Newspaper publisher Newsquest is running a competition to send a young sports reporter to the Beijing Olympics. The company has teamed up with the Games’ official sponsor McDonald’s to give one youngster, aged 10 to 14, and a parent the trip of a lifetime to China. The winner will enjoy behind the scenes access and their reports, pictures and videos will be published online on Newsquest web sites.

The National Union of Journalists is opening talks with the Conservative Party after the Tories indicated they wish to start a dialogue. David Cameron has appointed a former Labour MEP Richard Balfe as his envoy to the trade union movement. NUJ general secretary Jeremy Dear said: “We will take the opportunity to set out our position on the future of public service broadcasting, on employment legislation, on copyright, on the safety of journalists, on media ownership and much more.”

The NUJ’s Birmingham and Coventry branch has received an apology from West Midlands Police. The move comes after a news agency photographer lodged a complaint, claiming officers forced him to delete pictures he’d taken outside the Labour conference in March. Chief Insp John Mayne told the branch he had spoken with the offending officers, pointing out they had no power to order deletion of photos. The NUJ said he had also pledged to include clear instructions to officers in future briefings.

Four months on from its launch, MEN Media’s Jobs Mine is continuing to attract more and more job searchers in Greater Manchester, recording more visits to the site than any of its local competitors, according to company figures. It was created as the definitive source of jobs in the Greater Manchester area, bringing together recruitment advertising from MEN Media’s various platforms, including the Manchester Evening News and 20 weekly newspapers.

The Asian Media & Marketing Group has announced that it is now accepting entries for its young journalist of the year award, which is due to be presented at the Leadership & Diversity Awards on September 16. The award will be given to the most talented young journalist from an ethnic minority background and aged under 30. The winner will receive a £500 prize as well as their trophy on the night of the awards.