A selection of community organisations are being invited to learn a mix of traditional journalism and digital skills in order to form an innovative online news hub. 

The Midlands-based organisations are being taught how to pair traditional media methods with new digital skills under the guidance and mentoring of some of the region's leading media specialists. The project, entitled News Dash, was devised by Birmingham digital agency Meshed Media, and will create an online news hub reporting from the community. Joanna Geary, web development editor at The Times, will be demonstrating how to find professional news angles and the final content will be included in a specially produced newspaper given out at the Hello Digital Festival in October.  

The project is currently searching for a selection of West Midlands charities and community organisations to take part. In order to apply for this programme organisations must be available between 16th and 27th August and explain, in no more than 100 words, the difference that taking part in this project would make to them.  To apply, go to http://newsdash.co.uk/get-involved

Chris Unitt, Director of Meshed Media said: "Following the success of Film Dash we thought it would be nice to build on the theme but focus instead on less web-savvy groups. All participants will walk away with a much better understanding of online skills and how to harness them to their advantage, which is an essential tool for any organisation in this new digital age."

News Dash is produced by Meshed Media and supported by Talk About Local, Social Media Surgeries and the Birmingham Social Media Café. The project is also supported by Arts Council England and Birmingham City Council as part of Say Hello, a programme of projects for Hello Digital designed to break new ground for participatory work around digital media.