Ben's Column

<table width="100%" height="100%" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr> <td colspan="2" align="left" valign="bottom"> <table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""><tr><td background="../../graphics/180601_pages/pat.jpg"><img src="../../graphics/180601_pages/top.jpg" width="760" height="54" alt="MP for Exeter" usemap="#Map" border="0"></td></tr></table> <map name="Map"> <area shape="rect" coords="38,21,223,37" href="../../biog/" alt="Biography" title="Biography" target="_parent"> </map> </td> </tr> <tr><td align="right" valign="top"> <table summary="" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td width="150" height="341" background="../../graphics/buttons/bottom.jpg" valign="top"> <table summary="" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td> <a href="/" target="_parent"><img src="../../graphics/buttons/home.gif" alt="Home" width="150" height="34" border="0"></a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a href="../../exeter_labour/index/" target="_parent"><img name="Image6" border="0" src="../../graphics/buttons/party.gif" width="150" height="23" alt="Exeter Labour Party"></a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a href="/" target="_parent"><img name="Image7" border="0" src="../../graphics/buttons/speeches.gif" width="150" height="23" alt="Speeches"></a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a href="../../column/" target="_parent"><img border="0" src="../../graphics/buttons/column.gif" width="150" height="24" alt="Ben's Column"></a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a href="../../faqs/" target="_parent"><img border="0" src="../../graphics/buttons/faqs.gif" width="150" height="23" alt="FAQs"></a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a href="/" target="_parent"><img border="0" src="../../graphics/buttons/local.gif" width="150" height="23" alt="Local Information"></a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a href="/" target="_parent"><img border="0" src="../../graphics/buttons/newsletter.gif" width="150" height="23" alt="Newsletter"></a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a href="/" target="_parent"><img src="../../graphics/buttons/links.gif" width="150" height="23" border="0" alt="Links"></a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a href="../../contact/contact/" target="_parent"><img src="../../graphics/buttons/contact.gif" width="150" height="23" alt="Contact" border="0"></a> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </td> <td align="left" valign="top">  <html> <head> <title>Welcome to Ben Bradshaws Website</title> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> </head> <body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000" link="#cc0000" vlink="#cc0000" alink="#cc0000" leftmargin="0" topmargin="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0"> <font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><a name="top"></a></b></font> <table width="90%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="10" summary=""> <tr> <td align="right"><a href="../../column/column/" target="_self"><img alt="Back" src="../../graphics/new_bio/back.gif" width="90" height="22" border="0"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td height="-3"><font size="4" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#CC0000">Express & Echo Centenary — 21 April 2004</font></td> </tr> <tr> <td height="-6"><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">I hope all Echo readers will give a thought to the paper�s centenary heroes competition launched today. <br/> <br/> All of us � and this certainly includes me � come across people every day in Exeter and around who would qualify for the awards. <br/> <br/> It is excellent that our local newspaper is marking its 100th birthday by celebrating the contribution made to our community by local people in a number of important fields.<br/> <br/> People, including politicians, are often critical of the press. I�m sure there are people who don�t always like what the Express and Echo writes. I don�t always like what it writes about me! But that is its job. To hold a mirror up to our local community and to hold decision makers to account. Our public life is better and healthier for it.<br/> <br/> But what the Echo does not do, which the national press and even some local papers do, is go out of its way to do our country, city or our region down. It reports the bad news, but reports the good news too. The outstanding achievements of local people, the improvements in our local schools and health service, the local business success stories. The paper is a welcome and healthy antidote to the doom and gloom that dominates so much of the media. <br/> <br/> But what is most heartening about this paper�s responsible, community spirited approach is that it has worked. The Echo is one of the most successful local papers in the country. Its circulation is rising while most others are falling. <br/> <br/> I admit that when I worked at the Echo it wasn�t as good. In the 1980s local papers tried to boost sales by going down market. Virtually every headline contained �shock�, �horror� or �probe�. It didn�t work. The recent approach has. I only wish more newspapers would learn that it is possible to boost sales by being positive and community spirited.<br/> <br/> So let�s celebrate the community this newspaper serves by finding 10 worthy heroes and heroines. It shouldn�t be difficult.<br/> </font></td> <tr> <td height="-7"><a href="#top"><img alt="Back to Top" src="../../graphics/180601_pages/back_top.gif" width="100" height="27" border="0"></a></td> </tr> </table> </body> </html> </td> </tr> <tr><td> </td> <td align="right" valign="bottom"><table width="100%" height="70" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> <tr><td width="100%" height="70" align="left" valign="bottom"> <font size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="/" target="_parent">Home</a> | <a href="../../exeter_labour/index/" target="_parent">Exeter Labour Party</a> | <a href="/" target="_parent">Speeches</a> | <a href="../../column/" target="_parent">Ben's Column</a> | <a href="../../faqs/" target="_parent">FAQs</a> | <a href="/" target="_parent">Local Information</a> | <a href="/" target="_parent">Newsletter</a> | <a href="/" target="_parent">Links</a> | <a href="../../contact/contact/" target="_parent">Contact</a></font><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br> </font> <font size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#000000">The contents of these pages must not be reproduced by any third parties for commercial gain. <a href="/" target="_blank">Privacy Policy</a><br> </font> <font size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Ben Bradshaw © 2000-2008 Last updated 08/2007</font> <font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="1">| Developed by Websight</font> </td> <td height="70" width="251" align="right" valign="bottom"><img src="../../graphics/180601_pages/ben_logo_new.jpg" alt="" width="251" height="61" border="0" align="right"></td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table>