Trinity Mirror picks ex-Virgin Media executive to expand regional websites

publishing.

Harvey said the appointment would contribute "significantly" to
Trinity's goal of expanding the group's digital presence in the
regions.

Following a successful experiment in Teesside, Trinity is launching two
further "hyperlocal" websites - typically covering a single postcode -
in Coventry next month and in other parts of the UK later this year.

Trinity launched its hyperlocal initiative last April and now has sites
covering all 23 "TS" postcode areas in the distribution area for its
Teesside Evening Gazette title.

Last June, the group began a major upgrade of its regional websites,
starting with the Liverpool Echo and the Liverpool Daily Post, followed
by the Birmingham Mail and Birmingham Post in January and February
respectively.

Most recently, it relaunched the Coventry Telegraph website, introducing
a new nostalgia section with old pictures from readers and its own
archive, which dates back 110 years.

In its end-of-year results, published in February, Trinity said it
expected ad revenues for January and February to be down 3% year on
year. On a regional level, it said ad revenues fell by 4% in January,
but by only 2% in February.

Its 2007 digital ad revenues, however, which now account for 3.7% of the
group's total revenue and 6.7% of its total advertising revenue, rose by
35.6% to £34.3m.