Will others follow where Trinity Mirror has led?

A certain amount flak will inevitably be flying in the direction of Trinity Mirror over its decision to take the Birmingham Post weekly. Indeed the NUJ's Chris Morley, who seems to reserve his most colourful invective for matters affecting Trinity Mirror Midlands, has already described it as "the corporate equivalent of self-harm."

But although the move will win the company few friends among journalists, some might applaud Trinity for having bitten the bullet over reducing the frequency of a loss-making title while most other publishers have merely talked about it.

Since the start of the downturn in the autumn of 2008, there have been numerous wild predictions about the industry's future, with claims that up to 650 local titles would close and many regional dailies would become weeklies.

So far, though, only two regional publishers have actually gone down that route - GMG Regional Media by taking the Reading Evening Post twice-weekly, and Trinity Mirror with yesterday's decision.

With a circulation down to 12,076 according to the most recent ABC figures, the Post was always a likely candidate for change of frequency.

Now the deed has finally been done, the big question in the industry will be whether this will prove to be a one-off - or alternatively, whether other publishers will now follow where Trinity and GMG have led.