This lunch I was lucky enough to be invited by Manchester Science Park to hear Kevin Feddy.

Here is a synopsis of what Kevin, who runs the MEN business desk, had to say:

“It is all about (the business pages) people, innovation and ideas….how ideas relate to the public at large.  It is much more than figures, it is about people, dreams and aspirations.”

SMEs are of interest as much as the blue chips.  In fact there is a lot of room for stories about smaller concerns.

Kevin is especially interested in hearing from businesses that he feels will emerge from this recession in a very healthy state:

• Internationally trading companies / exporters
• Green technology
• Innovation – companies that will shape the way we live
• Technology – but make sure the layman can relate to it.  The MEN business readership is general and professional in nature and stories must be understood by all.

The key point is that business titles such as the Manchester Evening News want to hear from all types of business, of all sizes that have something to say.  As a PR I ask potential clients, “What can we say, what do you want to say?”

Everyone can have a voice, offline and online, providing their company, service or product, is of interest.

I have heard that this is a very worthwhile business development programme.  It has the added bonus that it is free and supported by the Northwest Regional Development Agency.

Both Salford University and Manchester Metropolitan University are offering the LEAD courses that comprise masterclasses and mentoring.

The LEAD programme is aimed at senior personnel at SMEs in the region (up to 20 people) that are aiming to grow.

MMU is holding a half-day session tomorrow to give a flavour of what it is all about.  But if you cannot make it give them a call and I am sure interested parties can learn more and register their interest.

If this has a typo in it, it is owing to my support of the French wine industry last night.

The Big Chip 11 is the set piece event for the North West digital media sector.  This year the event was held at Manchester’s Palace Hotel, and was well attended by agencies, in-house digital departments and interested parties.

The Big Chip used to be an award ceremony that everyone took part in and Code Computerlove won.

Well this year it won again but was joined by Love and New Concept Gaming Limited in the victory stakes.  Other notable wins, as I know the guys well, were Simon Wharton and his motley crew PushOn who picked up Best Use of Search and Melbourne who won The Big Green Chip Award and AdInsight with Best Newcomer.

The effort this year, the push behind the awards, was to get the sector revitalised, to generate interest outside the sector as well.

Manchester Digital, the body behind the awards, feels that the North West can compete with London agencies.  Shaun Fensom who is chairman of Manchester Digital opened the evening by saying that agencies in the North West have a collaborationist outlook, success isn’t just measured by how many pitches you win – the sector up here is as talented as anything else in the UK.

With this in mind Simon Wharton, supported by many contributions, used blogs, Twitter (#Big Chip 11) and any other social media techniques he could think of to push the message home.

The event was a success, no doubt.  I think it was going to be anyway, but the effort in promoting the event to act as a catalyst for the industry being viewed as a more recognised and integral part of the business scene is the interesting issue.

Whether this is the start of something new will be decided in the coming months, if the sector maintains the momentum.  It is up to the efforts of digital media professionals as well as Manchester Digital.

Whatever the conclusion, Big Chip 11 shows the digital media industry in the North West is vital.

Too tired to proof again.

The news space is suddenly becoming more crowded in Manchester with Crain’s Manchester Business, The Business Desk and Nxt Book.  And there is now City AM, due to join us in 2009.

My initial reaction:  Is there the advertising revenue to secure the future of all these new ventures, especially when a recession is on the way / has arrived?

(Don’t get me wrong, I am pleased they are all here.  I spent 4 or 5 entries in the past 18 months lamenting the demise of NW business magazines: YE, Talking Business North Manchester, Business Connections, NW Enquirer all disappearing.  I take note the new titles are completely or very much Internet based and these are print essentially).

So when Business Desk recruited Chris Barry, the business editor, at the MEN joined them I have to say I was surprised.  Is that not a risky move?  In turbulent times moving from an established newspaper to a new publication is brave.

Now Joanne Birtwhistle, of NW Business Insider fame, has moved from Crain’s.

Crain’s has a strong editorial team and the MEN has an experienced hand in Kevin Feddy, so things move on.

The new appointments give Business Desk a strong team (and former MEN business editor Sheryl Moore is working with Business Desk and the MEN).  It gives The Business Desk instant credibility on this side of The Pennines.

All these new appointees are seasoned journalists, so I trust their judgement.  But the question still remains: How will Business Desk finance itself and survive in this downturn?

When I was looking for jobs you could hazard a guess many times who the company was if the recruitment company gave you the clues.

A big defence company in Lancashire would not be hard to guess if a recruitment company offered your a PR position: BAE Systems

I came across a PR exec job of Totaljobs that has me guessing.

It opens, “Manchester’s most famous PR agency is looking for an Account Executive to work on some of its prestigious public relations clients.”

Who is it?

If I had to narrow it to 10 I would choose the following (of course we could argue about famous in what circles and what locations etc):

Brazen
Communique
SKV
Citypress
Mason Williams
Connectpoint
Staniforth
Golley Slater (although they are nationwide)
Weber Shandwick (North)
Tangerine

It is a competitive list for that title. So who are they talking about?