific news and live match-trackers for up-to-the-minute results.

As well as having instant access to a 24/7 news service and a wealth of exclusive daily opinion pieces from some of the best writers and names in the game users will also be able to comment on articles, send them on to friends and publish to Twitter and Facebook.

Rick Gleave, Head of Interactive and Mobile, Trinity Mirror, said: "We're really excited to be launching our Mirror Football App. It condenses Mirrorfootball.co.uk's extensive content into what will work best for consumption on iPhone or iPod touch and it offers users a level of interactivity around video, social media, comments and wealth of content that competitors' apps simply can't match."
 

The appointment of Maria - the first woman to edit the MEN - was announced by Georgina Harvey, Managing Director of Trinity Mirror Regionals, when she addressed staff this morning.

The purchase of MEN Media and the S&B Media from Guardian Media Group was formally completed yesterday.

Georgina Harvey, said: "I am delighted to announce the appointment of Maria as the Editor of the Manchester Evening News.

"This iconic newspaper has a rich and important heritage and Maria's passion and experience will guide the title - across all platforms - to further and future success."      

Maria, 48, joined the MEN as Assistant Editor in 1998. She was appointed Deputy Editor in 2006 and was named Acting Editor in October last year.

Prior to joining the MEN, she held a number of senior roles at the Liverpool Echo.

Maria said: "I'm absolutely delighted to have been appointed Editor of the Manchester Evening News.

"This is a great paper with a fantastic team of people who work very hard to set the news agenda in Greater Manchester.

"I'm also very proud of our weekly titles which continue to serve their communities so well.

"This is a very exciting time for our newspapers and I'm looking forward to being part of the team driving for a successful future."
 

As part of the deal, which runs from 2010-2012, the Mirror will have exclusive association with the event as the official media partner.

The partnership will include both in paper and online reader offers, ticket promotions, competitions and editorial support.  The Daily Mirror will have a presence at the Liverpool course through advertising hoardings, as well as having the opportunity to distribute the paper to Aintree race-goers.

The event remains one of the most high-profile and popular in the British sporting calendar - last year 8.5 million BBC viewers watched the race live and the broadcaster dedicated 11 hours of prime-time terrestrial TV exposure, in addition to news items and further features.

Richard Wallace, Editor of the Daily Mirror, said: "This is an ideal partnership for our readers and is further evidence of the Mirror's commitment and long-term investment in racing."

Lorraine Fraser, Trinity Mirror's Marketing Director UK Nationals, said: "We are proud and excited to announce this partnership and we are looking forward to working closely with Aintree Racecourse and John Smith's.  This deal is an exciting development and is the perfect fit for Mirror readers which will in turn build further awareness and engagement of this highly prestigious event."

The 2010 John Smith's Grand National meeting will take place from the 8^th to the 10^th of April in front of 150,000 spectators and a worldwide television audience spanning more than 140 countries and 600 million people.

Julian Thick, Managing Director at Aintree Racecourse, said: "We are delighted to be working with a partner who proves a perfect fit for the racecourse, the event and our other partners.  The John Smith's Grand National is an event that engages the Nation and we're in an even stronger position to celebrate this national treasure through the UK's leading tabloid newspaper."

Mark Given, Brands Director, Heineken UK, who own John Smith's, said: "Like the Grand National and John Smith's, the Daily Mirror is an iconic British brand and the new partnership deal uniquely teams the People's race and the People's pint with the People's paper! We are delighted that the Daily Mirror, a title we have collaborated with very successfully across a number of John Smith's brand initiatives, has been installed as the official media partner of the John Smith's Grand National."

The Financial Statement is now available to download:

Financial Statement (pdf, 157k)

The Preliminary Results presentation took place at 9:30am this morning. The presentation and webcast playback are available on the Financial Results page.

While the cost of final salary pension provision continues to increase, closing the Group's defined benefit pension schemes to future accrual will help limit the increase in liabilities. This will help the Group to fulfil its commitment to eliminate the current deficit.

As a result of the consultation and listening to scheme members' concerns, the Group has made a number of valuable enhancements which will benefit members of both the defined benefit and defined contribution schemes. These include an increase in Group contributions, an increase in matching options up to 10% and financial advice at retirement.