So while I continue to take a break from blogging here, I’ve started a new project: ‘Manchester Wire is a website that hopes to keep you informed about the best things Manchester and the surrounding area has to offer.’ It’s edited by Ruth Allan and myself, with writing by us and a crack team of contributors, and we’re aiming to build it up in to a practical and pretty comprehensive resource for events and developments in the city.

Since soft-launching last Friday, we’ve featured gig and club previews, theatre reviews, art festivals, exhibition and venue openings – plus some of the more underground happenings in Manchesters, such as a Subbuteo club and a zine library.

Take a look at manchesterwire.co.uk – we’re keen to hear what you think, and about what you think we should be covering. We’re also on Twitter (@mcrwire) and Facebook.

Completely unrelated to anything, but I just glanced at BBC Manchester‘s latest headlines, which are displayed on Mancubist’s sidebar:

• Man dies three days after attack
• Hospital gun threat man is jailed
• Officer injured in robber arrest
• Police name family killed on M6
• Man guilty over birthday murder
• Stab man guilty of manslaughter

Is it too much to ask for a good news story just once in a while? Apparently so…

It’s normally subjects such as congestion charges that get Mancunians’ temperatures rising. But a recent development in Manchester radioland has proven to be just as controversial. Here’s what Karolyn Judge wrote in Metro a couple of weeks back:

For the past two years, Oldham-based radio station, 96.2 The Revolution, has had an alternative music policy. Listeners could expect music from bands such as Fleet Foxes and Herman Dune, shows dedicated to genres including Northern Soul, rock and old-school house, and locally based presenters such as The Smiths’ ex-drummer Mike Joyce.

In the past week, however, Wham!, Justin Timberlake and Elton John have popped up on the playlist. The change may be due to a decline in listening figures and rumours are circulating that the station has new part owners. And we’re not the only one’s wondering what’s going on. A spokesperson from The Revolution admitted to Metro: ‘We don’t know what’s happening.’ This doesn’t bode well, does it?

Turns out that local TV and radio presenter Steve Penk bought the Rev out and has subsequently completely reprogrammed its schedule – including a weekday breakfast show hosted by him (so expect plenty more where this came from), and a Sunday show featuring, er, Pat Sharp.

The music policy has changed completely too, from interesting, radio-friendly indie (the kind of stuff many hoped XFM Manchester would bring) to pointless drivel. Penk, whose name is dropped practically between every track, cites listening figures plummeting from 80,000 to 17,000 as the reason for the change – but thousands of listeners now feel alienated.

To bring the story fully up to date, How-Do.co.uk reports that several of the Rev’s former presenters – including familiar names from the local music scene such as Mike Joyce, Mani and Martin Coogan – have formed a breakaway group, codenamed Radio Republic. They’re currently looking for investors to help get their phoenix out of the flames.

UPDATE: As pointed out in a comment, Radio Republic now has its own website, http://www.revradio.co.uk, with a test broadcast. It’s hosted by Manchester Radio Online.

I’m a big fan of Salford’s independent magazine, having originally spotted its existence way back in 2006 and followed its progress ever since.

Last year it was shortlisted for the prestigious Paul Foot Award for Campaigning Journalism and earlier this year it was named the north west’s Magazine of the Year at the inaugural How-Do Awards – not bad for a part-time concern.

Now it’s celebrating its second full year with a bumper issue number eight. This 100-page special revisits some of the magazine’s previous stories, plus there are fresh profiles on locally born and educated actors Robert Powell and Maxine Peake, as well as features on job prospects at MediaCity:UK and ‘day trips in Salford’. Now there’s a thought…

You can find a copy in several good places in Salford (The King’s Arms, for example) or you can guarantee receiving a copy by subscribing (£20 for six issues). They’ve also just introducted a digital subscription, offering PDF copies of four issues for just £6.