Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:11 pm on 7 June 2022.
First Minister, last week was the 130-year anniversary of the South Wales Argus, a paper that's long been rooted in our local communities. As with many local people, the South Wales Argus was always in my house when I was growing up, and in fact, in my early teens I delivered the South Wales Argus on my bike as a paperboy. And now, of course, as a Member of the Senedd, it's still a vital organisation for me to engage with. First Minister, it's obviously very, very important for Wales, for life in Wales, for our communities here and indeed for our developing democracy that we have a thriving national, regional and local media in Wales, helping to inform people what's going on, including informing them of Welsh Government policies and action and engaging them with our democracy. I think the pandemic highlighted the value of our media in Wales when it was so important for people to understand the particular policies and measures of Welsh Government in combating the pandemic in our country. First Minister, given this importance, and given that we all want to see a thriving media in Wales, will you pledge to continue working with the media in our country, including local newspapers, so that they can continue to play this vital role long into the future?