A regional newspaper has upped its coverage of local councils by creating a daily page dedicated to news from local authorities on its patch.

The Southern Daily Echo’s Civic News page features news from Southampton City Council and Hampshire County Council but also covers the borough and district councils that operate beneath them.

Editor Ian Murray said: “Adding the Civic News page has upped our coverage of councils in the area, it’s not simply collecting content that would have gone in the paper elsewhere.

“We are conscious that we have two large and powerful councils in our area but we must also maintain coverage of the smaller councils which also make important decisions that affect people’s lives.”

Public relations consultant Vikki Rimmer has been named Freelancer of the Year for 2009 in an annual set of awards organised by media recruitment company Xchangeteam.

Vikki beat more than 200 entrants and 48 finalists to take the overall title, having also been victorious in the PR, Communications & Public Affairs category earlier in the evening.

She won the award for her work for Ed Stafford and his bid to become the first man to walk the length of the Amazon River, from source to sea, to raise awareness of climate change.

Said Vikki: “I’m especially pleased to win for my client Ed who’s still endeavouring to walk the length of the Amazon river. Ed and I exchanged emails and he’s read all about the awards online from the jungle.”

A local political activist has chosen a North London weekly to launch her bid to unseat a former Labour minister at the general election.

Archant London’s Hampstead and Highgate Express exclusively revealed that Tamsin Omond would be standing against Glenda Jackson among others in the Hampstead and Kilburn seat after a mysterious local poster campaign.

Miss Omond was one of five ‘Plane Stupid’ protesters who snuck onto the roof of Parliament in February 2008 to protest against plans to expand Heathrow Airport.

In an exclusive interview with the title, 25-year-old Tamsin said: “I want to light a fire among every different group in this constituency and make them realise this is a place they have control of.”

A regional newspaper journalist is highlighting the value of Freedom of Information legislation to the local press in a regular blog.

David Higgerson, head of multimedia for Trinity Mirror Regionals, publishes a weekly post called FoI Friday highlighting FoI stories which have appeared in local newspapers during the week.

Items flagged up recently include a Liverpool Echo story on thefts from hospitals, the Nottingham Evening Post’s exposure of its local council’s staff phone bill, and a Sunday Sun report on the financial impact of potholes.

The boss of newspaper editorial production system Tera is running the London marathon for charity.

Tera UK Managing director David Howes is competing in the race on behalf of the Peoples’ Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA). Visit his Just Giving page here.