More questions on the future of the Welsh press

Last week, the owners of Media Wales and North Wales Daily Post - Trinity Mirror - announced 20 job losses across their Welsh titles while creating new jobs in "digitally oriented" roles. Most redundancies are, apparently, senior features editorial posts. Trinity Mirror are quoted as saying that this would:

"....enable us to become a fully-fledged, digitally-focused news operation, and brings together for the first time the best of our regional and national journalism."

Meaning : Much less Welsh and local content, more generic "national" stuff. So, The Western Mail, South Wales Echo and Daily Post are likely to become The Daily Mirror gossip and lifestyle pages with Welsh political and business stories plopped around it.

Despite the spin, this is – in my opinion – a significant downgrading of Welsh newspapers. It's not quite the death knell for The Western Mail, but this is probably what we're going to look back to as the beginning of the end. It also has wider political implications, perhaps underlining significant problems with devolution's "clout" too.

Trinity Mirror giving the finger to the Assembly & Wales

Back in May 2012, an Assembly task & finish group published an extensive report into the future of the Welsh media. There were clear warnings from witnesses that the Welsh print press was "fighting for survival", perhaps a simple reflection of changes in reading habits. There were also concerns about how Wales was being covered by the media in general.

You could consider the inquiry a polite, if urgent, request for assistance from the newspaper proprietors, and a way to generate ideas and proposals to ensure a long-term future for the Welsh press.

However, public debate surrounding the issue was moribund.

Bethan Jenkins AM (Plaid, South Wales West) – who seemed to be the only politician pressing this issue with any determination, and who proposed the inquiry - tried to kick start it single-handedly by suggesting the Welsh Government nationalise The Western Mail.

Bethan might well have made herself look like some sort of eccentric Bolshevik throwback as a result, but there was a point. It's a smart, if slightly unorthodox, tactic to offer an outlandish suggestion to gain publicity, hiding your "real" suggestion (in this case a journalist co-operative) behind it hoping people would pick up on it and debate it. That's what it looks like Bethan tried to do, and her press officer Duncan Higgitt pretty much admitted it himself on here.

A co-op is perfectly reasonable and feasible. Combine that with some sort of modest Norwegian-style state subsidy (similar to that provided to Golwg360) and you're looking at a viable future for the Welsh press in my opinion. They'll have enough money from subsidy to continue the unfashionable, but essential, investigative/scrutinising stuff while still offering the more commercial/fluffier stories about sport, fashion and celebrity gossip. And the Welsh-based journalists would have ownership over it.

But instead of the press and media acknowledging her idea of a journalist co-operative, they pounced on the "Pravda" aspect and managed to twist a positive suggestion into a negative story. They should've instead been grateful that anyone was conscientious enough to realise there was a problem, put some effort into it and came up with ideas. We're now going to see what ignoring that means in practical terms.

It's now been suggested, in spite of the inquiry, that the Welsh press is in its "death throes". But you can't point fingers at AMs and suggest they "didn't do anything". On the contrary, they held up their end of the bargain. The AMs should be given a pat on the back for their hard work and for giving a toss in the first place. There were also plenty of other inquiry findings that could prove useful elsewhere.

Maybe - with regard newspapers - it was a waste of time, but that's because distant newspaper proprietors treated an Assembly committee's findings and evidence with blatant disrespect, even the AMs personally. Even if they were never going to be subject to its recommendations, Trinity Mirror have, in effect, stuck two fingers up at the Assembly committee.

You might think that all that means is hurt feelings for everyone involved. Maybe even a bit of schadenfreude. But remember this - we elect AMs to do things like the media inquiry on our behalf, and when they've done that job we should expect the relevant people and organisations to take notice of the findings and concerns raised. Regardless of your opinions on devolution; if anyone snubs, ignores or flagrantly disregards the Assembly or AMs, they're doing that to us all.

So, Trinity Mirror have just stuck two fingers up at me too then. And you. For no good reason. I consider that....irritating.

You could say Huw Lewis (Lab, Merthyr Tydfil & Rhymney) – the minister in charge - should've immediately pressed forward with plans for state subsidy or whatever, but....it's unclear if he even had the power, money or legitimacy to do something as extensive as that.

I presume Golwg360 is/was only provided with funding because it falls under the banner of a "cultural" Welsh language service, not a broader "media service". All Huw could do is offer comforting words and promises to take suggestions under advisement.

If Wales had a clear-cut responsibility over the media, I could be writing about the the Assembly/committee debating - for argument's sake - an expanded Welsh Books Council pilot scheme, part-subsidising Welsh-based media co-ops, creating/saving jobs for Welsh journalists.

Welsh devolution : Chindogu in inaction

"Wales has all the might....of a southpaw punch from Winnie the Pooh."
(Pic : Quicklol.com)

Yet again I have to drag up constitutional matters. However, this time it's more institutional. A classic case of the needs of 5% of a nation state – an economic and social backwater - being easy to ignore at the top tables be they political, cultural and business. Below – spelt out in simple terms – is why I'm becoming increasingly fed up with devolution's/Wales' glacial pace of change and lack of teeth.

• Welsh newspapers hold devolved politicians and government to account (most of the time), which is a pretty fundamental cornerstone of a democracy.
• The English-based conglomerates that own Welsh newspapers see them as subsidiaries, not "national" newspapers or even an essential public service to Wales. They increasingly cut back on "hard/investigative" journalism, and replace it with more populist and commercially-oriented stories to drive traffic to websites in light of declining print sales. It doesn't work.
• In light of declines, an Assembly committee launches an inquiry. Academics and industrial bodies make the usual erudite contributions and stern-faced warnings. Those who really should make a contribution – the press conglomerates – don't even acknowledge it. Probably because Cardiff's not on the Jubilee line.
• It'll get reported every now and again, but without any spark or urgency, because we're all more concerned about what Bill Windsor has for breakfast and old men pointing at potholes.
• AMs then have to practically humiliate themselves in public to get this issue pushed towards the top of news agenda and get some ideas and debate going. And when they finally manage to, it's spun negatively without reading between the lines.
• The Assembly committee produces a well-presented, comprehensive report - that took the best part of a year to compile - but will be filed away quietly because Wales has all the might (where it matters – "Fleet Street") of a southpaw punch from Winnie the Pooh.
• Welsh Government ministers will be told by civil servants to cite "cuts" and the general state of the economy and newspaper industry – despite practical options being put on the table by the committee or individual AMs - saying they're, "concerned about those affected," then, "of course, what we know is, this isn't a devolved matter. I can't comment on it/subject to review/due diligence/framework/pathway/commercial sensitivity."
• Nothing happens.
• Then in four of five years time, with the Welsh press decimated, an Assembly committee will launch an inquiry into the future of the Welsh me....

We have a devolution settlement, and low position of influence within the UK, that effectively forces Welsh Ministers to move as fast as a tortoise walking through setting concrete. It also means AMs  – with all the best intentions in the world – spend hours in committees whose outcomes come across as nothing but pseudo-Kafkaesque torture.

You might think I'm overanalysing this, or dragging too many issues into it, but it's setting a dangerous precedent. It's going to happen on something the Welsh Government decides is "important" one day – the EU for example – and for all the promises of "standing up for Wales" the Assembly and Welsh Government won't be able to do anything. At all.

We're all getting played for fools here. Am I the only person who thinks this is an unacceptable position to be in when trying to run a country?

It's not "gradualism". It's not "federalism". There's no "respect agenda" here.

It's called "chocolate teapot" or "motorbike seatbelt". It's called "set up deliberately not to work" or you could even call it "f**king retarded".

The future of the Welsh press....again

Unless there are dramatic changes, this is the likely
future of the Welsh print press.
Be afraid. Be very, very afraid.
(Pic : webswonder.co.uk)

All this is before mentioning the most important people - the staff affected. There may be a point about Media Wales bringing about a decline by publishing deliberately inflammatory stories to drive traffic to Wales Online.
People might think all those comments on Wales Online articles are a sign of popularity, and translate into a genuine reflection of public opinion - but look at who's commenting. Even on articles with 200+ comments, it's the same 20-30 people. That goes for all newspaper websites, even extending to the likes of Betsan Powys' blog and fringe sites like this blog.

I don't think many newspapers have adapted well (commercially) to the internet, with perhaps the exception of The Daily Mail. The only reason people are drawn to Mail Online is because it's full of sensationalist twaddle and paparazzi photos of women wearing suspiciously undersized clothing. It's a comic book for adults - a cross between Midsomer Murders and The Viz - not a credible news website. It seems as if Media Wales titles are heading the same way.

At some point in the near future, all we're going to be left with to cover Welsh news (aside from TV and local radio – which have their own problems) are whatever local titles that happen to still be going, council and Welsh Government PR departments - take a look at Carmarthenshire to see how that will pan out - and people like me.

People like me who do this on a part-time basis, with no journalistic training whatsoever, a clear bias/agenda, largely dressing up opinion as fact and no way to source stories other than skulking through Assembly websites. And I'm only doing this out of some sense of duty to anyone reading it, not professional pride or to work to professional standards.

Whatever your feelings about The Western Mail or Daily Post, remember that trained senior journalists focusing on Welsh stories (no matter how trivial) are set to be replaced with generic pan-UK junk about tits and arse.