Thursday was a good news day for the Edinburgh Evening News, as it published a special issue dedicated entirely to positive news.

The title was renamed the Edinburgh Evening Good News for the day, and aimed to cheer up readers and celebrate the good things about Edinburgh and the Lothians.

The issue included articles about a bid to ‘twin’ Rio de Janeiro and Leith, a hairdressing salon offering a free shot of vodka to every customer, and how a record number of holidaymakers were expected to pass through Edinburgh Airport’s gates this weekend.

The news that up to 300 new jobs are to be created in west Edinburgh when B&Q opens a new warehouse store was also reported, along with details about local Any Dream Will Do runner-up Keith Jack signing a record deal with Louis Walsh.

The paper’s Life & Style section included a ‘How to Cheer Yourself Up’ guide, and editor John McLellan said they had fallen lucky with a big story revealing that a city tram scheme had finally been given the go-ahead by the Scottish Executive.

John said: “Of course that is subjective, some people might think the scheme is a bad idea, but that is not our position.”

And he said he was pleased with the way the issue had turned out.

He said: “There has been a lot of interest in it and it has got people talking.

“It has raised the profile of the paper and the issue of the role of local newspapers so it has been a positive exercise.

“There is nothing in the paper that wouldn’t already appear, we have just gathered it all together and made sure that nothing negative slipped through.” Do you have a story about the regional press?
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