In three weeks' time, the last daily edition of the printed version of the
Birmingham Post will roll off our presses in Erdington, marking the end of
a publishing tradition that stretches back more than 150 years.

But it also marks a rebirth, as the Post starts a new chapter in its
evolution as a multimedia brand and its new life as a must-read weekly
title.

I have just announced to my staff that Trinity Mirror was starting a consultation process with them over the future of the Birmingham Post, the title I have edited for more than three years.

There are two options for change on the table - each a response to the fact that the Midlands region of Trinity Mirror will lose £6 million next year unless some radical action is taken now. The Post as a key title must play its part in plugging that profit gap, and I'll get to the two options later.

This consultation process is unique in my experience in that as well as seeking the views of staff - who are of course the people most directly affected by any changes - we also want the views of readers and advertisers. Launches and relaunches of newspapers always involve market research and testing, of course, but rarely do publishers open up the decision making process as early - and as transparently - as we are doing with the Post.

No regular reader of our print edition can fail to see the changes we have introduced today - the most visible being the change in size and design of the newspaper.

But, as we hope those of you who read the Birmingham Post online will be discovering, the new compact print product is only one of a number of responses the title is making this week to the challenges presented by the rapidly changing media marketplace.

Other developments are not as visible, but no less significant for that. The Post's online presence, birminghampost.net has been updated, building on phenomenal growth since its launch just eight months ago.

Later this week, the Post becomes the first regional newspaper in the UK to launch its own news and information service designed specifically for use on the new generation of mobile phones.

As you can imagine, things are pretty busy at Birmingham Post Towers as we all gear up for the launch of the brand new Birmingham Post on Monday.

There has, unstandably, been much talk of changes to our print editon, but there also going to be a few tweaks and upgrades on the digital side too.

We hope the website will get a new coat of paint and there is also the new mobile site to look out for in the coming week.

However, whilst others are doing a fantastic job communicating the changes to our newspaper to our online community, my focus is telling our print readers about all the exciting things we are building up online.

So, over the past 24 hours (as those who follow my Twitter account might know), I've been putting together a list of things people might not know about the Post online.

It is supposed to target print readers who may have little or no knowledge of social media sites like Facebook, but may be curious enough to get involved.

It's not going to be an exhaustive "step-by-step" guide, just an introduction to what these online tools might do.

I've tried to make this as clear as possible, but things can always be improved. I'd be interested to know what you think!

Read that heading above - and then email me to reassure me that it is an obvious mistake. Maybe it is supposed to say 32 days to go...or 28...23?
It is certainly true that time has flown by since my last blog about the redesign of the Birmingham Post, so i thought I should do the decent thing and produce an update.

I'm hoping you will indulge me in a quick "Look Mum, see what I made," moment:

This is a little device that can use our content but can be embedded on any website, blog, Facebook or iGoogle homepage.

It's commonly known as a widget and this one was produced using a natty free website called Sprout Builder.

You may not realise it, but this is an important moment.
Not only is this my first blog, it is also the start of a guided tour - hopefully lasting a few weeks and led by me - through the redesign of the Birmingham Post.
Led by my editor, Marc Reeves, designer Terry Watson and me - the Executive Editor of the paper - have now produced a 24-page dummy of how the Post looks in its historic change from broadsheet to compact (I don't like the word 'tabloid').