Former News of the World journalist turned PR man Kizzi Nkwocha is planning a shake-up of how the media buys its exclusives – with the world’s first story auction site.
Kizzi, who has represented clients as diverse as eight baby mum Mandy Allwood, boxer Chris Eubank and mistresses of President Clinton, is launching a new website which will allow reporters and producers to bid for stories.
kissnsell.co.uk provides news agencies and ordinary people with a market-place for human interest stories and pictures. The site, which he claims aims at the quality rather than quantity end of the market, guarantees sellers anonymity until a winning bidder has been declared.

Private Eye and The Guardian are awarding a £5,000 prize for investigative and campaigning journalism in memory of writer Paul Foot.
Submissions will be accepted for material that has been published in a newspaper, magazine or on a website between September 1, 2005 and August 31, 2006. Individual journalists, teams of journalists or entire publications may enter and entries will be considered for anything from single pieces to entire campaigns. Copies of all relevant cuttings with a covering letter of no more than two A4 pages should be sent with an application form from www.private-eye.co.uk.

Guardian chief executive Carolyn McCall is to offer the opening keynote presentation ‘Competing in the new economy’ at AOP’s flagship annual conference on October 4 at the London Hilton on Park Lane.

More than £1,000 was handed over by the Bucks Free Press for a cycle project to get youngsters on their bikes.
A large crowd welcomed the news that the application by the Speen Playing Field Committee was chosen ahead of dozens of other bids for a grant from the Gannett Foundation, the charitable arm of US media giants Gannett which is the parent company behind Free Press owners Newsquest.

Guernsey Press and Star writer Catherine Kalamis won €5,000 for scooping second prize in the 2006 European School of Oncology’s new Best Cancer Reporter Award, behind winner Sarah Boseley, health editor of The Guardian.
Forty-three journalists were nominated from 14 different European countries.