A plan for Wales
I regularly write about the challenges public interest news faces in Wales and further afield, mainly due to legacy news publishers’ failing business models.
There is a general consensus on the importance of public interest news, that is, news that informs the public regarding matters that impact their daily lives. It helps people make sense of the world they live in, tells them about the actions and activities of local and national governments and done well explains why the cost of a tin of baked beans has increased in the past 12 months, why getting a doctor’s appointment can be a challenge and why accessing affordable housing is becoming increasingly difficult.
So, what would the perfect public interest news service look like?
Accessibility:
Accessibility refers to the availability of information across various platforms, including online, YouTube, social media, and radio, in a range of formats, including audio, video, text, and print. It also relates to how news and information are presented to the public; it must be easy to understand, trustworthy and relatable considering the intended audience.
To be fully accessible, it needs to be free to access.
Value:
Public interest news plays a crucial role in society by providing information that is essential for the well-being and functioning of communities. This can be summed up in five ways.
An Informed Citizenry: It helps people stay informed about important issues, enabling them to make educated decisions, particularly in democratic processes like voting.
Accountability: Public interest journalism holds those in power accountable by investigating and exposing corruption, misconduct, and other issues that may otherwise go unnoticed.
Transparency: It promotes transparency by shedding light on government actions, corporate practices, and other activities that affect the public.
Community Engagement: By covering local issues and events, public interest news fosters a sense of community and encourages civic engagement.
Public Good: It serves as a public good by providing information that benefits society as a whole, even if not everyone directly consumes it.
Its societal value is clear; getting the public to value it is a different matter.
As a society, we contribute to the cost of services through taxation, which provides our health and education services, keeps our roads in working condition, and keeps our streets free, where possible, of crime. This overview is slightly simplistic, but I’m sure you get the gist. For a society to function correctly, we must fund it.
We know that accessibility to impartial and factual information is a cornerstone of a healthy democracy.
Only 8% of the UK public currently pay for news, slightly lower than the 16% in the USA and substantially lower than the 40% in Norway.
There could be several factors at play here. Much of the news in the UK is free to access, funded through advertising or, in the case of the BBC, via the licence fee, which some would say is a form of tax. The quality of the news may well affect people’s perception of value. Some consumers may not see enough value in paid news subscriptions, especially when they can access similar information for free. The perceived value of exclusive content versus commoditised news can influence their willingness to pay.
The war in Ukraine and the cost-of-living crisis have affected people’s willingness to fund news. When drawing up a list of financial priorities, a news subscription is an obvious target for the chop.
So, what’s the answer?
We build a community that cares about Wales and its future, values democracy, and wants Welsh citizens and the global Welsh diaspora to have access to information that helps them engage in democratic processes, giving them agency from an informed and educated perspective.
A community that’s invested in the numerous societal benefits a Welsh public interest news would deliver.
We need to take a new approach to creating and delivering news, and a new business model is required to fund that service.
The Service:
A new approach to delivering news with innovation at its heart. A new public square discussing the issues that matter to people. We won’t follow the news agenda; we’ll create our own daily agenda.
Giving Wales a voice through a daily national conversation on Wales’ first dedicated talk/news digital radio station. Listening to people in Wales, exploring and challenging the issues they care about, and getting answers to the questions they want to be answered.
Making sense of Wales, how it functions, and how Welsh citizens can contribute to the democratic process. Sharing information in relatable and accessible formats via a dedicated website, social media channels, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, and YouTube.
Regular newsletters delivered straight to your inbox—podcasts on various topics, including Welsh politics, culture and history.
We’ll host virtual and in-person events where our community can meet, hear from and question policymakers and experts and discuss Wales.
The Business Model:
How we fund a Welsh public interest news service is critical to its long-term success. That’s why Talking Wales will be community-owned. A community that shares a desire to ensure every Welsh citizen has access to the news and information that allows them to understand the Wales they live in and take informed decisions at the ballot box.
A community that values the contribution of accessible public interest news and its potential benefits to Welsh society.
An annual membership, payable monthly or annually, will fund our day-to-day operations and pay staff costs. This membership will also provide voting rights at the Annual General Meeting and access to exclusive content and events.
Talking Wales will issue community shares. These shares do not increase in value but attract a modest level of interest. After a specific time period, they can be sold back to Talking Wales when it is in a financial position to repurchase them. The door will be open to institutional impact investors, businesses, and organisations that wish to include ethical and impactful investments in their investment portfolios.
This will give Talking Wales the required capital to grow annual revenues.
Our target is to achieve a membership of 10,000 individuals who care passionately about democracy and are invested in ensuring Welsh citizens have access to the objective, independent news and information they need and deserve.
Huw Marshall
Founder Talking Wales