Anyone who has even a passing interest in Welsh politics will have come across the complaint about “a weak Welsh media” (in the English language) at least a couple of times.
The complaints range from a basic lack of coverage of Welsh current affairs (usually aimed at the UK media), coverage of the wrong things, disregarding the realities of devolution or coverage that doesn’t go into enough depth or doesn’t challenge enough. It’s a broken record.
I looked at the media and the implications of independence (and devolution) in 2019. It seems every four-to-six months or so “the state of the Welsh media” rises to the top of the agenda briefly before sinking back down.
Instead of fully re-writing it, it’s worth reviewing how things have changed (or not) since then – and there have been some significant developments in the last three years or so that have been cause for both optimism and pessimism; it depends on how you want to interpret it.
With the doom and gloom out of the way, it’s worth being a bit more positive – and there have been positive developments in the Welsh media amidst all the negative commentary.
If you’re willing to put the advertorials, press releases and rage bait to one side, the quality of journalism in Wales is often no better or worse than elsewhere. If you want to read “serious news” about Wales, it’s there. You just probably have to work a lot harder to find it than you should do because of how algorithms work and editorial decisions on what leads.
“By expanding gradually rather than trying to do everything in one go, (Nation.Cymru) created solid foundations for themselves, building up that audience trust and brand (and supporter/donation base) that any such outlet needs to sustain itself. In doing so they’ve carved out a niche as the primary nationalist-leaning news site that will be difficult for any other outlet to replicate.”
We’re slowly but surely starting to see more diverse voices in the Welsh media – particularly women. It’s long overdue and maybe not moving as quickly as it should, but it’s getting there.
The likes of Voice.Wales have played a big part in giving a platform to those who get overlooked by the mainstream media and it also challenges decisions made by those in power. It’s by far the most underrated of the newer online news sites, while the Herald.Wales coverage is often very broad and touches on many different topics.
The one standout success story is, without question, Nation.Cymru. The brief from the start has been to create a “National News Service” and I’d say they’ve gone a long way towards achieving that.
Yes, criticism of the rage bait and recycling stories from other sources is perhaps valid – and it’s hard to see how they can sustain themselves on that kind of thing in the long term. Putting that to the side, their feature pieces are often excellent – toe-to-toe with anything the broadsheets can put out – and Nation.Cymru has become a source many people go to first.
By expanding gradually rather than trying to do everything in one go, they’ve created solid foundations for themselves, building up that audience trust and brand (and supporter/donation base) that any such outlet needs to sustain itself. In doing so they’ve carved out a niche as the primary nationalist-leaning news site that will be difficult for any other outlet to replicate.
“These (podcasts) – often far more laid-back, far less scripted and with guests less likely to be as stage-managed or well briefed beforehand – add far more to political debate than pantomime shows like ‘Question Time’.
“….The thing I would be concerned about going forward is that all of these written and spoken platforms end up being as much about patronage and not crossing the wrong person as other sections of the media and civic life in Wales – particularly as public money is being spent on them now.”
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Additionally, the BBC-backed Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) has led to a noticeable uptick in reporting from local government. This isn’t all positive as it’s effectively doing the job that used to be done by fully-staffed local papers – but the alternative is no local government news at all.
My understanding is that seven hyperlocal titles in Wales have benefited from the £100,000 hyperlocal news fund established as part of the Labour-Plaid Cymru agreement. The likes of the Caerphilly Observer, Wrexham.com and Deeside.com have led the charge and continue to play a role largely vacated by the local print press or major news conglomerates.
There are also examples of “phoenix publications” coming through too that succeed former newspapers such as the Glamorgan Star (founded by former Glamorgan Gem staff).
Another noticeable development is the growth of podcasts. In addition to pre-eminent ones such as Desolation Radio, the likes of BBC’s Walescast and Hiraeth have grown and add more rounded in-depth coverage of Welsh current affairs. It sounds (excuse the pun) as though Huw Marshall, previously of The National, is seeking to go down the same route.
These platforms – often far more laid-back, far less scripted and with guests less likely to be as stage-managed or well briefed beforehand – add far more to political debate than pantomime shows like Question Time.
The risk is that the only people willing to listen to other people talk about politics for an hour or so are those who are already interested in politics in the first place, attracting guests – especially politicians – who like the sound of their own voices a bit too much.
The thing I would be concerned about going forward is that all of these written and spoken platforms end up being blunted by patronage and avoid crossing the wrong person as other sections of the media and civic life in Wales – particularly as public money is being spent on them now. So it ends up becoming a press junket/circuit with the same people popping up over and over again, saying the same things and facing no real challenge.
