A meeting between the NUJ and Government ministers over the rights of press photographers working in public places has been shelved because of the cabinet reshuffle.

Jeremy Dear, general secretary of the National Union of Journalists was due to former Home Office minister Tony McNulty on Tuesday.

Mr McNulty has been moved to the job of Employment Minister so the NUJ is now due to meet with his successor on October 28.

Photojournalists and press agencies can now enter the 2009 World Press Photo competition.

Last year's overall winner was UK photographer Tim Hetherington for his shot of a US marine in Afghanistan while on assignment for Vanity Fair.

The deadline for entries is January 15 and the winners will be announced in February. Both single images and photo stories are eligible.

For more information and an application form visit www.worldpressphoto.org.

Media companies are less willing to fight defamation cases in court and more likely to settle before it ever gets that far.

Research by legal specialists Sweet and Maxwell shows 36 of the 59 reported cases in the 2007/08 legal year ended in settlements and a statement in open court.

Part of the unwillingness to go into battle is blamed on the rise in no-win, no fee Conditional Fee Arrangements.

The Campaign for Freedom of Information is running several half-day training courses in the coming months.

The first - Scottish Information Commissioner Decisions – is in Glasgow on November 10 and Aberdeen the following day.

There are also two half-day courses for Freedom of Information requesters on December 9 in London.

The morning session will focus be an introduction to the Act while the afternoon class will be more advanced.

More information can be obtained by e-mailing admin@cfoi.demon.co.uk or visiting cfoi.org.uk for updates.

Photography firm Fujifilm is now calling for entries to its 2009 Student Awards.

One lucky student snapper will see their winning image on the front cover Rachel Carson's groundbreaking environment book Silent Spring.

The winner will also receive £200 worth of camera film and 25 books from Silent Spring publisher penguin.

Entry is free and the deadline for submissions, which are unlimited, is February 28.

For more information visit fujifilmstudentawards.co.uk.

The Birmingham Mail has launched an online reality-style series about a technophobe family from the city.

The Locke family won a Mail 'Digital Family' competition and will now feature both in print and online as they grapple with the latest technology for the home.

Editor Steve Dyson said: "We are very excited to have the Digital on board. We will be following the family's journey through regular articles in our Family Life section as well as videos, articles and a blog online."