Why all the bad news?

I was persuaded to take a subscription to the Evening Advertiser three months ago, but find that tolerable articles on the inside pages are let down by the exaggerated, scandalous, meretricious and downright depressing nature of your headline stories.

How can anyone get a fair impression of Swindon if its main newspaper bangs on day after day with the same tales of paedophiles, crying beggars, heroin addicts, and unsafe streets.

Wiltshire is on record as the safest county in England

It has many active social, artistic and political groups who should be given space, and a council whose cuts and inactions could fill your front page every day.

Please try to inform us on what's happening rather than stirring up hysteria about a few unfortunate individuals who need help from society rather than being demonised.

Gerry Lawson,

Bradley Road, Swindon

We do shout about the great people we have in this town

"Though it be honest, it is never good to bring bad news "

According to some fella called Bill Shakespeare, this is what Cleopatra told the messenger who advised her that her love Mark Antony had done the dirty and married Octavia.

She also suggested that, for being the bearer of such bad news, the messenger should also be whipped by wire, stewed in brine, scalped and finally killed.

Now I'll assume that Gerry Lawson won't go as far as wishing that on me, but is he right about the "depressing" nature of my paper?

The Adver belongs in a media business which is often the bearer of bad news. I know full well how Cleopatra's messenger felt.

But if we are to be honest, as Cleopatra suggests, we must report the good and the bad. It just depends how we handle the bad.

I would start by refuting any claims that any of our coverage is "exaggerated, scandalous and meretricious". We don't go in for distortion or superficial stories as readers will easily see through this and find other ways of spending their 35p. And we steer well clear of scandal.

Mr Lawson's view is that the "downright depressing nature of your headline stories bang on day after day with the same tales of paedophiles, crying beggars, heroin addicts and unsafe streets".

Well we don't bang on day after day with these stories but there are times when these are the biggest news of the day. And the fact that Wiltshire is on record as the safest county in England makes some of our crime-related stories all the more shocking and more likely to grab the headlines.

But, I'll dig deeper into Mr Lawson's examples.

We did make a headline story about paedophile Craig Taylor, a man twice locked up for sexually abusing young boys, who came to Swindon and started again.

This was not done to be depressing or scandalous or to "stir up hysteria about a few unfortunate individuals". We wanted to return the spotlight to an important issue what happens to paedophiles when they return to the community in the hope that a workable solution may prevent future children in Swindon becoming victims.

I would say the same for our articles on crying beggar Wayne Rose. Thanks to our coverage Rose has been banned from parts of the town meaning that less people including visitors using the train station will fall victim to his scam.

These articles aren't about NEGATIVE headlines, they are about taking POSITIVE steps to make our town better. It was the same reason why last week we ran a three-page special report on graffiti. Not to make us all feel down but in a bid to catch those responsible and improve the town by putting an end to this vandalism blight.

As editor of the Adver I will do whatever I can to shout about what makes Swindon and its people so great whether in the pages of the paper or by acting as an ambassador for the town.

Surely, if anyone did want to get a fair impression of Swindon from the Adver they would need to read it from cover to cover?

In that way they would learn about the wonderful events which bring people together from small community gatherings to big festivals such as the town's "Lit Fest" which we covered in great depth every day for a fortnight.

They would learn about the personal and professional achievements of our readers, the schools which are doing so well, the businesses which are booming, and all the other "good news" stories we run every day.

How depressing is the double page spread of the latest Star Wars film today, the science fair at Holy Family Primary School, the 100th birthday of Joyce Pilot and the look back at the "Shirting Girls"?

On page 17 we are even asking all our readers to give us a smile!

I say to Mr Lawson you cannot judge the Adver either by its "downright depressing" headline articles or the "tolerable" articles on the inside pages.

You have to weigh up our coverage as a whole and take the rough with the smooth, the good news and bad.

As Cleopatra said, we're only being honest and informing readers as Mr Lawson suggests of what's happening.

Come and tell us your stories

IF you have a story to tell and want to see it in the paper, come down and meet our reporters every day this week.

Our award-winning team will be at the Brunel Centre until Friday so go down and give them your scoop.

Alfie the Advertiser Alligator will also be doing the rounds, handing out goodies to our younger readers.

The meet and greet event has been organised to mark Local Newspaper Week, which runs until May 22 and celebrates the healthy state of the regional press.

This success is enjoyed by the Adver which is read by more than 63,500 people every day.

Editor Mark Waldron said: "Our reporters want to hear your stories. It's an excellent chance for you to get something off your chest and into your local paper.

"Local Newspaper Week is a chance to make a song and dance about the healthy state of the regional press and we would like as many of our readers as possible to come down and celebrate this success with us."

You can meet these reporters and columnists between noon and 2pm:

Today: Columnist Shirley Mathias and health reporter Kevin Shoesmith.

Tomorrow: Columnist Michelle Tompkins and reporter Gareth Bethell.

Friday: Columnist Tom Morton, sports writer Jon Ritson and political reporter Isabel Field.

Alfie, our lovable Adver mascot will be in the Brunel Centre at the following times this week: Today 9.30am to 11.30am; tomorrow 2pm to 4pm and Friday 9.30am to 11.30am.