Aber, where brollies threaten shoot 'em ups

The "website credits" page of the fresh-faced Cambrian News is blank.
That's a shame because the site is a brave take on what a local paper's online presence should be. The printed Cambrian retains a consistent, trustworthy feel albeit clearly suffering a worryingly visible resource-depression.
But the website tries something a little different and, although imperfect, is to be cheered.
Top left on the home page - http://www.cambrian-news.co.uk/ - is the journal's splendidly traditional Telegraph-style masthead. Laid beneath it is an admittedly insipid evocation of the mountains that shield this delicious West Wales area from the rest of the UK like a referee's blind spot protects Thierry Henry.
Brightly coloured modules carry story and index texts. The colours are moderately complementary in the way that X Factor finalists loosely embellish Dermot O'Leary's stage.
Rather thrillingly there's only one story at the head of the home page at any one time. Yes, there's a rolling menu of three tales from the top of the Aberystwyth agenda, but to see just the single yarn at any one time is refreshing. In this age of info-overload, too many newspaper websites slam the reader with a panoply of stories and attention-grabbers that simply have our trigger fingers dancing straight back to Google.
Cambrian News Online becomes busier as the page scrolls down. But the ads are kept neatly to the sides, there's a prominent plug which makes it easy to buy an e-version of the latest print edition and there's a splendid submitted photo which captures a lightning strike over Machynlleth.
Throughout, the headline font's a tad '90s, the video content seems restricted to the Stereophonics' latest bit of rough-with-smooth-edges pop and there's a depressing proliferation of ads bigging up the paper's own services.
But the navigation's simple, the speed's quick and the words are given plenty of room to breathe. Moreover, the stories are great! Check out: Man who killed wife in sleep was dreaming of boy racers and Did umbrella spark armed police siege?.
So, don't be shy, Cambrian ... get the names of the web team's bright boys and girls on that credits page. And give 'em a nice bright purple.

Media ownership - a Skye high

Marvellous news from our friends in the far north. The West Highland Free Press is to become that rarest of rare entities - an employee-owned local newspaper.
Press Gazette blog The Wire is reporting that the title's owners have agreed to sell to their staff who are supported by ownership investment vehicle the Baxi Partnership.
This is a refreshing outlook from all three key parties and my best wishes go to the Isle of Skye's terrific ten. Here's to you, here's to success - and here's to the ripple effects of your inspirational move.
The paper may have a weekly sales figure of under 9,000 but it's a respected provider of a crucial local service and, importantly, is an enterprise with a long and very relevant future.
Encouragingly, there are strong indications that the new owners will not simply produce a decent paper. The Wire reports that the WHFP - meshed by an employee benefits trust to hold staff shares and maintain independence - wishes to create a news agency and further develop digital platforms.
Looking at the broader picture, a press release on the Baxi website states: "This year the UK Employee Ownership Index (EOI) revealed that employee owned companies outperformed the FTSE All-Share in the second quarter of 2009 by 19.9%."
Co-operative Development Scotland (CDS) has played a big part in this development which was unable to tap into traditional routes of finance. CDS chief exec Sarah Deas is quoted as saying: "Research shows that employee-owned businesses are more productive and sustainable, so there is enormous potential for this type of ownership model to contribute to the development of Scotland's economy. Encouraging more business owners to consider an employee buyout is a priority and we are working to build awareness across the business community.”
There's so much food for thought here that I couldn't possibly manage another mouthful of this evening's neeps and tatties.

More
http://blogs.pressgazette.co.uk/wire/5756
www.baxipartnership.co.uk
www.whfp.com

Thanks for the tip-off
Ms Victoria Trott, one of Wales' finest travel writers - www.victoriatrott.com