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    <title>Darlington and Stockton Times | Leader</title>
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    <pubDate>Tue, 18 Jun 2013 07:59:12 +0100</pubDate>
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           <title>Give the market room to thrive</title>
           
           <link>http://www.darlingtonandstocktontimes.co.uk/comment/leader/10486234.Give_the_market_room_to_thrive/?ref=rss</link>
           
           
           <description><![CDATA[
  THE 150th anniversary of Darlington Covered Market has rightly been celebrated in style. The Victorian-themed entertainment, including music, magic and fancy dress, was well supported by residents and visitors alike. In these days of internet shopping, out-of-town retail parks and huge supermarkets selling everything from groceries to clothing, the continued success of the market is gratifying.
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           <pubDate>Fri, 14 Jun 2013 14:28:35 +0100</pubDate>
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           <title>Devolve power to our region</title>
           
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  NEWSPAPERS are naturally competitive. We still take a certain amount of pride in our efforts to out-do each other, perhaps through a story that no other rival has, or the relative strength of our circulations.
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           <pubDate>Fri, 07 Jun 2013 16:21:51 +0100</pubDate>
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           <title>Courts cannot fall into private hands</title>
           
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  AS another round of spending cuts is being argued over in Whitehall, all budgets bar health, education and foreign aid are coming under renewed pressure.
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           <pubDate>Fri, 31 May 2013 17:39:25 +0100</pubDate>
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           <title>Poll results hide the true picture</title>
           
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  THE reporting of the local election results nationally was rather at odds with the experience in the North East and North Yorkshire. After all the bally-hoo and talk of a sea-change in British politics, the political map in our part of the country has changed barely a jot.
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           <pubDate>Fri, 10 May 2013 11:37:26 +0100</pubDate>
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           <title>Thanks to all who go the extra mile</title>
           
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  THIS weekend, one of the major events in the North Yorkshire calendar – the Dales Festival of Food and Drink – takes place. Depending on our fickle weather, about 15,000 people will attend over the three days. One would think this was a well established event, and yet it is only in its 12th year. The Bishop Auckland Food Festival last month is even younger.
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           <pubDate>Fri, 03 May 2013 14:38:44 +0100</pubDate>
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           <title>Questions that need an answer</title>
           
           <link>http://www.darlingtonandstocktontimes.co.uk/comment/leader/10370671.Questions_that_need_an_answer/?ref=rss</link>
           
           
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  THIS year’s county council elections will be different in as much as the traditional offering of candidates will be supplemented by a significant increase in the number of UKIP would-be councillors in wards usually occupied by Conservatives.
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           <pubDate>Mon, 22 Apr 2013 10:09:32 +0100</pubDate>
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           <title>Thatcher legacy remains divisive</title>
           
           <link>http://www.darlingtonandstocktontimes.co.uk/comment/leader/10352637.Thatcher_legacy_remains_divisive/?ref=rss</link>
           
           
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  ASSESSMENTS of the character of Margaret Thatcher and her contribution to British history this week have dwelt upon they way she almost single-handedly steered the country in a different direction and, in doing so, attracted equal amounts of wondrous acclaim or implacable hatred.
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           <pubDate>Fri, 12 Apr 2013 14:21:31 +0100</pubDate>
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           <title>More to pay but more to enjoy in the Darlington &amp; Stockton Times</title>
           
           <link>http://www.darlingtonandstocktontimes.co.uk/comment/leader/10338388.More_to_pay_but_more_to_enjoy_in_the_Darlington___Stockton_Times/?ref=rss</link>
           
           
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  FIRST, the bad news. From next week, the Darlington & Stockton Times will rise in price to £1. Yes, that is an increase of 25p, or a third. By any measure, it is a substantial rise, the biggest since the newspaper’s cover price increased from 25p to 35p in the early 1990s. Why are we doing this and why now? While the D&S remains one of the strongest and best selling weekly newspapers in England, as an editor in 2013 I face an uncomfortable choice. In the face of an increasingly fragmented media landscape and declining classified advertising revenues which at one time used to, in effect, subsidise papers like the D&S, do I ask the readers to pay more, advertisers, or do I cut costs? I have decided to take the first option. In the current climate, asking our advertisers to pay substantially more is not very attractive and cutting costs will simply harm our editorial service to North Yorkshire and County Durham. Journalism costs money and in 2013 those costs have to be born equitably between readers and advertisers. Now the good news. In return for the extra 25p, we will provide a substantial bigger and better newspaper. There will be more local news and by combining our two Yorkshire editions – Richmond & Dales, and Hambleton – our readers will enjoy a broader geographical range of news. We are also including Stokesley, Great Ayton and Hutton Rudby in our new North Yorkshire edition, a response to readers’ views that these communities naturally belong in North Yorkshire rather than Cleveland. We are also improving our features section. Weekend Times is renamed simply Weekend and goes up in size by four pages. We are using the extra space to expand our What’s On service, include new features on local food producers and pubs, puzzles and nostalgia. We will also include two events a week in the ever-popular Social & Personal section. Our Property section will also be bigger. Overall, the size of the paper will increase by an average of 24 pages a week from the current 80-88. I trust you will feel this represents good value for your £1. £1 buys very little these days. A chocolate bar, yes, but only half of the cheapest coffee in Starbucks, one tenth of the price of an adult cinema ticket, a third of a pint of beer, one sixth of a portion of fish and chips (including the paper it’s wrapped in, of course). We are proud of our plans for the improved Darlington & Stockton Times. We look forward to introducing a better newspaper to you next week. Malcolm Warne – Editor malcolm.warne@dst.co.uk
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           <pubDate>Sat, 06 Apr 2013 12:45:12 +0100</pubDate>
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           <title>More to pay but more to enjoy in the Darlington &amp; Stockton Times</title>
           
           <link>http://www.darlingtonandstocktontimes.co.uk/comment/leader/10338352.More_to_pay_but_more_to_enjoy_in_the_Darlington___Stockton_Times/?ref=rss</link>
           
           
           <description><![CDATA[
  FIRST, the bad news. From next week, the Darlington & Stockton Times will rise in price to £1. Yes, that is an increase of 25p, or a third. By any measure, it is a substantial rise, the biggest since the newspaper’s cover price increased from 25p to 35p in the early 1990s. Why are we doing this and why now? While the D&S remains one of the strongest and best selling weekly newspapers in England, as an editor in 2013 I face an uncomfortable choice. In the face of an increasingly fragmented media landscape and declining classified advertising revenues which at one time used to, in effect, subsidise papers like the D&S, do I ask the readers to pay more, advertisers, or do I cut costs? I have decided to take the first option. In the current climate, asking our advertisers to pay substantially more is not very attractive and cutting costs will simply harm our editorial service to North Yorkshire and County Durham. Journalism costs money and in 2013 those costs have to be born equitably between readers and advertisers. Now the good news. In return for the extra 25p, we will provide a substantial bigger and better newspaper. There will be more local news and by combining our two Yorkshire editions – Richmond & Dales, and Hambleton – our readers will enjoy a broader geographical range of news. We are also including Stokesley, Great Ayton and Hutton Rudby in our new North Yorkshire edition, a response to readers’ views that these communities naturally belong in North Yorkshire rather than Cleveland. We are also improving our features section. Weekend Times is renamed simply Weekend and goes up in size by four pages. We are using the extra space to expand our What’s On service, include new features on local food producers and pubs, puzzles and nostalgia. We will also include two events a week in the ever-popular Social & Personal section. Our Property section will also be bigger. Overall, the size of the paper will increase by an average of 24 pages a week from the current 80-88. I trust you will feel this represents good value for your £1. £1 buys very little these days. A chocolate bar, yes, but only half of the cheapest coffee in Starbucks, one tenth of the price of an adult cinema ticket, a third of a pint of beer, one sixth of a portion of fish and chips (including the paper it’s wrapped in, of course). We are proud of our plans for the improved Darlington & Stockton Times. We look forward to introducing a better newspaper to you next week. Malcolm Warne – Editor malcolm.warne@dst.co.uk
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           <pubDate>Sat, 06 Apr 2013 10:59:16 +0100</pubDate>
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           <title>Flights of fancy need grounding</title>
           
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  THE thorny issue of Durham and the Tees Valley’s airport came to the fore again this week with yet another prominent individual in the industry questioning its chances of survival as a passenger airport.
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           <pubDate>Fri, 05 Apr 2013 11:43:17 +0100</pubDate>
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