i Assistant Editor's Letter: Speedy i editors? Nope, i pigeons

Modern technology is a wonderful thing. It helps us stay in touch and watch news unfold – not to mention saving lives. But most of all, for me at least, it makes it much easier to put the paper together. In days gone by (a bit before my time) editors used to scribble on handwritten manuscripts.

Why do I tackle this subject now? Earlier this week I received an email wondering how we managed to put the paper together in such a short time. More specifically, Anna Fenn wanted to know how a picture of the iQuiz final on Wednesday night managed to make it in to her paper, bought “at 7am from the back of beyond, almost in the land of ‘here be dragons’” on Thursday morning.

So, just for you Anna, I’ll let you in on a secret – as long as you don’t tell anyone else. The thing is, we have a huge loft here at i Towers, in which we keep lots of pigeons. Each time a reporter or photographer goes out on an assignment, they take one with them. I’m afraid I can’t tell you what we feed them to make them fly so fast, but it took our one about five minutes to get from Birmingham to London on Wednesday night.

But, to be serious for a minute, if you want a part of the action don’t miss our report on page 10 – we are launching a two-year youth training programme, backed by the Government, to help those aged 19-25 without a university degree to pursue a career in the media. The scheme, in association with our sister papers The Independent and Evening Standard, includes specialised courses and hands-on training in the i office.

You may have noticed, Anna, that you have a personalised copy of the paper today. If you know anyone else that wants one, or want to meet the pigeons, just let me know.

Twitter.com: @jonesrhodri