YOU may have noticed that changes have been made to the look of The Northern Echo this week. They have not been radical - The Great Daily of the North hasn't gone tabloid - but it is a little different.

The aim has been to make the paper look smarter, cleaner, more modern and - most importantly - enable us to pack in more news.

I know from our market research and from my regular meetings with reader panels that a high number of stories per page is considered to be important.

An average of 40 extra news items per day have been published this week as a result of the changes, which means better value for our readers.

Feedback is always valued and some long-standing readers called on Monday to say the type was too small in the "in brief" columns.

The typeface was immediately changed to make the brief items more readable.

There is always some natural resistance to change - even now I get complaints about moving the births, deaths and marriages page - and that must have been ten years ago!

But there has also been positive feedback, including an e-mail from reader Nick Whelan, from Northallerton, who wrote: "I have been away for a week (West of Ireland, well sunburnt) and now when I buy The Northern Echo I am under the distinct impression that you've changed the style of print. If so, thank you, it is so much clearer and easier to read."

To those of you who have noticed the changes and who have taken the trouble to let me know your views - good or bad - your interest is greatly appreciated.

We will continue to review both the look and the content of The Northern Echo and will always listen to what our readers have to say.

THE Northern Echo was at the centre of a national controversy at the weekend after publishing a photograph of baby Leo Blair.

As regular readers will know, it was taken by a teacher from St John's RC Comprehensive School at Bishop Auckland during an awards ceremony at Durham County Cricket Club.

Downing Street reacted angrily to the publication of the picture, saying the Blairs had not given their consent, and the world suddenly went mad.

I appeared on ITN national news, regional TV news and a Sky News team even followed me to a friend's barbecue for a live bulletin.

Although I appreciate and respect the determination of Tony and Cherie Blair to protect their children from publicity, I honestly felt the fuss was caused by an over-reaction by their press advisors.

Thankfully, by Sunday evening, the Prime Minister had issued a statement saying he understood why the picture had been published and that he held no grudge against The Northern Echo.

All that is left is to stress that we published the picture because I felt it was a wonderful boost for a local school to have scooped the world's media. I do not believe it has been harmful in any way, and no financial gain was sought or made.

Hopefully, schools will not be put off from supplying stories and pictures for our weekly School Report page.

l If you would like to raise any issue with Peter Barron, you can contact him at The Northern Echo, Priestgate, Darlington, Co Durham, DL1 1NF, or e-mail pbarron