We know that the newspaper industry generally is contracting these days and that there is concern about the future of many titles and that much of the emphasis is on creating hyperlocal websites. But there are two areas in Wales that still see the value in their local weekly newspapers, and it shows that hyperlocal newsprint still survives and still thrives. Corwen Times and Y Cyfnod, which serve areas of Edeyrnion and Meirionnydd, have started a new period in their history last week—a history that goes back to the establishment of Y Cyfnod in 1934 and Corwen Times and Merioneth Express, as I understand it, emerging in the 1950s.

The Merioneth Express disappeared in 2013 as the three papers came to an end for a brief period, but, thanks to the work of Mari Williams of Llanuwchllyn, who stepped into the breach at that point, Corwen Times and Y Cyfnod were reborn, and she has just transferred the reins to Siân Teleri, a local woman who has identified the need, but also the opportunity, to develop these papers further.

There's no doubt that Corwen Times and Y Cyfnod offer an important service in the areas that they serve, with thousands of people reading them on a weekly basis and they are being produced, by the way, without any public financial support.

Therefore, as we see the newsprint industry across Wales shrinking, I wanted to take this opportunity to congratulate Siân Teleri and the team of Corwen Times and Y Cyfnod for securing a future for a newspaper that has been, and is still, central in their communities, and I’m sure that we would all wish them all the best for a prosperous future.