The Broadcasting Sector in Wales

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:59 pm on 20 September 2022.

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Photo of Hefin David Hefin David Labour 1:59, 20 September 2022

The Prif Weinidog will be aware of the Plaid Cymru councillor who was pictured holding a gun, threatening to prevent English people from entering Wales, which was reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service. [Interruption.] The councillor has been suspended by your party; don't shout 'Come on' at me. He's been suspended by your party. It was reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, and it was Rhiannon James who broke the story for the Caerphilly Observer. That was then shared nationally—it was in The Times, The Daily Telegraph, the Daily Mail, The Mirror, The Sun; it was shared also on the BBC. This demonstrates the importance of local democracy reporting in Wales, and particularly the value of the Caerphilly Observer.

Now, I know there's a task and finish group that's going to be reporting to Dawn Bowden later this year on how we can support further that sector. One of the things I'd like to say just in advance of that is that there are some things the Welsh Government could do, and I would say first of all is ensuring that Welsh Government advertisements are targeted towards those small hyperlocal news agencies, such as the Caerphilly Observer. They would benefit hugely from having Welsh Government ads in them. And also, the £100,000 the Welsh Government has put on the table this year, I think that that could be directed not at the likes of Newsquest or Reach, who already have a national conglomeration; I think it would be better targeted to those hyperlocal people, like the Caerphilly Observer. That's not to pre-empt the task and finish group, but I think that's really important. Can the First Minister just confirm that those views will be taken into account by the Deputy Minister when the time comes?