The Belfast Telegraph website notched up more than four million page views in October - its largest ever monthly traffic figure. Page views on belfasttelegraph.co.uk increased by 54pc year-on-year, rising from 2,838,173 to 4,370,652. Unique users jumped by 80pc, from 554,337 to 996,989.

The strong traffic growth follows a relaunch of the site in July which included new features such as an interactive crime map of Northern Ireland. Image galleries, video, blogs, opinion polls and competitions have all been added to encourage user interaction.

Oxford Mail reporter Emma-Kate Lidbury has left the paper to become a full-time triathlete. Emma-Kate only developed an interest in the sport after signing up to Blenheim Triathlon for a Mail feature in 2005.

After competing at a high-level on the amateur circuit, the 28-year-old has now decided to go professional and is heading to Australia this week do warm weather training until Easter. She has also secured sponsorship terms and launched her own website.

"It's great to now be focusing on triathlon full-time, although it's obviously weird leaving the newsroom behind," she said.

Star Trek actor Patrick Stewart has officially opened a new £5m university centre housing state-of-the-art multimedia education facilities.

The new performing arts and education building is housed at University Centre Oldham, part of the University of Huddersfield, for which the 68-year-old star is chancellor.

The Oldham centre launched its first ever journalism course – a BA (Hons) in Digital Journalism – last month, aiming to offer a mixture of modern and traditional skills for the 21st century journalist.

The Journalists' Charity welcomed a donation of £450 collected at a lunch at the Pens and Lens Club, in Newcastle.

The charity is also aiming to strengthen its position in the North East by setting up a regional branch there. Six members of the Journalists' Charity council went to Newcastle and met local reporters to discuss the plan.

The charity's chairman Robert Warren said: "There was enormous enthusiasm for the plan and there's no reason why our North-Eastern branch shouldn't soon be matching the others in raising money for our work and helping journalists in need. I wish them every success." Journalists' Charity Christmas cards are also due on sale soon.

The Bolton News had a sausage made and named in its honour to mark British Sausage Week. The Bolton News Banger was created by a local butcher using a "top secret combination of spices" according to the Newsquest daily.