In the UK, social media is evolving and it pays as a communicator to be across this.
So, bravo Ofcom who have published their Online Nation data which sets out in some glorious detail the numbers.
I’ll return to this data dump in the coming weeks to upgrade training slides and I’ll try and blog a snapshot for you.
I’ve used the Ofcom data to create a visualisation of the direction of travel with UK social media.
I’ve taken the data and represented it as a percentage of the UK population rather than simply users.
You can see it here:
Honestly, datamapper is an absolutely brilliant tool.
The question behind the data was ‘what platforms have you used in the previous month?’
Here’s five points on what it all means.
YouTube is the largest and gets criminally ignored
YouTube is the largest social platform in the UK. Yet, often organisation’s YouTube channels can best be described as a rag tag after thought where video gets sent to expire. At worst, they are poorly tagged, poorly labelled historic mishmash with a handful of views.
It demands the question, how can you improve what you are doing with YouTube? There’s an entire blog post in that alone.
70 per cent use Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp
Elsewhere in the report, is the gem that seven in ten in the UK are using the Meta triumverate of Facebook, Insta and WhatsApp.
Frustratingly, Ofcom have stopped including messenging apps in the numbers which isn’t ideal. So, WhatsApp aren’t in this top 10. Elsewhere in the report, data shows that 87 per cent of UK people use WhatsApp monthly and 64 per cent use it daily.
That makes WhatsApp the most used messenger – or social – app in the UK.
X, formerly Twitter is falling
The decline is real. Year on year Elon Musk’s platform has dropped by eight per cent. The data for this report is from May 2024 so it predates the UK and US elections. I would not be surprised if the figures heralded a larger drop next year.
The only surprise I have at this is that it hasn’t fallen further.
No Nextdoor
In previous years, I’ve seen Nextdoor in the top 10 but in 2024 that’s not the case. Nextdoor is a community-based platform that has some advantages for public sector organisations.
Not cropping up in this list would suggest the platform may be in decline.
In the past, I’ve heard of great strides in creating ads on Reddit. I’d be interested to see how this goes for people.
TikTok is up
The rise of TikTok continues. After Reddit, it has the largest rise in Ofcom’s table of stats up 13 per cent. A third of the UK uses this vertical video platform.
The fact it is not longer the sexiest on the block in 2024 – BlueSky may have that – in a curious way makes it more of a proposition. Things often get interesting when they are boring.
Snapchat is still here
One of the biggest strategic mistakes you can make is to base your organisation’s output based on what you or the chief exec likes. It can be the block to TikTok in many places. For me, this can be folly as you skew your channels away from your audience.
I don’t use Snapchat but if I was trying to reach young people that’s a platform I’d be looking at. The numbers here remain strong for the platform used most by teenagers.
Whatabout Threads and BlueSky?
Whatabout them indeed. The cool kids are all about BlueSky but neither they or Meta’s Threads are in the top 10. Both were launched as being Twitter killers.
Buried in the Ofcom report is the insight that there are 5.3 million active Threads users in the UK in May 2024. There’s no data I’ve come across yet for BlueSky.
I hope this list helps you think of what your comms needs to look like in 2025.
I’ve been asked a few times around BlueSky and whether or not that’s the new Twitter for the public sector.
It’s a reasonable question to ask.
But I’m going to be slightly less on the excitement gauge than others.
Firstly, the data argument. The numbers are not yet there to compare it to X, formerly Twitter. BlueSky is not in the top 10 of social accounts used by UK people.
Secondly, there’s the subjective yardstick of the question ‘is this the new Twitter?’. Well, if it was, we wouldn’t be asking ourselves that question.
In the 1990s, when cricketing all-rounder Ian Botham’s powers were on the wane a platoon of candidates were wheeled in and out as ‘the new Ian Botham’. So we had David Capel, Phil deFreitas and Derek Pringle all hyped as the next big thing only to fall below that once-in-a-generation benchmark.
It was only when we stopped looking for the new Botham that we got Andrew Flintoff. And he was his own person.
How to approach a new channel like BlueSky
I’m going to fall back on some good advice when dealing with BlueSky. I’d recommend the same to you.
It’s the same advice I used for Google Plus, Google Wave, Mastodon and other next big things. I’m going to spend some time with them under my own steam to see how they work and suggest you do too. A month minimum. Only when the smoke and mirrors clears I’d think about using it in earnest as a corporate account.
While you spend time off your own bat with BlueSky you can start to see if there’s value for you. If there is, fantastic. You may connect with some really interesting people and you’ll tap into good knowledge. This may be as far as it goes.
The watching brief approach also gives you the chance to be on the front foot with the organisation. You will get the chief executive or some senior person asking about what you’re doing with BlueSky. They’ll have read something, you see,
So, get ahead of that, be proactive, do the research and tell them you’re doing the research. You don’t want to be put on the spot. You absolutely don’t want to be ordered to do something you don’t think has value.
If you’re used to old Twitter you’ll find some features are familiar.
By all means reserve a corporate BlueSky account in the meantime but I wouldn’t be investing serious time into it just yet. If you do, do so as a trial.
I go through phases with my news consumption, do you?
Some weeks I’ll consume everything. All the news all the commentary and all the opinion on the commentary. A whirling gyre of thoughts and impressions that never fully resolves itself. It just gets taken over by the next one.
Other times, I hang back. Part of lockdown was like that. I’d maybe check the BBC headlines once a day and then leave it at that.
Right now, I’m largely switched off from news. Gaza, Israel, Ukraine. It’s all bad. The news that America has voted for, lets face it, fascism, is just enough. It feels as though I need to save my resilience.
“The notion that you need to know about world events right when they happen is a marketing creation of media brands. And yet, those news stories mingle in the same lock screen with the personal reminders and calls from your mom. The stuff that has something to do with you is now almost impossible to distinguish from the stuff that doesn’t. Trust me, that news alert can wait until later. Like most things on the internet, it can wait until never. You’re not Batman. You’re not going to do anything about the news alerts, so they can wait. As a general rule, you don’t need to be immediately notified of any breaking news that’s happening more than about eighteen feet from where you are right now. At most, your alerts should only cover your locality. Even Bruce Wayne only covers Gotham.”
There’s been a lot of debate about how organisations use X/Twitter in recent months but what are the numbers?
Now, any data around any social media platform are notoriously opaque and in the coming months Ofcom will no doubt publish annual UK data.
Ahead of all that, I ran a survey to see where people are in the public sector and third sector with their corporate accounts.
The numbers while unscientific are fascinating.
In the public sector, a quarter are heading for the exit
It’s clear that there is a lot of reflection going on with the public sector corporate account.
For the public sector, a quarter are going or have gone. That’s a similar number for those who are staying put.
Those who have departed are three times as likely to do so on the quiet by simply stopping using it rather than making a grand public announcement.
For me, that’s a canny bit of judgement given the wall of abuse some organisations have been met with when they’ve publicly quit.
But just over half of organisations have yet to make their minds up.
In the third sector, two thirds are evaluating
There’s even more head scratching going on in the charity sector with X, formerly Twitter.
More than 60 per cent are evaluating their corporate presence. On top of that, one in 10 have decided to stay with almost a quarter going or gone.
Is this the right decision?
Of course, there is no universal correct decision for a corporate account. There is a trend to head to the exits for UK public sector and third sector but this was never going to be an overnight event. Platforms don’t work like that. They tend to grow slowly and then fade away.
So, would these numbers suggest there’s still a role for connecting with journalists and MPs? Absolutely. There’s been some talk about journos moving to Bluesky. It’ll be interesting to see how this pans out.
In any event, I’d be highly surprised if prominent MPs or Government departments left X/Twitter. This would leave the field clear for their political opponents.
What the data absolutely shows is that the tectonic plates of the internet are on the move.
A few months back, I blogged about the conversations now taking place in comms team about leaving X, formerly Twitter.
As with anything with social media there were some strong opinions so I tried to keep it as dispassionate as possible. You can read the post here.
The Guardian has now re-fired the debate with their news they were stopping using the platform and in turn that has led to people to take a fresh look at how their organisation uses the platform.
So, I thought I’d take a look at an additional question. How many are actually SEEING what’s being posted onto X, formerly Twitter?
Using publicly available data I pulled together this list.
I worked out the total number of people who had seen the last 20 tweets the account had posted, worked out an average and then measured that as a percentage of their follower numbers.
Here’s a datamapper visualisation…
What’s clear is that journalists and politicians are still getting their content seen.
After all, social media loves the new, loves opinions and loves outrage. So, journos and political leaders perform well.
But what about the public sector? Well, that’s a different case.
I’ve tried to reflect at random elements of local government, fire & rescue, police and NHS. How do they perform? Not so great.
One council has 0.1 percent of their follower numbers seeing their tweets.
There’s no implied criticism of any of those account admins. Who knows, if there’s a busy week those figures may rise. During the awful murders in Southport and the following riots across towns in England its possible that those tweets travelled far further. Should X, formerly Twitter be reserved for just emergencies?
What’s clear, is that the audience for many accounts has moved on.
I carry out social media reviews for bright people looking to make sense of a changing landscape.
Because the pace of change is increasing and because I’ve been playing with Google Notebook I thought I’d ask the tool to summarise the new Reuters whitepaper.
This document Powering Trust News With AI: Navigating the Present and Trusting the Future looks at how artificial intelligence with affect news rooms, or rather, what’s left of them.
So, in the spirit of AI, here is a summary of how AI can be used in news and communications, in 10 bullet points, for an audience of communications and public relations people:
● AI presents both opportunities and risks for the news and media industry. While it can enhance news reporting and delivery, there are concerns about misinformation, the rapid pace of AI development, and potential threats to intellectual property.
● AI can revolutionise newsrooms by improving workflow efficiencies. One example is Avista, an AI-powered tool developed by Reuters that helps clients quickly find specific video segments.
● Maintaining trust and journalistic integrity in the age of AI is crucial. At Reuters, AI tools are evaluated based on their ability to support the company’s mission of delivering unbiased and important news stories.
● Human oversight remains essential. Editors and journalists should retain control and carefully review AI-generated content to ensure accuracy and ethical standards.
● There are three key ways AI can be integrated into workflows: replacing tasks humans don’t need to do, augmenting existing work, and facilitating innovative experiments.
● Combating misinformation is a top priority. AI algorithms can help detect fake news, images, and videos.
● AI literacy is essential for navigating the evolving media landscape. News organisations and consumers need to be aware of the capabilities and limitations of AI.
● Generative AI tools like ChatGPT are changing audience expectations. The media industry must adapt to meet the demand for faster and more personalised content delivery.
● AI can help news organisations stay relevant in a changing media landscape. This includes using AI to optimise content discoverability and deliver information efficiently while maintaining safeguards.
● The future of AI in media will likely involve increased automation to handle tasks such as translation and transcription. This will free up journalists to focus on in-depth, unbiased reporting from trusted sources.
Firstly, a useful summary using Google Notebook which I increasingly love. Its benefit is that it works with what you give it rather than pulling things from across the internet like ChatGPT.
What this means for comms and PR
Firstly, it’s clear that thev relationship between reporters and media relations is evolving. Some things still stay the same. For me, the definition of news remains information that somebody somewhere doesn’t want you to know.
But beyond that definition, the landscape is changing. With misinformation, we can rightly be focused on what bad actors may try and do with content. We are looking to respected news titles to be a major bullwark against misinformation. It’s try they are a bullwark. But I don’t think communications needs to sit back and relax.
So, if news titles, and sorry I’m calling them that rather than news brands, are looking to invest in tools to weed out misinformation and disinformation then that’s something public sector comms needs to look at.
What’s also really interesting is the line that AI tools are changing audience expectation. If they think news titles should be getting better at delivering targeted information that’s something the institutions of state need to look at. That includes the NHS, councils, fire and police, too.
People talk about the importance of fresh air and exercise and then often don’t follow it up. The OS app was my discovery in lockdown when we couldn’t travel far.
If its true that elections are petri dishes for communications ideas then the 2024 US Presidential Election is the biggest laboratory of them all.
If its also true that the polls on November 5 will be decided by a few thousand voters in seven swing states then the work around the edges may well decide who runs the free world.
Now, this post is not an exhaustive analysis of both campaigns but more a distanced look at what headline strategies from Harris and Trump can teach us.
Analysts in the days before polling day say that Trump is all about firing up his base by making them angry while Harris is going after undecided voters.
“It’s all pieces of a very complex puzzle,” Harris senior campaign adviser David Plouffe told AP. “This would all be a simpler exercise if you can focus just on one voter cohort. You can’t. And you got to make sure you know you’re doing well enough with all of them so that when you put all that together it adds up to 50 per cent.”
This may seem extreme to a UK audience. Actually, this is just a 10-storey technicolour version of the UK landscape. We don’t consume the media in the same way. A 16-year-old glued to a mobile phone takes on information in a different way to a 66-year-old BBC News watcher.
But what about the comms in the Trump v Harris fight?
It’s not all about the corporate account
If it came down to a straight head to head battle of social media account followers then Donald Trump would be going straight back to The White House. He outguns Kamala Harris massively. It’s a 13 to 1 win on follower count across social media channels. It’s not even close.
His Twitter account’s 95.4 million followers is the jewel in his crown but he also is outfollowing his opponent over on TikTok, Facebook and Instagram, too
That Harris is still even in the race is because they have tapped into other accounts and networks. For example, Taylor Swift’s endorsement to her 283 million Instagram followers or her 32 million supporters on TikTok.
It’s about going to where the eyeballs are in mainstream media
Kamala Harris on Saturday Night Live, for example. That’s not changed. Kids, Google ‘Bill Clinton + sax.’
A strategy that Labour and the Conservatives in the UK have developed.
It’s about the memes
Just as in the UK General Election, images with text rule. They capture a moment and can be forwarded within seconds to supporters’ networks. For each micro-campaign moment there are memes with many originating from the centre. This leads to…
Harris has a team of five on TikTok who know the platform backwards, know what works and know what will fly. They are given the keys, minimal sign-off and get on with it. The lime green colours and Arial typeface inspired by Charlie XCX came from this. So did the range of content.
It’s about bespoke content for the platform
It works on TikTok? Great. Let it work there. It won’t work on X, formerly Twitter. So don’t try.
The language of the corporate account reflects the platform not the politician on Kamala Harris’ account. Commentator Rachel Karten likens this to a fan account. “It’s not like it’s coming from a campaign,” she writes. “It’s like: We talk like you. Even the caption is like: ‘You have to watch this.’”
It’s ANGER-tainment
One particularly prescient piece of commentary was that it’s a mistake to compare Harris and Trump as two politicians. They are not. One is a politician while the other, Donald Trump, is a consummate exponent of angertainment. This is the blended mix of anger and entertainment that Trump has been brilliant at. His content is about getting a REACTION rather than a reasoned response. So, in that context it makes sense that he talks about pointing guns pointing at Liz Cheney’s face. While Harris is telling people how terrible Trump is she’s not talking about her own message.
It’s not just about polling day
I’m writing this before election day. Last time there was an election in the US there was an insurrection because someone couldn’t accept the fact they lost. I don’t think that the story of the election ends when the results are announced.
One of the best meetings I ever had in my time in local government was post-2011 riots with police and bloggers.
There we were at Wolverhampton police station, two police Superintendents, four bloggers and me from Walsall Council.
It wasn’t, as the saying goes, an interview without coffee but more a constructive chat.
While riots had gripped other parts of the country, our part of the West Midlands had avoided the worst of it. In part, this was because the Superintendents had used Twitter to shoot down rumours in real time as they emerged.
The bloggers would spot the rumour and one of the officers would shoot them down.
It was a remarkably effective tactic and it became the cornerstone for how we tackled emergency planning.
If you think that’s common sense, you’ll have to remember that the Metropolitan Police were actively discussing how to make a kill switch to turn the internet off at a time of crisis. No, really. They were.
As the meeting ended and we filed out, it only then occurred to me that the local regional paper wasn’t there. Why? Because they didn’t use social media and preferred if people waited until the next day to find what had been going on. No, really, they did.
Why journalism is important
In really simple terms, a source of information makes people more informed so they are more likely to vote. There is more faith in the process if they can see it being held to account.
Yes, public sector comms people will often swear about a particular reporter or publication but on balance they are a necessary part of society.
The promise of local bloggers
Around 2009, former civil servant Will Perrin launched the Talk About Local project to promote and explore the idea that a new generation of journalism would emerge. Concerned citizens armed with laptops would start new local news sites.
The movement was helped by thenlocal government minister Eric Pickles who insisted that bloggers – or anyone – could tweet or livestream from public meetings.
In the West Midlands, some good sites emerged such as, WV11 in Wolverhampton, A Little Bit of Stone and Lichfield Live in Staffordshire and the unrelated Telford Live in Shropshire emerged. There were some good debates about how much press officers should support those blogs. I was very much in the ‘treat them like journalists’ camp.
Some of those sites fell away or morphed into Facebook groups. Brownhills Bob’s Facebook group has a staggering 56,000 members. But that early promise of a revolution in the sector never really took hold. It’s hard holding down a job in the day then holding your council to account at night.
So, where is alternative news today?
Two things I want to flag up with you.
Alternative news is a £24.6m economy
Firstly, the Public Interest News Foundation. This is a UK-Government funded project to map alternative news providers. I was surprised to read that there are the best part of 400 websites and radio stations across the UK that cover news in one form or another.
Their 2024 report is a useful read as it sets out the impact of these sites. There are around 350,000 unique users per site which makes them potentially influential. Many are affiliated with regulators such as Ofcom or Ipsos which gives additional confidence to their standards.
In some parts of the UK, where there are news deserts, coverage of news by an independent provider is all there is.
Their map of indie news sites is worth a look if you’re wondering if there’s one in your area.
Email first providers
Aside from that,, a new generation of news providers has emerged that follow an email-first strategy. Mill Media secured funding to launch publications in Manchester, Sheffield, Birmingham and Liverpool with sites in Glasgow and London to follow.
Refreshingly, these publications are not powered by clicks but subscribers. So, three or four stories a day are published to subscribers. Those who have opted into the paid model get more content. They are a deeper dive.
The Manchester Mill site tells the story: “The idea was very simple: would people start valuing and paying for local news again if it was done in a completely different way? More in-depth; more nuanced; with stories that were more enjoyable to read and weren’t covered in horrible advertising.”
I’ve been meaning to research what these look like for some time but haven’t had the time to go through the numbers.
So, what?
Of course, the acid test for public sector comms is so what? Independent media isn’t poised to replace traditional media. There won’t be say, Blog Preston sellers in the streets although many providers have experimented with print. The money isn’t there in the sector squeezed by Google and Facebook but this can be an extra voice in the community.
Yes, they could carry your campaign message but they may well want to ask you questions. Like the reporter v press officer relationship this can ebb and flow.
Clearly, trolling the posts with ‘Yet again’ every time the channel posted yet on the late singer wasn’t having the desired effect. Facebook’s algorithm, it seems, doesn’t register sarcasm.
Three years ago, I started some research to pin down where local newspapers were but never got round to blogging. In short, the research showed Reach plc’s content on local Facebook pages was about 50 per cent local. Othernews companies were around 70 per cent.
Idly, I wondered how this compared to Black Country Live. So I looked at the last 100 posts.
The results, reader, will amaze you.
Just 10 per cent of the content on Black Country Live were local news. Ten per cent. If you count Liam Payne it rises to 30 per cent.
National news is 35 per cent, other West Midlands news is 26 per cent, Staffordshire is four per cent with other is five per cent.
Now, I’ve still got nothing against the admin pumping this out. I’m sure they put the hours in. I’ve also got nothing against Reach’s David Higgerson who commented in detail on my last post. Thank you, David. He mentions some good local reporting. There is. It’s just a shame it is drowned out.
But it did make me think that if the business model is national stories and stories from across the Midlands region then maybe Reach would be better if they dispensed with the idea they cover local news entirely.
A LadBible of regional news is fine but just call it that.
Here’s the list.
The Fieldhouse reopened on October 24 after being closed for three weeks to undergo a full revamp (Restaurant re-opening in Solihull).
Surinder Blah, now 72, abused one girl when she was just seven-years-old (Warwick Crown Court case on Leamington Spa man)
Joel Hislop, 32, was convicted of the serious assault (Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court case)
Joshua Burnham Smith, 18, has been banned from driving for 12 months (Leamington Spa magistrates court case)
This Morning star died aged 31 last Wednesday, in a plunge from a third-floor balcony. (Liam Payne)
Part of the motorway was closed following the incident near junction 8 (West Bromwich incident)
Filming has been taking place in Netherton with the Peaky Blinders movie set to air in late 2025 or early 2026 (Netherton)
New rates for benefits calculated after release of latest inflation figures (National)
Man sentenced and has to stump up nearly £3,000 in fines after he was caught dumping rubbish (Court not identified).
Update for over three million claimants about changes to payments from next year (National)
The M5 northbound is closed between J1 for West Bromwich and J8 for the M6 (West Bromwich)
The ITV The X Factor star, aged 31, died in Buenos Aires in Argentina last week – and Buerk has addressed the coverage on Radio 4 Today.
Nicole, who put together One Direction alongside Simon Cowell during her role as a judge and mentor on ITV The X Factor, has paid tribute to the 31-year-old.
Solihull’s Michael Buerk said he could not understand why Radio 4 and the News at Ten have given it such prominence
Coercive and controlling Paul Andrews beat a woman and was found guilty of sexual assault by digital penetration (Warwick Crown Court)
This Morning star and GB News presenter called time on their long-standing relationship earlier this year – shocking fans and followers. (National)
Kathleen Nicol was rushed to hospital where she sadly died the following day (Stoke-on-Trent)
Rachael Gough, 46, has not been seen for months (Birmingham)
The X Factor star died aged 31 last Wednesday, in a fall from a third floor balcony in Buenos Aires in Argentina where he was staying while supporting former One Direction star Niall Horan on his tour
Convicted sex offender Phidel Gonzales, 36, had to be segregated in prison due to being mistreated by other inmates, a court heard (Birmingham Crown Court)
The childhood sweethearts, who met while at school together in Solihull, named their daughter Mila Rose Grealish (Solihull)
A busy stretch of the motorway between J6 Solihull and J7/7a Coleshill Interchange will be closed, with National Highways saying it would ‘inevitably cause disruption’ (Solihull)
Alex Jones welcomed the Matrix and John Wick star into the BBC studio on Wednesday (October 23) evening. (National)
The BBC star, who is an ITV Lorraine favourite too, was seen throwing up on a spin-off of Big Brother on ITV on Wednesday (October 23) evening in dramatic scenes. (National)
Liam Payne’s girlfriend Kate Cassidy was madly in love with the former One Direction star and has been left heartbroken by his sudden death – here’s what she has said
Ms Reeves is preparing to extend the freeze on income tax thresholds in a move that will raise £7 billion a year, according to reports. (National)
The new Labour Party government has made £1.5bn profit from an unprecedented deal with Octopus and the agreement not only safeguarded jobs and customer service but also filled the public coffers at a crucial time. (National)
Nationwide has urged people impacted by dementia to seek support by visiting in-branch dementia clinics . (National)
DWP has issued a warning to thousands of married women over State Pension back payments after the National Insurance contributions mix-up. (National)
Tony, 60, sent an unkind message about Clare’s presenting ability to her by accident which caused a huge row. (National)
22 Kids and Counting star, who hails from Morecambe, spoke out just hours after happy news their brood is getting bigger. (Morecambe)
EastEnders star opened up on the second episode of new podcast A Gentle Start: The Showercast’ by Timotei this week. (National)
Tyson Fury has revealed his wife Paris suffered a miscarriage the day before his fight with Oleksandr Usyk – and he knew he had lost before even stepping in the ring (Sport)
Workers told major law changes will boost their bank balances (National)
‘Harpsford’ in leafy St Peters Lane in Bickenhill is on the market but anyone taking it on will need more to make it fit for habitation (Solihull)
The body of Hardip Singh Sarai was found inside a derelict building on Soho Hill (Birmingham)
Daiana Gauna spoke out over her conversation with the Wolverhampton star a week on from his death at a Buenos Aires hotel. (Wolverhampton).
The glamourous mum-of-seven often shares snapshots of her life on social media, but fans spotted her wrist was often edited out (National)
Malik is preparing to get back on the road following the tragic death of Liam, who starred on ITV The X Factor alongside him.
Payne’s girlfriend Kate reportedly left the Wolverhampton singer and West Bromwich Albion fan in a Buenos Aires hotel room before his death after likening it to a “hostage situation”.
The cash-strapped authority have sites listed in Edgbaston and Hockley (Birmingham)
Free bus passes and prescriptions for pensioners will be protected in the Budget, which Labour Party Chancellor Rachel Reeves is poised to deliver next week. (National)
The mum of five was quizzed by Louis Theroux on his podcast about her romantic encounters with big celebrity names (National)
The Olympic cycling legend has tragically been given just two to four years to live (National)
Ruth Langsford has praised her son Jack as the “greatest love” of her life, as she continues to navigate through a divorce with Eamonn Holmes after 14 years of marriage (National)
Officers are reviewing CCTV following the incident (Walsall).
The X Factor star’s girlfriend’s pals have spoken out days after Payne died in a hotel balcony fall.
Kate Cassidy and late One Direction star Liam Payne had been in Argentina for more than two weeks before she decided to return home to the US
The dog was tied to a tree behind bushes at the Sutton Coldfield beauty spot, close to the Banners Gate car park. Appeals are being made to find the owner (Sutton Coldfield)
BC Strictly Come Dancing pro dancer Gorka, who shares two children with ITV Emmerdale and Channel 4 Hollyoaks alum Gemma, has defended his fiancee. (National)
It follows a woman reported being sexually assaulted on Corporation Street just after midnight on Thursday, August 22 (Birmingham)
The X Factor star and Wolverhampton singer, who shot to fame as one-fifth of One Direction, died after plunging from a third floor balcony in Buenos Aires in Argentina last Wednesday.
Jia Xin Teo, 22, from Coventry, was found guilty of murder following a trial today (Coventry)
A murder investigation continues following the death of Riyan Ali following a shooting in Alderson Road in Washwood Heath (Birmingham)
New data reveals the roads which have the biggest problems with speeding – with three in the West Midlands making the top five (Walsall)
The X Factor star, aged 31, died in Argentina last Wednesday, following a plunge from a third-floor balcony in the capital city.
Mobile phone footage shows the fireball collision on the Aston Expressway last night (Birmingham)
The BBC Sounds and ITV star’s team at Money Saving Expert have shared details of the Marriage Tax Allowance perk which can hand married couples handy cash. (National)
Piers welcomed Katie Waissel, a former X Factor star, onto his Talk TV Uncensored show on Tuesday night (October 22) where they addressed the tragedy.
Kimberley Baggley was told by doctors that she needed rest and was advised to ‘go on a spa day’ (Stoke-on-Trent)
Staff at Ben’s Fish Bar swiftly intervened when a would-be robber tried to snatch cash at takeaway in Warwick Road, Sparkbrook (Birmingham)
Rhiannon Skye Whyte, 27, died following an incident at Bescot Stadium railway station (Walsall)
This Country star appeared on the ITV panel show, which aired from 12.30pm today Wednesday (October 23). (National)
Jeremy Townend ‘exploited’ the young girl over many months (Cambridge Crown Court).
The city council sold properties in Edgbaston and Hockley (Birmingham)
A proposal had been submitted to convert a four bedroomed property into address for multiple occupation (Birmingham)
Riley Thompson, five, was diagnosed with an optic nerve glioma in February – his mum said that although she was a nurse, she ‘had no idea he was blind in his right eye’ (Glasgow)
Ex-Good Morning Britain star spoke out on Twitter, now X, in the wake of his Uncensored coverage of the Wolverhampton singer sparking fury earlier this week.
Payne, 31, investigators are reportedly hunting for further information on employees of Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires after the ITV The X Factor star’s tragic passing.
New artificial intelligence speed cameras (AI) and devices can “see inside your car” to check whether you are paying proper attention to the road as well as just measuring your speed. (National)
The X Factor star was in talks for a series of dates next year despite concerns from those close to the singer that he wasn’t prepared mentally for the demands of life on the road.
Police are raiding ITV The X Factor star and Wolverhampton singer Payne’s hotel for intel on employees who worked the day of his death.
Nicole Sonahar, aged 28, said she went on the run for two years due to being ‘scared’ in her own accommodation (Birmingham)
The alarm was raised after smoke was seen billowing from an old black ash tree in the tiny hamlet of Marshbrook, near Ludlow, Shrops (Ludlow)
The Brummie chef, known as the Potato Queen, faces tough criticism online (Birmingham)
One person has become a viral sensation after sharing a video of a hidden feature on a car that many people are only just discovering – and it’s very useful indeed (National)
Kelly Jones, aged 42, escaped prison as she was handed a 10-year ban on owning animals for what an RSCPA officer described as ‘terrible suffering’ (Tipton)
The latest estimates show the cost of raising a child from 0 to 18 is £166,000 for a couple, and £220,000 for a lone parent, according to figures released last year. (National)
The X Factor star’s love letters to Kate, who left Argentina in the run-up to his death aged 31 last Wednesday in a hotel balcony fall, have emerged.
There have been reports the Labour Party Chancellor Rachel Reeves could change pensions tax policy in the Budget on October 30. (National)
Bake Off has left fans furious and demanding “justice” after Andy, a popular favourite, was axed following a nightmare episode.(National)
Kate Cassidy has shared a new Instagram post paying tribute to Wolverhampton singer Payne, 31.
The Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery Tearoom reopens on Thursday, October 24 – here’s the menu and prices (Birmingham)
During the latest instalment of The Repair Shop, one guest explained how she was ‘future-proofing’ her life after being diagnosed with a degenerative eye condition. (National)
Tyson Fury has revealed his wife Paris suffered a miscarriage the day before his fight with Oleksandr Usyk – and he knew he had lost before even stepping in the ring (National)
One couple spoke out over the bizarre circumstances they found themselves in, after a lender rejected their mortgage because the money had come from Ireland.(Norwich)
The former glamour model and mother of five sparked concern as she promoted a clothing brand on Instagram (National)
Major changes recommended around driving rules for older people (National)
His family released a statement confirming the tragic news today, October 23 (National)
The mum of five said it was ‘beneficial for her overall well being’ (National)
Former Strictly Come Dancing celebrity contestant, who was paired up with Johannes last year, signed off from a tennis tournament last week. (National)
‘Harpsford’ in leafy St Peters Lane in Bickenhill is on the market but anyone taking it on will need more to make it fit for habitation (Solihull)
The X Factor star’s father has flown to South America, where he is waiting to leave with his son’s body following the tragedy.
Daniel Khalife, 23, was previously based in Stafford (Stafford)
She was heard to say: ‘Everyone has at some stage put something on their CV they regretted putting there and shouldn’t have’ (National)
More than £4,000 has been raised since his death (Wolverhampton)
The museum finally opens to the public after four and a half years on Thursday, October 24 (Birmingham)
An 18-year-old has since been charged in relation to the alleged incident (Walsall)
A ‘suspicious vehicle’ has led to an evacuation of part of Birmingham Airport with some reports of ‘chaos’ while others say ‘everyone’s very unbothered’
The X Factor’s dad Geoff and his bodyguard Paul Higgins have been seen reviewing security footage of Hotel CasaSur Palermo after Liam plunged from a third-floor balcony last Wednesday.
That’s the list.
If you’re reading this in the Black Country I’m going to duck the question as to whether Wolverhampton and Walsall are in the Black Country. There is a hardcore that insists no, they are not.
