With the news that Johnston Press is to invest an extra £5m in training and web development this year, we take a closer look at the company’s digital position and the way forward.

From its origins as a publisher of local newspapers, Johnston Press now offers a growing range of media channels which encompass both print and digital media.

A typical 21st century Johnston Press marketplace now offers local newspapers, both paid-for and free weeklies, with 18 daily papers scattered around the UK.

Its companies also publish a number of related print publications including free distribution community newsletters, lifestyle magazines, advertising-only publications covering jobs, property, motor vehicles and general items for sale, and special interest publications aimed at target groups such as students or particular activities, such as angling.

The Johnston Press “newsroom of the future” project in Preston has completely restructured the way that centre gathers, processes and disseminates news and related content, transforming it into a multi-media news operation.

The company hails the results as “hugely encouraging”, with a fourfold increase in unique visitors to the lep.co.uk website.

Based on this success, the Preston model is to be rolled out across all of the group’s core news operations this year, to encourage fast growth in the number of people visiting its local websites.

The Preston newsroom can provide breaking news online and the opportunity to use video and audio, as well as online-only services for topics not normally included in the local newspaper.

These services have covered breaking stories such as the East Sussex firework factory fire which was extensively covered by Johnston’s Lewes website, and coverage of a helicopter disaster in the north west, which was extensively reported on all the company’s websites across the region.

The Preston project also indicates a potential positive from increased interaction between newspaper and website, despite falling hard-copy circulation. The rate of decline in the sale of the Lancashire Evening Post fell from 8.1 per cent in the first half to 6.4 per cent in the second half of 2006, during which time there was a substantial increase in the size of its online audience.

The national picture includes continuing new web offerings and enhancements to existing services. The company wants to make sure its local digital offerings become seen as the first choice destination for all its wide-ranging local content.

To take the programme further forward, comprehensive group-wide training in conjunction with the Department of Journalism at the University of Central Lancashire is being rolled out.

Spending last year at Johnston’s central Digital Publishing operation in Peterborough totalled £3m, and staff numbers there increased by around a third to 38.

The company’s digital operation comprises 317 local websites covering the full geographic spread of its related print publications.

The websites reflect the brands and content of those local newspapers but also offer a greater range of regularly updated local news and information in text, pictures and – increasingly – audio visual formats.

Embedded within them are classified advertising websites operating under the branded “Today” label, which are used consistently both online and in print.

The range of digital services also includes branded local directories, auction services, personal announcements, communities of common interest, blogs and chatrooms. CV-matching service achieved revenues of £2m last year, while online directory service Local Pages achieved revenues of £1.2m.

The latest development is the growing use of mobile communications to extend the range of digital services.

And during the rest of 2007, the group plans to invest “substantially” both to improve data mobility and the ability of staff to meet the digital demands of the future.