Statistics released by the Internet Advertising Bureau have revealed that advertising spend on the internet has now overtaken that in the national newspapers, and, with a total of two billion pounds spent on web advertising in 2006, the gap with TV advertising is closing too.

As a sign of the times, the company which owned the Oxford Courier and Oxford Journal has gone into administration. Clive Everitt, of Oxford accountants Shaw Gibbs, has been appointed administrator of Courier Newspapers (Oxford) Ltd.

Under a so-called "pre-pack" agreement, publishing manager Howard Taylor has a new company, Biz Publishing Ltd, which has bought the goodwill and assets of Courier Newspapers (Oxford) Ltd. Howard said: "The key thing is that all of our titles are continuing to be published."

In further bad news for print advertisers, Johnston Press has seen advertising revenues fall by 2.3 per cent in the first five months of the year, the group has said today. Johnston Press plc is one of the top three largest local newspaper publishers in the UK.

In a trading update, it said that the rate of decline has continued to diminish despite a "very slow" Easter holiday period and the adverse impact of parliamentary elections in Scotland, but that property had remained the only print category of advertising to grow year-on-year.

It said the overall decline in employment had slowed, with some regions seeing growth, and whilst revenues continued to fall in motors, display and other classifieds categories the declines were less than those experienced in the second half of last year. This seismic shift has been felt in the marketing industry as well, as the "traditional" media. With more and more clients asking for online campaigns, a greater slice of the marketing pie is spent online. These campaigns tend to be very cost-effective and measurable in the client's eyes.

It is my belief, however, that with the competition for the millions of customers online, a good online campaign needs to be publicised in order to drive customers to your online offering. PR campaigns targeting traditional print and broadcast media still have an influential effect on reaching millions. Due to the competition with the internet, there are more opportunities for cost-effective campaign deals to be made too.

A blend of traditional media that is supported by a viral, blog or podcast campaign can be a powerful combination.

The media frenzy around the launch of the controversial 2012 logo has been made far worse thanks to  poor PR handling.

Leading the team at Wolff Olins - the brand consultancy paid £400,000 for designing the logo that triggered online petitions and a motion from MPs - was the Chairman, Brian Boylan, who has remained silent on the subject.

The BBC and Guardian led the charge to attack the 2012 organisers, soon followed by a full-on assult from the Daily Mail.

The speed of the coverage from the BBC and the Guardian has led other media and PROs to question whether the Logo was leaked to those publications. This is impossible to prove and this fact was disputed in the blog of Alex, Head of New Media at London 2012.

Admittedly, the 2012 logo was launched into a sceptical public and media environment following the dramatic increase in the budget for the Olympics and the lack of consultation felt by Londoners. However this was a perfect opportunity to engage the public and get the country behind the Games rather than the "Brand".

Once Joe Public and the media found out about the huge cost of this logo, there needed to be a full PR strategy to go with it. The brand consultants and 2012 committee should have outlined the focus groups, surveys and the research behind the logo and why it was appealing to younger people and Londoners alike.

I personally think that the 2012 committee missed a trick by not getting East London schools to submit their ideas and get the brand consultancy to add their take on what young people think about the Games and how Olympic heroes inspire them.

Instead the campaign focused on vague statements and marketing jargon, which only disenfranchised the public and enraged the media further.

"This is the vision at the very heart of our brand," said London 2012 Organising Committee Chairman, Seb Coe.

"It will define the venues we build and the Games we hold and act as a reminder of our promise to use the Olympic spirit to inspire everyone and reach out to young people around the world." [Source BBC]

Finally, the biggest no-no of all was not getting Wolf Olins' point across, leaving a vacuum in the media.  A story of such huge interest is unlikely to go away soon.  The lack of an opinion from Boylan has allowed the media to land unchallenged punches, such as this by the Guardian.