I’ve been working hard over the past week with my henchman JJ Hartman on getting the Dispatch Online blog portal up and running, starting with Dispatches from the Trench – the blog of Dispatch’s deputy-editor, Andrew Trench. Already, his blog is full of activity and there are quite a few comments from dedicated readers who have visited it since it launched yesterday. This is the first of many new news and reporter blogs to come from the East London-based paper, which dates back to 1872 and has a long and illustrious history.

While the Dispatch’s main site is screaming for a makeover (me please!), it’s great to be involved in the process of bringing this print icon into a new era and ensuring it’s archives, which date back to 1996, are made accessible. Based on the enthusiasm I’ve seen from both it’s readers and editorial staff, I have no doubt that we can expect to see some exciting things from them in the near future which other small and regional newspapers will hopefully replicate.