As years advance, much in the world of newspapers goes backwards … unless, it seems, you are in a certain part of Wales.
We all know that the Western Mail has dumbed down – in order to attract some of the millions of Welsh readers of the Mirror (that’s what Western Mail and Echo always said, but I fancy they meant The Sun, because that paper has far more readers in Wales).
And our evening papers are usually printed in far-away towns, meaning that they are now “morning” rather than “evening” papers.
But on attending the Royal Welsh Show last week, I was astonished to be accosted at the exit by an old-style newspaper-seller.
At about 3pm, the paper he was selling was that evening’s. And the leading articles on both the front page and on an inside page were about that day’s happenings at the Builth Wells show – written in a sensible fashion to appeal to intelligent people, rather than idiots.
From the past, I already knew that the Shropshire Star was indeed worth buying for its heavy load of local news (this was the mid-Wales edition). And clearly the main event in the area that day was worth appropriate special treatment.
There was a time when the Western Mail ran a special Eisteddfod edition every morning (they shifted a couple of thousand copies). And even the Cardiff Echo managed a report or two in the evening’s paper (City Final edition) about what had been happening that day.
Will we see anything similar this year from either of those Trinity Mirror (formerly Thomson group) papers ?
Hardly.
Particularly after the Echo’s editorial attack on the event. Perhaps the Echo is now trying to prove to some of the city’s backwoodsmen that their mini-interests are safe in its own hands.
Not long ago, the Echo boasted a Welsh-speaking editor (from Bangor). But he quit quite suddenly (fed up with the rubbish he was having to produce ?).
But why the difference in approach from the Star ? That paper is owned by the Midland News Association. Is it indeed still a family-owned company – which might help to explain the quality of its products ?
In sad contrast, the Cardiff papers sold out years ago to Kemsley and then Thomson – with the latter forgetting about the importance of Welshness, and starting the big and still on-going run-down.
Turning through 20 pages or so pages of web entries on the Media Wales site of stories on the Eisteddfod, I have been struck (if not stunned) by the appalling nothingness which most items seem to contain.
Media Wales looks like a site for a weekly paper every day; and on so many weekly papers, you don’t expect reporters to know much about what they are writing of (after all, the individuals are only in the town for a year or so…).
Extremely occasionally an item appears which is worth reading though – such as Tomos Livingstone’s (WM political editor, based very strangely in London, when most of the Welsh news nowadays happens in Cardiff) long item on what is happening this week, and the changes to be expected.
But the Echo seems written for dim-wits; and the Mail is hardly interested in the Welsh language (it is, after all, not much more than a Cardiff-based morning, saddled with an appalling name which links it to the West Country rather than Wales, which might help explain why it feels so much like an English provincial paper).
There are signs that the Assembly is far from finished with dealing with the press situation in Wales. When they start up again, AMs must ensure that they look at the problem through broad enough lenses.
Papers do not have to be as bad as Trinity Mirror’s. AMs must find out how good they can be – and then proceed to shame Trinity Mirror.
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I never buy those newspapers any more, they are pointless (especially when I can read their content online). The only one I DO read is the Rhymney Valley Express, but that’s a weekly paper so hardly good for breaking news (but at least the news is relevant).
I read Wales Online, BBC Online, Argus Online etc, so why buy the newspaper? Truth be told I get better news (or at least better commentary on the news) from reading Welsh blogs.
If you want to discover the appalling dangers of relying on blogs for news, turn to the new edition of Prospect. And the magazine comes to that conclusion by studying nothing less than the American Huffington Post. Blogs rely on newspapers – no papers, no blogs…but plenty of biased propoganda.
You refer to the Rhymney Valley Express. A failure of a paper, because Thomson group weren’t interested in it. It used to cover Caerffili – but the group was asleep and the present Campaign ad-sheet crept in. Thus, no news in Caerffili.
And news DOESN’T have to be reported at once for it to count as news. News is considered to be news when it is reported – which can on occasion be weeks or more later. “News” is something “new” – by definition. Nothing more.
“We all know that the Western Mail has dumbed down – in order to attract some of the millions of Welsh readers of the Mirror ”
I have been an avid reader of this blog and it is my humble conclusion that whoever writes this nonsense, should do so when they are sober and not slavering into a glass of wine late at night.
How can there be “millions” of readers in Wales? Come on, please?
The vitreol, poison and sheer hate espoused by the author of the this blog says more about him than the nonsense he writes.
I will not visit here again. Life is far too short.
P.S. To the publishers of the Cambria magazine – do yourselves a massive favour and close this blog down. It is damaging your reputation as a serious publisher – if it hasn’t already!
I plead guilty for using British rather than Welsh statistics, and me of all people !
It led to a touch of exaggeration…not dissimilar perhaps to that expressed by Mr Hughes, no doubt after he had emptied his entire barrel of wine. And he might have seen one the barrels they sometimes use – they are as big as houses !
I rest my case!
C’mon Dai! Wise up! Life’s too short?! For goodness sake, this is the only political blog in Wales with any bite. There may be hyperbole, there may be the occasional exaggeration, but there’s no beating about the bush here. Where are you going to get your opinion and comment from? The pathetic Wasting Mule? This is OUR blog Dai!
I have no problems with a blog with bite – its the fact that it seems to be written by someone who indulges in inebriated rants that bothers me!
I am not defending the Western Mail but at least it reads like it was written by someone who is actually sober!
This is not OUR blog Alice – it does Wales no favours whatsoever.
What a load of irrelevant tosh a lot of these comments are. The article is spot on. Media Wales: the Western Mail, the South Wales Echo et al are a thorough disgrace and no longer fit for purpose. They are only kept going as a cash cow for the rapidly sliding Trinity Mirror group and losing readers daily. For a real ‘inebriate rant’, look no further than half-mad, barmy Don O’Neill, the Echo’s very own ‘Kairdiff Boy’ – a right royal (sic) eejit if ever there was one. Keep at ‘em Cambriapolitico – don’t be phased by a few blinkered, narrow-minded wiseacres!
The Western Mail, The Echo infact most London papers are shadows of the papers of twenty years ago. You have to employ journalists to produce a decent news paper with news in it.
Previous posters have identified the problem. the six daily titles produced in Wales are all owned by big companies and used as cash cows. thewir circulation and number of journalists employed are in sharp decline and one or more of them will close soon.
The answer is to have a paper run by a trust like the St Petersburg Times in Florida. The trust only runs the paper and ploughs profits back in to it. St Petersburg still has a decent newspaper unlike most towns in the U.S..