Dunkley Gyimah has developed a website to showcase the work of some of these video reporters, who he has named Solojos. The site even includes tips for reporters interested in making the leap from regional press to roving video journalist.

According to the site, the program will allow trainees to "to shoot and produce TV stories like broadcasters."

As for their sponsors, the regional newspapers from which the journalists are drawn, Dunkley Gyimah says they are "gearing up for the biggest radical change to their businesses... It is a quiet revolution with huge ramifications in a broadband world."

Following training, their "online sites will transform; print stories will be complemented with video features."

Dunkley Gyimah's certainly on the ball: He recently hosted a "citizen journalism" conference at London's Apple Store on Regent Street (pics and transcript here). Inspirational stuff, including his challenge to "businessman or women with a bent for risks" to get involved in setting up video news channels to distribute the work of Britain's growing band of camcorder reporters.

Will anyone run with it? The regional press interest in developing their staff skills base is promising. Video podcasts have made it easier than ever for amateurs with cameras to get their work to a wider audience - and the prospect of individual v-bloggers or video journalists pooling their resources to create an agency is not a great leap of the imagination beyond that.

The US might have a distant lead in the technology, but recent evidence suggests that the Brits are doing the groundwork for the next media wave.

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