Two questions being repeatedly raised at today’s Society of Editors (SoE) conference:

• stop talking about the nationals, how can regional media get in on the digital act?
• what to do about the BBC – or the ‘boa constrictor’ as Mail Online’s editorial director Martin Clarke called the corporation.

Guardian Media Group chief executive Carolyn McCall told delegates that there is a model for the local press, focusing on hyperlocal.

“There will be models that emerge: investing in SEO, local press have to do that. There’s an opportunity for local press to go very local and build revenue around this. There are models, but it will have to be off a very different cost base,” said McCall.

She went on to describe Channel M – the television offshoot of the Manchester Evening News – as ‘a good model’ for local media that could be replicated in the future.

The business risks associated with online and sustainable digital business models, she added, need to be shared regionally and locally.

Regional media will have to take ‘a real hit’ on their bottom line when it comes to online to if they are to maintain standards of quality journalism, she added.

Malcolm Pheby, editor of the Nottingham Evening Post, took up the regional press’ baton in explaining how the NEP had successfully integrated its newsroom with staff now trained to treat all news stories as rolling news to be broken on the web.

But the pervading theme of the day has been the opposition from regional newspapers to the BBC’s proposed local video plans.

Pete Clifton, head of multimedia for the Beeb, did his best to defend criticisms of the plans, saying that the proposals are subject to assessments by the BBC Trust and suggesting that the BBC could forge stronger relationships with other news providers.

Still it was comments from McCall and Clarke, whose affiliate Northcliffe added its voice to the debate today, that received impromptu applause.

According to both, the BBC’s plans present unfair competition to the local press

Cue videojournalism evangelist and consultant Michael Rosenblum, who promised to teach the audience how to beat the BBC at its own game. Key to this he said is embracing technology, in particular video, wholeheartedly and not incrementally.

In response to a question from a Rotherham newspaper publisher, which currently has no video on its website, Rosenblum said there was a demand for the content and the potential for partnerships with regional broadcasters like ITV local.

• FT.com: Guardian considered six different pay models
• Michael Rosenblum: ‘Local TV news is already dead’
• Techflash.com: ‘Local media need dual business models, not dueling models’
• BBC could share more technology with S4C/Trinity Mirror in Wales, says Trust chairman
• BBC Trust’s dilemma over local video plans

Here’s the last 30 updates using the Twitter hashtag #soe08 – you will need to refresh the page to watch it update. Alternatively, you can simply follow the RSS feed or, if you prefer just our own fair Tweets from the very able Laura Oliver, subscribe to Twitter.com/journalism_live

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• Tip of the day from Journalism.co.uk – Grouping Twitter contacts
• DNA09: Journalism.co.uk coverage from the digital conference
• How to: Track a conversation in Twitter
• Live Twittering from the Oxford Media Convention
• #Tip of the day from Journalism.co.uk – allow people to ‘subscribe’ to your Facebook profile

So Associated Northcliffe Digital/Northcliffe Media came out smiling, after digital awards aplenty at last night’s Newspaper Society’s Advertising and Digital Media Awards – the group won golds for Niche Website of the Year, Digital Innovation of the year and Digital Team of the Year. On top of that the winner for ad of the year, the Hull Daily Mail, is one of Northcliffe’s too.

Speaking in a release issued last night, the Newspaper Society (NS) communications director Lynne Anderson praised online entries: “The digital element of the awards was particularly impressive this year with clear evidence that local media publishers are becoming increasingly effective at communicating with their audiences online.”

Here’s a selection of the winners from yesterday’s Advertising and Digital Media Awards, online and off:

PRINT ADs:
Advertisement of the Year
Gold: Hull Daily Mail for Modus Interiors – Howz
Silver: Evening Express for Choices 08
Bronze: Evening Express for Ritchie Travel / The Lytham St Annes for Express Leonard Dews – Diamonds

Series of Advertisements for the Year
Gold: The Irish News for John Mulholland Motors Ltd
Silver: Hull Daily Mail for Modus
Bronze: Herald Express for Animal Crackerz Series

Classified Section of the Year
Gold: Express & Star for My Classifieds
Silver: Evening Express for Drive
Bronze: The Press and Journal for Your Ads

ONLINE:
Newspaper Website of the Year
Gold: Nottingham Evening Post – thisisnottingham.co.uk
Silver: Belfast Telegraph – belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Bronze: Cornwall and Devon Media – thisiscornwall.co.uk

Niche Website of the Year
Gold: Associated Northcliffe Digital Lasting Tribute
Silver: Hull Daily Mail - Your Mail
Bronze: Eastern Daily Press - Jobs24

Integrated Campaign of the Year
Gold: Manchester Evening News for NHS ‘I Love Me’ Campaign
Silver: Manchester Evening News for Natwest ‘MoneySense’
Bronze: Hull Daily Mail for ASDA

Digital Innovation of the Year
Gold: Associated Northcliffe Digital for Lasting Tribute
Silver: Lancashire Evening Post for LEPlive
Bronze: Herald Express Mod My Motor

Blog of the Year
Gold: Trinity Mirror Midlands – The Geek Files
Silver: scotsman.com – Luke Donald
Bronze: Hull Daily Mail – Lucy Clark for Hullvibe

Community Website of the Year
Gold: MK News – mkweb.co.uk
Silver: Lancashire Evening Post – lep.co.uk
Bronze: Hull Daily Mail – Your Mail

Digital Team of the Year
Gold: Associated Northcliffe Digital New Product Development Division
Silver: Hull Daily Mail Digital Advertising Team
Bronze: Clyde and Forth Press Digital Media Department

Cross-Platform or Portfolio Sell of the Year
Gold : MEN Media Sales for NHS ‘I Love Me’ Campaign
Silver: MEN Media Sales for Natwest ‘MoneySense’
Bronze: Mediaforce for Scottish Government

• Postscript to Advertising and Digital Media Awards
• Baldy blogger wins regional journalism prize
• Northcliffe’s operating profits drop 81 per cent
• Press Gazette: Hull Daily Mail launches website written by readers
• Newspaper Awards winners – Timesonline.co.uk named eNews Site of the Year

Northcliffe has revamped 48 of its thisis sites to bring them in line with the publisher’s new online design for the network.

Websites for the Nottingham Evening Post, Lincolnshire Echo and South Wales Evening Post have been overhauled as part of this phase.

• Northcliffe titles work together for East Midlands business site
• HTFP: Northcliffe launches next phase of thisis sites
• Slideshow: Nottingham Trent University’s new broadcasting and journalism centre
• NUJ: Journalists demand ‘immediate talks’ as 22 jobs face cut at Media Wales
• 13.2 jobs could go at Trinity Mirror’s Media Wales; NUJ members to hold strike ballot

Northcliffe Media has launched its East Midlands regional business site, which sees five of its titles working together to supply content.

The Evening Telegraph in Derby, Leicester Mercury, Lincolnshire Echo, Nottingham Evening Post and The Sentinel in Stoke will provide regional business news to thisisbusiness-eastmidlands.co.uk, which will also cover international business stories.

Journalism.co.uk first broke the news of the planned Northcliffe business sites in February, and the launch of the East Midlands site follows that of westbusiness.co.uk, a business site for the West Country area, covering Gloucestershire, Bristol and Bath.

The new site aims to promote the business capabilities and achievements of the East Midlands area.

“Allying thisisbusiness to the pages of the daily titles in the region will create a new springboard for everyone who has the ambition of the East Midlands at heart.” said Alex Leys, Northcliffe Midlands managing director.

A third business site is expected to be launched in the South East later this year.

• Newbury News launches local business news website
• Northcliffe Media selling Staffordshire titles
• Former Birmingham Post editor launches West Midlands business news site
• paidContent: Metro launches new app business
• HTFP: Northcliffe editor defends production hub plans