The news is very much in the news these days. Or should that be the lack of news?
It’s not just the news that’s suffering, but the people who bring it to us. The plight of thousands of journalists who have lost their jobs in recent years is a stark reminder of the human cost of this decline. As the public turned their backs on newspapers and publishers strived to keep shareholders happy, these dedicated professionals who researched and delivered our news were sacrificed in the name of profit.
In Wales, the once iconic Western Mail’s circulation catastrophically collapsed from 37,576 in 2008 to a meagre 5,271 by the end of 2023.
Publishers in Wales, like Reach Plc and Newsquest, have been impacted by the loss of revenue from the cover price and the money they made from advertising.
It doesn’t take a genius to work out that advertisers aren’t paying the same rates they were when their adverts were being seen by, potentially, seven times fewer people.
Just twenty years ago, people relied on newspapers for news and information, and advertisers relied on newspapers to inform audiences about the cars, houses, goods and services they had for sale. With the advent of online news sources, this landscape has drastically changed. We can now access news from various online sources, and advertisers can reach customers directly, marking a significant shift in the media industry.
If your business model relies on people viewing adverts on pages on your website, then the content you provide must encourage as many views as possible. The news industry is now about quantity, not quality. And it’s highly unlikely to change.
Public interest news is central to our daily lives and any functioning democracy. Its role and value need to be highlighted and understood by all, as this type of news keeps us informed and our democracy healthy.
Value
It is vital to get people to value news output in a world where so much news is available for what appears to be free, and its impact can often go unseen. In many cases, the people who would benefit most from improved public interest news provision have more pressing financial commitments.
A genuine public-interest news service should not be run solely to generate profit for the benefit of shareholders.
That’s why we at Talking Wales are a community benefit society, a cooperative business that reinvests all profits to benefit the community it serves—in our case, the citizens of Wales.
Do you value public interest news? Do you value its ability to hold governments to account? To keep Welsh citizens informed? To counter misinformation and disinformation so prevalent online today?
We’ll soon start a pilot service, a digital radio station, podcasts, a website, social media accounts, newsletters, and events. We’ll also work with community groups to understand the unreported issues that are subject to misinformation.
We need your support to help with technical costs and the work of setting up our first community share issue, which will allow everyone to own a stake in Talking Wales.
Any contribution, large or small, helps make Talking Wales a reality.
Diolch/Thank you
Huw Marshall
Founder
Talking Wales
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