The inevitability of the closure of yet more local newspapers across Wales is no consolation for those who have already lost their jobs. The latest newspapers to fall victim to print media cuts are the Neath and Port Talbot Guardians. Their owner, Media Wales, has decided to close them due to the ‘tough economic times.’

A range of AMs and MPs have expressed their feelings about the closures. These have ranged from the vaguely disappointed (Alun Ffred Jones) to the ill-informed (Hywel Francis) to the plain ranty (Bethan Jenkins).

The fuss about the closure of these two titles is at odds with the inactivity of the Welsh Assembly. They are still failing to get to grips with the problems facing the Welsh media. One report after another has made useless, impractical and often wrong recommendations about how to rescue Welsh press and broadcasting. This inaction has been a factor in the demise of the Welsh print media. However, it has not been the only factor.

The failure of the Welsh government has been mirrored by the inability of the print media outlets to change and refine their output. They too have not responded to the problem. This inability to change and respond to the problems they face looks a lot like falling on one’s sword. If there is still a place for the local newspaper (and I am not sure there is) they need to make changes quickly. The ability to view local, regional, national and international news at the click of a button has made them largely obsolete. The remaining strength of the local newspaper lies in reporting things that don’t make it out of the area. The trouble is that in becoming ever more reliant on press releases and producing a torrent of worthless, badly written drivel, they have lost their market.

Good local reporting will always find an audience whether it’s online or in print, it is this that they no longer do. And it is this that makes them not only obsolete but also largely worthless.

The argument that plurality of media is central to the functioning of a democratic society is a cornerstone of media theory. But should it really be applied to defend some of the newspapers we see going under? The defence of plurality is often churned out despite the fact that the newspapers in question aren’t any good. Too often in our local rags we see press-releases rewritten and fashioned into an imitation of news. There is too little actual journalism and too little writing that challenges those in local government.  

However, the mantra of plurality has been repeated so often it is now used to defend the sort of newspapers we would be better off without. One such classic example of this type of journalism is about to bite the dust in my old hometown. The dire Wrexham Chronicle, a poorly subbed, badly designed, ugly little free-sheet, is now to close. Sad as it is for those journalists involved, it is categorically not a tragedy for the plurality of the local media.

The importance of plurality is that it gives readers a range of perspectives on social and political issues. It creates debate and holds those who are in power to account.

True plurality is plurality of opinion, and a variety of opinions is sadly not guaranteed by having a variety of local newspapers. Local newspapers have become so homogenous you can rarely tell them apart. They cover similar sorts of events week in week out and year after year.

If we only value local newspapers for the contribution they make to the plurality of the media, we are surely missing the point aren’t we?

It is what they say that matters – not the fact that they are there.

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So, what type of digital divide do the people of Wales want?

Do they want the digital divide that currently exists? In this one, broadband take up rates as low as 40% are commonplace. Internet inequality mirrors social inequality. Older people, those on low incomes, and those with fewer qualifications are half as likely to take up broadband as those who are younger, better off and in managerial or professional jobs. In some defined social groups there was a shocking figure of 26% for broadband take up. 

This is the type of internet inequality outlined in a report by the Bevan Foundation entitled Digital Wales, Divided Wales. The report is based upon research which found 99% of households have access to broadband in Wales, and approximately 60% take it up. Infrastructure, therefore, for this generation of broadband is clearly not a problem. All but 1% of people in Wales can receive broadband if they wish. The problem is, according to the Bevan Foundation, that they don’t want it. Engagement, they claim is the key question facing digital Wales. The report states,

‘Broadband take up has undoubtedly increased rapidly, but take up amongst some socio-economic groups – particularly amongst the lowest income households and amongst older people – remains low’

The regional and geographical variations in take up tend to mirror the socio-economic factors. In short, those who are socially deprived don’t take up broadband. The report states that the overwhelming reason people give for not accessing the internet is that ‘they don’t want to’.  Although the report points out,

‘This reason inevitably includes lack of awareness, lack of skills and lack of opportunity as well as simple ‘choice’ and should not be taken at face value. It is also worth noting that perceived cost was a factor in lack of access to the internet in a substantial minority of households, particularly working households, and this too may be a factor for further consideration.’

The report concludes that digital inequality could have a serious effect on the ability of individuals to function in society as more and more goods and services become available online and nowhere else. This is an important and vital report, and not just for Wales. Internet inequality is a major factor all over the country, and it does tend to follow the patterns of social inequality.

The fact that the highest take up of broadband services in Britain is in the South East of England, and the lowest is in the North East of England tells you everything you need to know.

So, should public policy be directed to increasing the number of people from those low take up groups to use the internet? My belief is that it should. The key factors affecting people’s decisions in these instances are a lack of information about what is available to them, and a prohibitive cost. Digital Britain should deal with the issue relating to cost, as 2Mb becomes the standard across the UK, but it is up to the Assembly and the UK government to look at how to encourage these groups in society to engage with the forthcoming digital revolution.

The second type of internet inequality is one that relates to speed. Ofcom has found that Welsh consumers receive much slower broadband speed than the rest of the UK and that the top broadband speeds are not available anywhere in Wales. The top download speed in Wales is a shocking 4.3Mbps. Now, I realise that here in London we are a bit spoiled with up to 50Mbps, but this discrepancy is patently ridiculous. As Rhodri Williams of Ofcom put it on the Wales Online site,

'Broadband is not just something for businesses, or for geeks, it’s now something that you need for doing school homework, or getting access to the best consumer deals. It’s vital for many people, the majority of people in society to have access to broadband. The number of services dependent on broadband is only going to increase.'

The problem is that the infrastructure in Wales is made up largely of copper wire connections. These connections are, of course, considerably slower than the Virgin Media fibre optic cables. The Assembly Government ‘Regional Innovative Broadband Support Scheme’ (RIBS) has ensured that every exchange in Wales is now broadband enabled. Therefore the Digital Britain report guarantee of 2Mbps seems a bit of a damp squib. Lots and lots of people in Wales already have that speed, and they are not happy with it. There are also lots of people in Wales who simply don’t want to take up broadband services because of expense, or because they don’t really understand what it could do for them.

So it seems either way, a fair digital Wales is looking ever more distant.

The issue of internet inequality is one that, at the moment, reflects social inequality. It is, however, important not to simply sit back and criticise those who are campaigning for ever faster speeds. In a years time 2Mbps will look even slower in the light of 100Mbps and above becoming more commonplace. It is important to be fighting for equality regarding speed as well as equality of social engagement with the internet. To do one without the other is pointless. If WAG does manage to encourage people from a broader social spectrum to take up broadband, all their good work will be lost if those people then find that their broadband is slower than the rest of the country, and that it doesn’t allow them to do all the things they want to.

It’s also worth considering this data in relation to digital media start-ups and the online news revolution in Wales. Investment in Web based TV channels seems pointless if your viewers are going to struggle to connect and be able to view live streaming video. It also limits the number of people who are going to view what you are doing, as in some areas internet take up is so low there just won’t be an audience.

In order to get digital Wales up and running and working properly there must be proper investment in fibre optic cable. This must be done alongside encouraging those disaffected members of our society to engage with this potentially life-changing technology.

***
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In the past few months there have been a range of suggestions made about how to rescue the Welsh media.

We have had the suggestion, from the Digital Britain report, that money from the licence fee be used to fund ITV news programmes in Wales. The money would be taken from digital switchover funds allocated to the BBC. I have made my thoughts on this particular suggestion clear in a previous post. MPs should not be allowed to use BBC money as a slush fund for other media projects. The independence of the BBC from Government is vital to their work, and it was disappointing to see so few, if indeed any, Welsh politicians standing up for the independence of the BBC.

It also continues to astonish me how little attention has been paid to ‘Mind the Funding Gap’, the Institute for Public Policy Research report for the broadcasting union Bectu. The problems facing the Welsh broadcast media cannot be resolved by top-slicing or micro-managing the BBC licence fee. They can, however, be fixed by imposing a levy on those media organisations that benefit from PSB but do not contribute to it, for example, Virgin Media and Sky. A 1% levy on these two organisations alone would net £70 million - more than enough to fund decent PSB in England and Wales. This idea continues, curiously, to be ignored, despite being an option that is fair, practical and doesn’t cost the tax-payer any money.

A lot of bad recommendations have also come from ill-informed AMs sitting on committees which produce reports offering little of substance for those who long for a strong Welsh media.

The WAG reports last month on Welsh broadcasting and Welsh newspapers recommended the establishment of a Welsh Media Commission, which is a very good idea. However, they also endorsed a couple of very bad ideas, including the use of Government money to fund the Welsh Media Commission and, perhaps worst of all, the relaxation of cross-media ownership rules in Wales. It is clear that these are severe measures for a severe problem. The not altogether shocking news, reported last week, that the BBC will be the only news provider in Wales by 2010 illustrates just how bad things are. The severity of the problems, however, should not be a licence to accept all and any means to the end.

The fundamental structural problem within the Welsh media is one caused by a lack of plurality. The handful of media organisations that operate in Wales, already hold a virtual monopoly. When they make the decision to cutback on print journalists or to cut the number of hours of Public Service Broadcasting they produce it has a terrible effect. It has this terrible effect because there aren’t other organisations who can plug the gaps in PSB, or who can employ our print journalists.

Plurality is the key issue, and relaxing cross-media ownership rules, to allow newspapers to dabble in broadcasting or vice-versa, will do nothing to promote the type of media we want in Wales. It will simply exacerbate the problems we already have.

The idea that these issues can be fixed by WAG grants is also wrong. A thriving new democracy doesn’t just require a ‘media’. It requires a free and independent media. One unfettered by fears about funding stopping if they don’t fill in the grant forms to the satisfaction of WAG based civil servants or politicians. Government funding of media projects always comes at a price, and that price is total independence from those who you might have to come into conflict with. Funding the gaps in the Welsh media using public money will affect the independence of these projects.

In summary, funding ITV Wales public service broadcasting through the BBC licence fee potentially compromises the independence of the BBC. Relaxing cross-media ownership rules will damage any opportunity for future plurality, and will not improve the standard, range and diversity of the Welsh media. Welsh PSB can be funded other ways, through levies on non-PSB providers, and AMs should be lobbying the UK Government to adopt this idea. The playing-field should finally be levelled in Welsh broadcasting. It has long been tipped against ITV because of its responsibility to provide PSB, when Sky and Virgin Media don’t have to.

The future for the Welsh broadcast media doesn’t have to be bleak. Newspapers are a different proposition. The future is bleak for print journalism everywhere. The problems facing the Welsh print media are being faced by media owners all over the world. The move to New Media is inevitable. There is still a role for local newspapers, but as yet it’s not clear how they will survive in the age of the internet. What is clear is that the lack of a plurality of print media ownership in Wales has been catastrophic. The coming storm for the print media is inevitable but it isn’t the case that it had to be this bad.

The top story running today on the BBC website ‘Welsh Politics’ section, is the call by Assembly Member Huw Lewis for Government grants for Welsh newspapers to run or own TV channels. He must be delighted that such a half-thought-through suggestion is garnering such attention.

It has become popular of late for AMs to speak out about the Welsh media and the dangers it faces, the trouble is that they rarely have any idea what they are talking about.

Huw Lewis made a speech recommending that around 12 local digital television channels could be funded by the Government. He emphasised that this would have to be at ‘arm’s length’. The ‘arm’s length’ bit is a concession to those people, like me, who believe that Government funded media projects can never remain properly independent. I don’t believe they would in this case either, no matter whether they were funded at ‘arm’s length’ or not. This is only the first problem with what he’s suggesting. He also says:

"I have long argued that during this recession we should not be asking 'what do we need to cut?' - we should be asking, 'what do we need to save?'

"High up that list has to be a plural media."

This is a quite astonishing piece of double-think. The way in which he wants to ensure plurality in the Welsh press and broadcast media is to merge the two.

He thinks newspapers should be allowed, and encouraged to own TV channels using public money. This will not increase the plurality of ownership which is central to plurality of content. You cannot, on the one hand, talk about the dangers to the Welsh media from the lack of plurality, and on the other hand talk about cross-media ownership of this sort. They are contradictory ideas. This is another awful idea, impractical, unhelpful, and it breaches two golden rules. You should not fund media through Government and you should ensure plurality of ownership of media, if you cannot do the latter within one media sector you should certainly attempt to do it across the media as a whole.

Too many AMs at the moment are running around recommending solutions for the Welsh media which won’t work. The two WAG reports we had last month, along with the Digital Britain report managed just a handful of decent suggestions between them. Too much time is being wasted on fanciful or just plain rubbish ideas. There needs to be some careful consideration of the way forward for the Welsh media. There has, for instance, been too little discussion of New Media solutions, with the focus being print and broadcast outlets. Undoubtedly the future of news media is online – but there has been little discussion of how to co-ordinate and develop this Brave New World in Wales.

The likes of Huw Lewis will have their moment in the sun with the issue of the Welsh Media and then will disappear back into the shadows when the problem gets complicated. The Welsh Assembly has apparently been asked for a formal response to his speech.

They needn’t bother.

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When Michael Jackson died last week, TMZ, the celebrity gossip site, was first to break the news. It took nearly an hour for anyone in the mainstream UK media to jump on the bandwagon.

Sky News, in desperation, simply reported that TMZ was reporting that Michael Jackson had died. The BBC followed suit. The way in which this story broke, (nicely analysed by Charlie Brooker in his column this week), showed just how important legitimacy is in the online news environment. There is a clear hierarchy of trust in online news. TMZ may well have broken the story first, but nobody really believed them.

The common response to a large breaking news story is to visit a trusted and reliable source i.e. the BBC, Sky, or a reliable newspaper website. You don’t bother with the others, because, by and large, you know they are not to be trusted. This is the reason people don’t visit blogs for news.

This is a useful point because it neatly illustrates the difference between what a blog does and what news websites do.

Bloggers rarely break news. They seldom investigate political scandals or uncover scoops for themselves. When they do get a scoop the story has often been gifted to them. Bloggers have neither the time nor the resources to carry out in-depth investigatory work. The vast majority are not paid to blog and have no journalism training.

It is a bit strange, therefore, that some folk, when assessing the Welsh blogosphere, are disappointed it isn’t doing these things. This is the role of the Welsh media.

Bloggers express their opinions on the issues of the day, and this is what political blogs are best at. Even the much-trumpeted Guido mostly does comment. He takes a news story, adds a link, and posts his take on it. Blogs are rarely objective, rarely non-partisan and are usually the expression of an individual’s personal political beliefs.  

There are also, of course, politicians’ blogs. The worst type of politicians blog is filled with press-release guff. The best are the ones that are off-message and give a genuine opinion. Likewise, blogs by professional journalists are best when they are off-message, taking a risk or being irreverent.

Aside from the politicians and hacks, the broad range of discussions online about Welsh politics is impressive. The variety of voices and political perspectives is something we should celebrate and be very proud of. When I started the Mabiblogion back in January I was astonished at how welcoming an environment the Welsh blogosphere was. This is something we should applaud.

The Welsh blogosphere is in great health. We’re a gobby, argumentative lot with plenty to say about Wales and its future. This is exactly how it should be.

Now, if only Welsh journalists would do their jobs, we might actually get somewhere.
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This is post twenty four of a series of articles appearing at www.welshbloggers.co.uk giving a chance to Welsh bloggers to have their say on the state of the blogosphere and where it's going.

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There is quite an interesting (if navel gazing) discussion going on over at welshbloggers about the state of the Welsh blogosphere.

Depressingly, we appear to be looking to Westminster as a bench-mark with some people lamenting the fact we don’t have a ‘Guido’ equivalent in Wales.

That maybe right, but what we do have is our own vibrant blogosphere discussing day-in and day-out the issues affecting Wales.

Those hacks whingeing about the quality of citizen journalism in Wales would do well to occasionally break a story themselves, and not live off press releases and spoon fed Assembly guff.

Anyway, with that in mind, and noting the current hunger for lists at the Independent Online, here is my personal selection of the Ten Best Welsh Political Blogs.

1. Betsan Powys

2. Peter Black AM

3. Adam Price MP

4. Ordovicius

5. Guerilla Welsh Fare

6. Welsh Ramblings

7. Valleys Mam

8. Miserable Old Fart

9. Cambria Politico

10.Cynical Dragon

So, plenty of reasons to be cheerful about the Welsh blogosphere then.

Feel free to post your own lists below and comment with any sites you think I have missed.

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Three reports over the last two weeks have shown just how little understanding there is of how to solve the problems facing the Welsh media.

After the ‘Digital Britain’ report on Tuesday and last week’s WAG report on Welsh Broadcasting, yesterday saw the publication of yet another report that snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

The WAG broadcasting sub-committee report on the Welsh newspaper industry is, admittedly, not all bad.

Recommendation three, for instance states

‘The Welsh Assembly Government should establish a dialogue with newspaper companies and unions to explore means of supporting English language journalism in Wales.’

This could mean helping to support the training of more journalists in Wales (and hopefully encouraging them to stay in Wales).

There is also a recommendation that WAG use Welsh newspapers to advertise more often, thus helping them financially. This recommendation was made after evidence was submitted that Welsh newspapers were receiving less than their fair share of WAG advertising, and that the drift towards online was affecting print advertising revenues.

This is a striking bit of evidence. Whilst talking about rescuing the Welsh print media the Assembly continues to focus on online advertising. Mixed messages anyone?

The report also endorses the idea of a Welsh Media Commission, a concept that surely cannot remain just that for much longer. This recommendation, from last week’s report on the future of Welsh broadcasting, is a good one, and despite being slapped down by the ‘Digital Britain’ report is feasible (see previous post).

So, there are some interesting ideas in the report. However, all this was undermined by the headline recommendation to relax the rules on cross-media ownership. This is such a bad idea it must be some kind of joke…

Plurality in the Welsh media simply does not exist at the moment. That is a fact supremely evident to anyone with a basic knowledge of Welsh press and broadcasting.

The dominance of Trinity Mirror and the BBC in Wales is extremely damaging as it limits the plurality of ideas in the media market-place.

We should certainly be trying to protect our newspapers from going under, but the idea that ownership rules should be relaxed to do so is wrong.

The report states

‘The Welsh Assembly Government should make representations to the UK government seeking assurances that cross-media rules are relaxed to allow the exploration of new partnerships.’

The purpose of cross-media rules is to ensure healthy competition in the media market. Without these rules monopolies prosper and thus plurality is limited. It is always the case that this occurs.

Wales is already largely in this position with the BBC, ITV and Trinity Mirror. As well as limiting the content of Welsh media output it also sets the bar too high for others to enter into the market. It reduces plurality. This is presumably why the next recommendation of the report is

‘The Welsh Assembly Government should make representations to the UK Government seeking assurances that any move to relax regulations relating to cross-media ownership should be accompanied by measures to protect plurality of local media’

These are two fundamentally opposite recommendations. It is tempting to breathe a sigh of relief at this second recommendation as it does manage to cancel out the first one. But it does beg the question – why did they bother?

The committee took expert advice. This is probably why the second recommendation appeared. The respected media analyst and commentator Bob Franklin expressed concern in the report about the potential for monopolies to be developed across media platforms. He advised the committee that corporations will push the boundaries as far as they can

‘…banks are suggesting to media companies that they ignore existing competition regulations which they see as primitive and as not suitable for the digital age because monopolies are understood within geographical  boundaries…I think that big financial institutions are recommending a sort of ‘gung-ho’ challenge to existing regulation  along the lines of ‘see what they do, call their bluff’

So there is already a generally dismissive attitude towards cross-media rules and competition regulation. This is why we should be strengthening those rules.

Doubtless people will argue that the state of Welsh newspapers calls for this urgent action, and that it is a sacrifice worth making. But the truth is that the problem with the Welsh media is a deep structural one which has been allowed to develop over a long period of time. A fundamental part of this has been media monopolies, and until these monopolies are weakened rather than strengthened, things will not improve.

Three reports in two weeks all containing good recommendations nullified by appalling ideas that will do more damage than good.

Two steps forward. Eight back.

***
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In lots of ways we should welcome today’s Digital Britain report.

At last, the problems of local and regional news are hitting the headlines, along with clear government intent to solve those problems.

This is important - particularly for Wales - where regional PSB programming has been hit by an ever more serious set of ITV Wales cutbacks.

However, Lord Carter’s solution, outlined in the report, will undermine the strength and independence of the BBC by top-slicing the licence fee in order to inject money into local broadcasting.

The regional and local news situation is serious, and perhaps desperate situations call for desperate measures. But this was the wrong measure.

The money earmarked for the regional news fund will come from so-called ‘switchover’ cash. This is money which will no longer be needed after 2012, following the conversion to digital. The fact the money comes from the digital switchover is allowing the government to act as though it isn’t top-slicing the licence fee. Which it is…

Culture secretary Ben Bradshaw, presenting the report managed to avoid calling it top-slicing. At one point stating that he was doing so as the public wouldn’t understand what it meant. I would suggest that he did so because as soon as top-slicing is mentioned unions and members of the government get extremely twitchy.

Should this all occur it would set an extremely dangerous precedent. The BBC has already expressed its concern that it would be better to hand the switchover money back to the tax-payer. The concern being that top-slicing might encourage politicians to ‘micromanage’ the BBC’s income in future.

Last week another report was released by Welsh Assembly Communities and Culture Committee, following a five month inquiry into broadcasting in Wales.

The headline recommendation was that a publicly funded, independent commission was the only way to safeguard plurality in public service broadcasting in Wales. The body should be jointly created by the Welsh and UK government and take over the role of the OFCOM advisory body.

Now, providing this organisation is independent, as suggested, this seems a good recommendation. That is until you get to the knotty subject of funding. Members recommended that the £25 million needed to commission regional and local PSB services (from ITV initially) should come from

‘A levy on non PSB providers, lottery funding and public money from the Welsh and UK governments’ 

Though it is pleasing to see the suggestion of a tax on non-PSB providers it’s disappointing again to see public money mentioned. As with the Digital Britain report, the WAG report seems to think the public should pay for ITV to provide them with public service broadcasting.

These funding methods for local and regional news are potentially damaging. In the case of the Digital Britain recommendations it will damage the independence of the BBC. In the case of the WAG recommendations (which are at best fanciful) the independence of other broadcasters could be damaged by receiving public money.

None of this would be as frustrating if public money was actually needed.

A report by the broadcasting union, Bectu, commissioned from the Institute of Public Policy Research, estimated that a 1% levy applied to Virgin Media and Sky alone would net £70 million.

This is more than enough to fund the improvements in the Welsh media, through an independent commission, as well as the ensuring plurality in English local and regional media. And, pointedly, not a single penny will come out of our pockets.

Countries like Finland, Canada and France already have a system of taxation that draws money from organisations that do not provide public service broadcasting, but benefit from it. This measure provides long-term funding for a vital democratic function. Importantly it avoids public service broadcasting becoming a political football or an issue for individual tax payers.

Welsh politicians seem to be missing the point, commenting on the Digital Wales report Adam Price asked for ‘greater clarity’ and enough money to ‘get the job done’ whilst reiterating the importance of the Welsh Media Commission. Mr Price is right in asking for greater clarity and enough money – but let us think carefully about where the money is coming from.

The Digital Britain report and the Welsh Assembly report have interesting and vital recommendations. It is important that Wales is dragged kicking and screaming into the digital age and much good work has been done. But if these projects are funded through public taxation or through top-slicing the licence fee they could do more harm than good.

The answer is to tax those organisations that contribute nothing to public service broadcasting in the UK but reap its benefits.

***
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What will the Welsh press write about when Richard Brunstrom resigns?  

After a headline packed eight years in charge of the force, the Chief Constable of North Wales Police has announced his intention to quietly leave his £112,000 a year job.

The man Richard Littlejohn dubbed the ‘Mad Mullah of the Traffic Taliban’ has never been one to shy away from publicity but appears now to have had enough, saying this week,  

‘I’m off for an easier life but I’ve had a whale of a time here. I am as proud as I possibly could be of what we have achieved. I’ve moved right to the top of the police service, it’s time someone else had a chance.”

Whoever they replace Mr Brunstrom with, they are unlikely to have as an eventful career as his. He was appointed to the top job in January 2001 and has rarely been out of the headlines since

The two primary issues that have dogged him throughout his time in charge of North Wales Police are drugs and speed cameras.

His zero tolerance attitude to road safety was demonstrated when he called a press conference to condemn a retired 71 year old bank manager caught doing 39mph in a 30mph zone. More recently, at a 2007 presentation on road safety, Brunstrom showed photographs of a headless motorcyclist at a traffic accident. He did so without the permission of the family of the dead man. Both the family and Clwyd South MP Martyn Jones called for Brunstrom to resign.

The Chief Constable’s attitude to drugs has also been controversial. As early as 2001 Brunstrom called for the legalisation of Heroin, and proposed placing vending machines outside Colwyn Bay police station to be kept stocked with disposable syringes.

He maintained this position throughout his career recently describing ecstasy as safer than aspirin, and in 2007 calling for the legalisation of all drugs and an end to the ‘immoral’ drug laws.

Alongside his strong positions on road safety and drugs, Brunstrom was also the subject of some stories that were just plain weird. His appointment as an Honoury Druid in 2006 was covered extensively and ridiculed as widely. In December 2007, during refurbishment work at the North Wales police headquarters, Brunstrom staged a break-in, scaling scaffolding and climbing through a window. Initially it was suggested he had done it to test security but it was later revealed his entry fob was no longer working.

All this adds up to a weird collection of press cuttings. However, as much as I have at times despaired over the actions of the Chief Constable I do also admire him, and often have little sympathy with those who have hauled him over the coals for doing his job.

The nickname he picked up over the speed camera issue was attributed to him by Richard Littlejohn for goodness sake – as deplorable an individual as you are likely to read. The anti-speed camera lobby, led by the leader of the idiots, Jeremy Clarkson, is a group I find it difficult to agree with. People die on the roads everyday and speed limits and cameras are a good thing.

Admittedly, Brunstrom did make a critical error in choosing the photographs of the biker to show to the press without the family’s permission. It was a mistake. But the fact that the bow-tie wearing opportunist Martyn Jones exploited the situation to increase his tiny political capital is also pretty repulsive.

Brunstrom’s passion for road safety has at times seemed to border on obsession. But he is a police officer right? What they are supposed to do is enforce the law. Whether you agree with the law or not it is Brunstrom’s job to enforce it. So in that regard wasn’t he just doing his job?

When it comes to drugs, I think that Brunstrom’s principled stand is worth reviewing and applauding. There are very few, if any top coppers that would put their head above the parapet in this manner.

And despite what you may have read – a tiny bit of investigation shows that Brunstrom’s opinions on the subject are informed by experience and statistics. We are losing the war on drugs, and current policing strategies that criminalise the behaviour cause social problems that maybe unnecessary.

Looking at some of this stuff in the cold light of day and away from the rabid right wing press and you realise that what is being proposed, although radical, might just be a solution. A British drugs policy based on prohibition has dramatically failed. Illegal drugs are more plentiful and cheaper than ever. There are more drug users than ever. The war on drugs is fundamentally un-winnable. He says,

‘If policy on drugs is in the future to be pragmatic not moralistic, driven by ethics not dogma, then the current prohibition stance will have to be swept away as both unworkable and immoral. Such a strategy leads inevitably to the legalisation and regulation of all drugs.’

I couldn’t agree more with Brunstrom on the issue of drug enforcement, and his strong and consistent position deserves our respect. Likewise with the issue of road safety Brunstrom has maintained and defended his position.

When Brunstrom spent £6000 investigating anti-Welsh remarks by Tony Blair and Anne Robinson, he made himself a laughing stock. When he was tasered he undermined his credibility. When he broke into his own police headquarters people questioned his sanity. And when he made the awful mistake of showing the road accident pictures he was condemned. All too often during his time in the top job Brunstrom undermined the good things he was doing and saying, with a daft and flippant attitude to the press. He suffered from an amateurish approach to public relations.

Welsh and UK national newspapers alike loved it every time he made a comment off the cuff or to grab attention, but often, there was something important being said – and we missed it.

There was more to Brunstrom than the headlines – trouble is it’s the headlines we will all remember.

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Sometimes people display such breathtaking stupidity that it’s quite hard to maintain your composure. I have lost mine this week, and that’s why I am breaking my rules and blogging about a UK national issue.

Last week Clearcast, the advertising approval body, decided that an advert due to be shown on British television was too violent and demanded cuts be made. The advert in question is about domestic violence.

‘The Cut’, featuring British actress Kiera Knightley, was made for the charity Women’s Aid. In it Knightley plays an actress who is punched and kicked by her boyfriend after he accuses her of cheating on him.

Directed by Joe Wright, the advert is unnerving and shocking. The advert ends with the information that every week in England and Wales two women die from domestic violence.

Charities campaigning against domestic violence have quite rightly branded the Clearcast decision as ‘pathetic’.

Sandra Horley, chief executive of Refuge, underlined the importance of such adverts,

‘Many women who are victims of domestic violence are isolated by their partner and in these situations TV is very helpful. It is also a great way to reach the public and raise awareness of the issue.’

Unbelievably, two complaints have already been received by the Advertising Standards Agency about the unedited version which appeared on the Women’s Aid website.

Back in 2007 Women’s Aid was also subject to criticism over a stunning campaign which featured celebrities being shown with battered faces. They were making the point that one in four women gets attacked by loved ones and that two are killed every week. Although no formal complaints were received by the ASA regarding this advert, there was a lot of grumbling about the celebrities featured.

I’m as cynical as anybody about celebrities doing campaigns, but I also agree with Yasmin Alibhai-Brown on this one. If celebrities want to do some good by appearing in these adverts what harm can it do? Doubtless some are chronic publicity seekers and will do campaigns like this to promote themselves as much as the cause – but does it really matter if it gets the point across?

Criticism of Kiera Knightley for doing this advert has taken a similar form, with some suggesting that because the advert features her, it is not realistic enough – this of course completely disregards the fact that female celebrities can be the victims of domestic violence as much as ‘ordinary’ people.  

This new advert has come in for a lot of stick. Whether it has been complaints about using Knightley in the ad or the level of violence, it has all distracted from what is surely an important point. Domestic violence is a serious problem in Britain and women die every day as a consequence of it.

The discussions should be about how we tackle the issue, not the nature of the adverts. I happen to believe that the more shocking an advert about domestic violence is the better.

It is about time we started getting a bit more serious about this subject. It disturbs me that organisations such as Women’s Aid face this barrage of nonsense when they try to highlight their cause. It annoys me that celebrities who feature in the adverts are also criticised.

Perhaps this tells us something unpalatable about our attitude to domestic violence. Perhaps we as a nation would rather not face the issue and would rather brush it under the carpet. Perhaps we don’t really treat it with the same degree of seriousness as other types of assault. Maybe our society is ambivalent about violence in the home.

In a previous life I worked in a Social Services department in North Wales. There we regularly encountered domestic violence issues. I remember with admiration the skills of social workers who went above and beyond the call of duty to help women in these situations. With little support and limited time they sometimes managed to rescue people. Sadly, more often they didn’t. The system fails people daily.

Last week in the block of flats in North West London where I live a twenty eight year old woman was found dead. She had been subjected, over a number of years, to physical and psychological abuse by her partner, who is a chronic alcoholic. The police had been called repeatedly to the property. Neighbours had tried to convince her to leave him, but whenever he was kicked out she would always let him back in. The police arrested him a number of times, but despite covering her in bruises he was not jailed.

We are often reluctant to get involved in other people’s abusive relationships, I know I was. The guilt you carry when something bad happens is only mitigated by the knowledge that the police take little action.

We are, in our social attitudes, our social policies and policing too ambivalent about domestic violence and that needs to change.

This latest advert did not depict the most common reality facing victims of domestic violence. What happened to my neighbour was that. But it was at least an honest attempt to make us take the issue seriously.

That is why every single painful punch and kick should stay in the advert and why anyone who says otherwise needs to take a long hard look at their attitude to violence against women.
 
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 ITV cutbacks finally hit the front - or nearly front - pages last week.

Six hundred jobs are to be cut from across ITV’s 4,500 strong workforce. They will mainly be production or back office roles. Trade union, BECTU, believes some one-off drama programmes will also be shelved.

As someone who has been following the slow undignified death of ITV, this came as no surprise.

The disastrous effect that ITV cutbacks have had on public service broadcasting in Wales has been widely ignored by the press. It took the suggestion that shows such as Heartbeat or The Bill may be in danger, for ITV’s cutbacks to become front page news worthy.

Amongst the detritus of ITV’s demise there is the anomaly of the social networking site Friends Reunited which they acquired in 2006 for the ridiculous fee of 120m.

They are now likely to sell it for a dramatically reduced amount. This once popular site has failed to move with the times and has become inconsequential in the light of more developed, user friendly and responsive social networking sites like Facebook.

So far, so disastrous, but the question I have is this:

Given the obligations to provide Public Service Broadcasting that ITV has, why was Friends Reunited not sold earlier?

ITV has consistently cut a swathe through its public service broadcasting commitments, whilst this failing website hung like an albatross around its scrawny neck.

The most recent decision was to merge its seventeen news regions across England, Wales and the Scottish borders to just nine. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. Over the last fifteen years ITV Wales has cut its workforce from around 800 to just 100 people. This, by the way, was happening for the most part during the longest period of sustained economic growth in recent history.

The BBC will have almost complete news dominance in Wales once the current cutbacks are instigated. This is extremely worrying. News coverage of the Welsh Assembly, both print and broadcast, is already extremely limited. These cutbacks will make it more so.

The fact that ITV made obscene purchases such as Friends Reunited whilst deliberately and systematically destroying Public Service Broadcasting in Wales and other UK regions, is borderline criminal.

Despite what ITV says cutbacks in public service broadcasting are nothing to do with the current economic climate, they have been going on for years. This has all happened, quite simply, because ITV didn’t care about its duty to provide a public service.

People on the left of the political spectrum, sometimes call for the nationalisation of large media companies, whether to save jobs or to improve services.

I have never liked this idea because I fear the influence of government on our press.

However, having observed the demise of ITV over the last week or so I can’t convince myself that the free market is any less of a pernicious influence.  

***

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I attended an interesting NUJ meeting last week at the London Welsh Association. The meeting was held to discuss some of the challenges journalists are facing at the moment and how they might be resolved.

Central to the problem in Wales and across the country is the issue of media ownership, and the meeting was held to debate the merits of various alternative models. From my perspective the current monopolies that rule the media in Britain are damaging to journalism in that they consistently limit the scope and quality of reporting. Trinity Mirror’s domination of the market in Wales has had a terrible effect on the Welsh print media. The continuing swathe of cutbacks across Wales and the UK as a whole will have a massive impact on the quality and output of Britain’s journalists. It is a pressing situation.  

Though this subject is of wider importance across the whole of journalism it is particularly pertinent in relation to the Welsh media wasteland.

As discussed extensively in previous entries I believe the traditional Welsh media is in terminal decline. This being the case, I have made the argument that Wales is uniquely placed to embrace the online news revolution. Before I discuss in detail why this is the case it’s worth looking at and dismissing some of the other options.

The current economic crisis has led many to call for the nationalisation of media groups in order to save jobs. This is such a bad idea that the Chief Executive of Trinity Mirror, Sly Bailey, rejected the suggestion out of hand. You know something is up if she is ruling out the option of free money.

The problems, both ethical and financial, associated with the nationalisation of any part of the UK media are various and, in my opinion, largely insurmountable. How would such an arrangement work? What sort of influence would the Government have over media institutions if they were nationalised? Wouldn’t it all be a bit too Soviet for a modern democracy like the UK? Well yes. I think that any increased influence of government over our media institutions could do long term damage to British journalism. Our rampantly free press rightly resists any restrictions with an often inspirational vigour, and long may it continue to do so.

Unless we want to live in a nation where our media is a lapdog rather than a watchdog, nationalisation is not really an option.

But is the idea of government money completely anathema to the free press. What about subsidies? In previous blog entries I have argued that it might be an idea for the Welsh Assembly to assist with funding an online news agency in Wales. I still think this is a good idea. The trouble is that at the moment the Assembly seems only to be keen on funding Welsh language projects, which is good for Golwg, but what about the rest of us? The funding of Welsh language media is important. And, although not a Welsh speaker myself, I do understand the reason the Assembly feel it necessary to fund Welsh language projects.

My problem with this, however, is that it strikes me as fiddling whilst Rome burns.

Putting money into the Welsh language media when all around us, the more vital and widely purchased, English language outlets are dying, strikes me as bizarre. I suspect that this issue is one for another wider discussion. I do, however, honestly believe that the decision solely to fund Golwg’s online presence was a mistake when there were other worthy causes.

Welsh language projects are the icing on the cake. They shouldn’t be the whole cake.

So what should the Assembly fund?

Any Assembly or indeed European funding of print projects in Wales would, in my opinion, be entirely pointless and self indulgent. At a time when the print media across the UK is losing ground to the online realm, funding print would be waste of much needed money. Roy Greenslade, who I rarely agree with, put it very well at the NUJ meeting. Discussing whether or not to subsidise printing in the UK he argued it would be like subsiding horses and carriages after the car was invented.

The only sensible way of funding the Welsh media is to focus on online English language solutions.

Feasibly, the Welsh Assembly could fund the start-up costs of a variety of online media and news ventures relatively cheaply. And there is no reason that these projects would have to have a national focus. In fact, in most cases I would argue that small is better. The establishment of a part Assembly funded online news service which looks outwards is a vital step. But I also believe that local news should be transformed.

There is no reason why local news websites cannot be funded through the Assembly, and even local government. Web 2.0 has opened the door to lots of possibilities with regards to news websites. A community organised online news-service which employs crowdsourcing principles could be very effective. Crowdsourcing could reduce costs and ensure that local websites remain relevant. Employing social media and networking principles could also substantially reduce the need for promotional outlay.

This idea has massive potential. The continuing demise of the traditional Welsh Media is a tremendous opportunity to transform local news delivery and production. If you don’t think local news media and production need an overhaul take a look at what your local newspapers are putting out these days.        

To summarise: nationalisation is not a genuine option for saving the Welsh or indeed any UK media as it would necessarily compromise the impartiality of media to the government.

Government subsidies to support the start-up of media projects are vital and must not be focussed solely on Welsh language projects.  

The Assembly should investigate the idea of an outward looking news agency, partly funded with Assembly money and with a national focus, to try to encourage more coverage of Wales in the UK national press.

The most easily achievable alternative model of media ownership, that could have a real impact, is the idea of local news websites whose start up costs are funded by local government. 

Using crowdsourcing principles to draw news out of the community, and using blogs and social media to grow sites, could be highly effective in a local context. This, alongside the obvious potential these sites would have to draw local advertising revenue, would make them financially viable.

It would of course be necessary to maintain the professional standard of these sites by employing paid journalists, but aside from this I would argue the sites should be run on a profit share basis. Combined with a national news agency for Wales these projects could transform the media landscape in Wales for the better. 

These are, of course, far from fully formed ideas. Developments in the world of online news occur daily and who knows what might be around the corner. Suffice to say, I think it is vital the NUJ in Wales and journalists as a whole start to think creatively about how the problems of the dying Welsh media can be turned into an opportunity.

One thing that was absolutely clear from the NUJ meeting I attended was that change is coming. It is vital that whilst fiercely defending jobs in the Welsh print press, journalists also start looking for new and innovative ways to revive our flagging media.

And who knows? If it works out we could end up with a better, more representative, democratic and vital news media in Wales.   

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What a dangerously inept organisation ITV are.

They received over a thousand complaints - including mine - over their showing of an advert at the key moment of the Merseyside derby on Wednesday night. These complaints came from people who were, quite rightly, upset at the startling disregard ITV has for its audience.

Irritating as this was, however, it pales in comparison to the arrogant and neglectful attitude that ITV has towards Wales.

Most specifically I am referring to the cutbacks in regional programming they have announced which are set to destroy public service broadcasting in Wales.

With the football cock-ups and all the cutbacks you might think they have enough on their plate.

Well no, not quite. Not content with upsetting football fans and those who care about democracy and the Welsh media, they are now having a pop at deaf people.

ITV Wales has announced it is to drop sign language bulletins from its flagship news programme. This has understandably upset quite a lot of people.

The Wales Deaf Broadcasting Council claim they were not consulted and have said it will be a severe blow to deaf people.

Indeed it appears there was no consultation. The loathsome and spectacularly useless OFCOM have no power to insist that news programmes are signed. They can only insist that a specific number of hours of programmes are signed.

This begs the question, if there is no reduction in the number of hours of signed programmes below the required amount, which bright spark decided it should be news coverage that loses out?

Regional news is the ‘canary in the coal mine’ of the Welsh media. The continuing erosion of local news is catastrophic for Wales and points to a wider future decline in the Welsh media.

The importance placed by ITV on local news is now clear to see. They don’t care about it. They don’t care to the extent that they think it is more important to have other programmes signed.

This all coincides with the cutbacks in regional news programming to four hours a week, from five hours twenty minutes. How much further do they want to undermine regional news in Wales?

ITV’s response is to explain that news programmes will continue to be subtitled. 

This is simply not good enough. With a breathtaking arrogance they have disregarded the viewing preferences of an entire social group.

As the WDBC put it:

“The statement by ITV that subtitles will be continued has no impact on those who rely on sign language, which is the preferred language of a number of deaf viewers and the medium for receiving information.”

ITV also claim that they are merely bringing their services in line with others across the country. English regions, for instance, do not have signed news headlines. But why should Wales be brought into line with England on this subject if it is better for deaf people if news is signed?

AMs have been quick to condemn the move as “appalling” and “outrageous”.

The excellent Adam Price MP has also waded in, pointing out that there maybe Welsh language implications to the decision. He also stated in an interview on the BBC website:

“I am concerned about the very short notice given for implementation of this decision. I hope that this is not an attempt by ITV Wales to achieve a fait accompli.”

Price has hit the nail on the head. The decision has been made without the prior consultation of deaf people, without the knowledge and scrutiny of OFCOM, and crucially, without the input of the Welsh Assembly.

A fait accompli is exactly what it is.

The Welsh Assembly has recognised BSL as an official language in Wales, giving it the same status as English and Welsh. BSL is the first language of many in Wales.

ITV, however, like Trinity Mirror, seem to think they can run roughshod over the Welsh Assembly and the Welsh people. With the pathetic lapdog OFCOM meekly trotting beside them, ITV are ignoring their obligations and trampling on the rights, preferences and needs of the Welsh people.

The only hope comes from the fact the deaf community are a particularly strong lobbying group in Wales. They will not take kindly to being ignored.

I for one sincerely hope ITV have met their match.

 ***

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So, what happens in Wales then?

Well plenty, actually, but for some reason news from Wales seems to slip past those who make the editorial decisions in the UK national press.

Prompted by some of the comments on my previous entry I thought it might be worthwhile discussing the subject of newsworthiness.

Clearly this is a huge subject, so to narrow it down I’m going to look specifically at the newsworthiness of the Welsh Assembly elections. There can scarcely be a time where media engagement with Welsh politics is more important. 

When traditional news value theories are applied to the elections of 2003 it is easy to see why they received so little coverage. Firstly, the result was a foregone conclusion. There was no unexpectedness, no element of surprise. Also, the wider public perceived the Assembly powers as too weak and not able to make a difference to social and economic welfare.

This in turn limited the meaningfulness of the issues to the Welsh people, reducing the news value.

It was also shown in an NOP poll that just over a third of people knew a fair amount about the Assembly, its record and its powers. This indicates that stories about the election may not have been clear or unambiguous.

Furthermore, there was also a lack of ‘big beast’ politicians, elite figures, or unusual people in the elections. And, there was little real debate on issues between the main parties, meaning there was a lack of conflict, another key news value.

In 2007, on the other hand, it was a little bit different. There was a small increase in electoral turn-out of 5.5%. There was also a marked increase in press coverage from the Welsh press.

However, in the run up to these elections the Institute for Welsh Affairs noted in its report on national media coverage of Wales, that there was still very little coverage of the Welsh elections in the national press. In fact the study found that there was more coverage of the slaughter of Shambo, the sacred bull, than there was of the formation of the new Assembly Government.

National press coverage was actually worse than in 2003. The report stated:

“On Saturday 5^th of May, the first morning on which newspapers could carry the result, the highest selling newspaper in Wales, the Sun, carried only thirteen words of coverage, contained within a story on the Scottish elections. This pattern was continued during the long aftermath during which political parties negotiated to form a coalition government.”

The report noted that an astonishing 59.6% of Wales based stories during this time were about Shambo the bull.

Even Rhodri Morgan’s heart surgery failed to raise much interest. As Adam Price MP put it at the time:

“The death of Shambo the bull got more attention from the BBC in 2007 than the fate of Rhodri Morgan, and the Welsh nation, which shows what the media thinks of the nation.”

The elections in 2007 were clearly more newsworthy than in 2003. They were, however, still ignored.

In fact, as the IWA report points out, the coverage was even worse.

The IWA had some interesting suggestions about why coverage was so bad. A lack of local correspondents, for instance, and an over-reliance on Press Association copy were cited as key factors.

These are vital points.

UK nationals relied almost entirely on PA copy for the whole of the Welsh elections. This meant that only a fraction of the news from Wales was reaching London.

Wales is news valuable, but news agencies and journalists in Wales are often too insular, believing that the UK national press will not be interested in Welsh issues. Sometimes this is doubtless true, but if there had been an outward looking press agency in-situ during the 2007 elections they could have pushed for more Welsh stories in the UK nationals.

I am not, of course, letting the UK national press off the hook. Even with good links and communication between Welsh journalists and London it would be a struggle to get them to take stories. But it’s not impossible.

The truth is that to improve democracy in Wales there needs to be more reporting of the Assembly, particularly at election time. Because of the current dismal state of the media in Wales this primarily means increasing the amount of coverage in UK nationals.

The only way this is likely to happen is if journalists in Wales start looking outwards and London-centric media professionals realise that Wales is not just for animal stories and suicides.

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I have always thought OFCOM served no purpose. Last week, however, they proved me wrong. They do have a purpose after all - they want to help ITV destroy public service broadcasting.

In an announcement last week OFCOM sounded the death knell for public service broadcasting in Wales.

Effectively ITV could be free from any requirement to produce regional news programmes from 2011 with the funding for local news coming instead from a “competitively funded independent consortium in each region.” Whatever that means…

In the run up to 2011 OFCOM has also given permission for ITV to merge its seventeen news regions across England, Wales and the Scottish borders, reducing the number of regions from seventeen to nine. In England the regional news output will be cut to three and a quarter hours a week. The reduction will be to four hours in Wales.

These cutbacks affect all UK regions, but they are particularly bad for Wales.

Once again OFCOM have failed to consider the specific impact that cuts in regional programming will have in Wales. This is disappointing but unsurprising. The terminal decline across the whole of the Welsh media is a real problem in a burgeoning democracy.

It was pleasing to see how quickly politicians responded to rumours that the Daily Post and Western Mail were to merge. It was also pleasing to see politicians making statements in relation to last week’s OFCOM announcement. They realised that ITV cutting back on regional programming will leave Wales over-dependent on the BBC.

The responses to the OFCOM announcement were about the lack of competition for the BBC in Wales. This is indeed worrying, but I can’t help thinking that if the Assembly were really worried about lack of competition in the Welsh media they would have dealt with Trinity Mirror long ago.

No, all this masks a more serious problem.

The Welsh media is structurally weak for economic, social and political reasons. There is a severe lack of plurality of opinions in the media marketplace in Wales. The barriers that prevent new entries into the mainstream media market are insurmountable in the case of Wales. The kind of investment required to start up a quality tabloid in Wales would be massive and unlikely to appeal to newspaper groups and owners in these crunchy times. Statistics also show that Wales is limited in its appeal to advertisers.

With such little investment, along with a slash and burn attitude from Trinity Mirror, it seems unlikely the Welsh press can be saved. The cutbacks in regional programming from ITV and redundancies at the BBC make it safe to say that public service broadcasting in Wales is also ready for the last rites. Overall it’s a grim picture.

So, what is the solution?

It is unrealistic to think along the lines of traditional media when considering what projects may help to improve the plurality of media in Wales. The online option is all that is left. With relatively small start up costs and little competition from print and broadcast media in Wales, an online news service – perhaps part funded with public money from the Assembly – could at least begin the task of improving the range and scope of journalism in Wales.

The key thing about any such news service is that it would need to appeal to national newspapers in London, as well as the Welsh media and wider public. It is simply no good for people peddling Welsh news to focus solely on the Welsh media market. As has become apparent, there scarcely is one.

With 85% of newspapers bought in Wales being produced in England, it is crucially important that more Welsh news gets into national newspapers. It will not do to remain insular.

An outward looking news service, free from the sin of ‘churnalism’ and not entirely composed of press releases, could make a significant difference.

The only barrier to reaching the public in Wales would be the fact that, traditionally, use of the internet has been low. The Welsh Consumer Council back in 2003 raised concerns that only 37% of Welsh people had an internet connection. This rose to 41% in 2004 and then, against the national trend, remained steady at 41% in 2005. Things have improved of late. In a BRMB survey undertaken in 2007/2008 68% of respondents said they had used the internet at home or elsewhere in the last twelve months. Although this is a significant improvement on the 2003 figure it does mean that Wales is the third lowest area in the UK for internet use.

Despite this, and thanks in part to the Welsh Consumer Council, Wales is being dragged kicking and screaming into the internet age. Unsurprisingly though, take-up of broadband services in Wales has been particularly low. In fact, ongoing internet equality across the UK is rife, with the southeast of the UK being the most connected area and the North East being the least connected. Sadly, use of the internet is significantly lower in regions that are relatively poor, which is another factor affecting internet use in Wales.

Aside from all of this, low start up costs, lack of traditional media competition, and a continuing increase in the numbers of people using the internet make an online solution to the Welsh media problem the best option.

Online journalism is stealing ground from traditional news media across the board. In Wales the job of clearing the way for an online news revolution has already been done by the neglectful owners of traditional media. The door has been left wide open for an online solution.

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As a rule I don’t do schadenfreude. I must confess, however, that the merest of smiles crept across my face on hearing of the latest allegations against Conservative Assembly Member Nick Bourne.

It was reported over the weekend that Mr Bourne is to be investigated by the police in relation to payments made to Preseli Pembrokeshire Conservatives and later claimed back from the Assembly.

Labour Parliamentary candidate Jenny Rathbone has asked police to investigate whether or not the payments were illegal.

This last scandal hasn’t finished Mr Bourne off. Remarkably he is actually getting sympathy from his critics, a number of whom regard the allegations as nothing more than opportunistic political point scoring.

Fair enough, they may well be right.

I must be a bit old fashioned though, as I tend to think politicians who are accused of crimes should be investigated.

Whether the allegations hold water or are just a Machiavellian strategy I have no idea. And I have no intention of guessing. Suffice to say that if it emerges that it was simply an opportunist strategy there should be consequences for Rathbone.

Nick Bourne’s 2009 has started in much the same way as his 2008 ended. That is, not very well.

Last year his expenses claims caused outrage after it emerged he spent £5,000 of tax-payers’ money on his bathroom. Then it emerged he had also claimed for a trouser press and an iPod.

It was all entirely legal and correct within the rules of the Welsh Assembly, but that wasn’t the problem. The problem was that the people of Wales thought £5,000 of their money was a bit much to spend on a bathroom. And just maybe, politicians should fork out for their own upmarket ironing boards and music accessories.

Despite all this, things did seem to be improving for Nick. Last week the Welsh Conservative Group released a statement saying he would remain their leader. They also, without even a hint of irony, launched their ‘robust guidelines’ for how AMs should claim expenses.

What really struck me, observing all of this, was that Nick Bourne still doesn’t get it.

Despite all the months of allegations, negative press coverage and public anger, Nick Bourne still believes it was a ‘witch-hunt’ and that the newspaper reports of the scandal were ‘near hysterical’.

He then went on to illustrate, even more clearly, just how little he had learnt from the scandal. He said he knew of AMs making large claims for lunches, but wasn’t going to reveal their names as he didn’t want them to become victims of a witch hunt as well.

Hang on just a minute there - I want to know what Assembly Members are doing with my money!

So we have robust guidelines from the Conservatives on expenses accompanied by Nick Bourne announcing that he knows people are abusing the rules but he’s not saying who they are. Mixed messages?

To make matters even worse he also retreated to that famous last refuge of the scoundrel: blaming the newspapers.

The coverage of the expenses scandal was extensive but measured. The facts were reported and the views of those who thought Nick Bourne’s actions were not acceptable were represented, alongside the views of those who thought it was all a storm in a tea cup.

It was nowhere near hysterical.

It must also be remembered that Nick didn’t really help himself. Releasing the statement that there was no music on his iPod was a political suicide attempt.

Nick Bourne should be thankful that the media in Wales is in no fit state to really scrutinise him.

Newspaper cutbacks are already reducing the amount of political coverage that goes into the two national newspapers. One of the most worrying things about the Welsh media is that Assembly Members do not face the kind of media scrutiny they should.

For Nick Bourne, however, it is evidently still too much. His claim to have been the victim of a witch-hunt just doesn’t stand up in the light of what we know about the Welsh press.

If he can’t handle the limited scrutiny Assembly Members face from the newspapers, maybe Nick Bourne had better hop on his broom and find another job.

***

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Trinity Mirror announcements regarding Wales are usually harbingers of doom. 

Yesterday the newspaper group managed to win my occasional award for Spectacularly Bad Idea of the Week. It then somehow managed to get worse. 

The group, which has a virtual monopoly in Wales, announced their intention to combine the North West England and Wales regions.

As awful ideas go this was a bit of a humdinger. The continuing programme of cut-backs will inevitably transform Wales’ media wasteland into, well, more of a wasteland.

However, no sooner had the dust settled than an even worse idea was doing the rounds.

Could this merger mean Wales’ two national newspapers, The Daily Post and the Western Mail would become one? Some miserable hacks clearly thought so and started putting the rumour about.

Had this been true, it would have required the creation of a new and more wide ranging award for bad ideas.

It’s impossible to underestimate quite how awful the consequences would be for an already weak print media in Wales.
 

Welsh politicians, with the exception perhaps of Adam Price, usually appear blissfully ignorant of the crisis in the Welsh media. Yesterday, however, within hours of this rumour doing the rounds two independent Welsh politicians had spoken out.

One of these was Dai Davies MP who said “Since 1999 we have seen a vast increase in powers to politicians in Wales and yet more and more journalists are losing their jobs, and there is less and less reporting of politics and political debate and decision making.” 

Quite right he is to, but this is clearly nothing new.

Back in 2005, then culture minister Alun Pugh, was being ridiculed for expressing concern about the structural weakness of the Welsh media and the implications it may have for democracy in Wales.

The Assembly still hasn’t acted, aside from throwing together a few reports, and now with the prospect of further cut-backs in all areas the media in Wales is on the brink.

The cut-backs in ITV’s regional funding are nothing short of disgraceful and that old toothless tiger OFCOM hasn’t got the nerve to get its gummy gob anywhere near ITV’s neck.

The 155 redundancies proposed at the BBC will do nothing to sort out the issues raised in last year’s BBC trust report. Now that Trinity Mirror is jumping ship too, something needs to be done.

In Wales 85% of the newspapers bought are produced in England. They carry virtually no content about Wales, and certainly nothing about the Assembly. The importance of the Post and the Mail is massive.

In my opinion it’s about time the Assembly stopped sleep-walking and got a grip on the issues affecting the Welsh media.

If not they will end up with an electorate who receive no information about the Welsh issues of the day and the comings and goings at the Senedd.

And if that becomes the case they may just sleep-walk themselves out of a legitimate mandate.

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Some argue the members of the group have undermined the important task they are charged with by posting answers to the question ‘What would you be, if you were an animal?’ on their website.

See all the results here. Unfortunately no reasons for the choices are given, but you have got to love Alex Aldridge for saying elephant.

David Davies of the True Wales group has rather uncharitably kicked up a fuss saying, ‘I am astounded by this. They are supposed to be engaging in a serious debate about the constitutional future of Wales. Instead they are engaging in very strange activities.’

Mr Davies (now what animal would he be?) goes on to compare the group to ‘nursery children at their first day in school pretending to be animals.’

The group’s first public consultation was at the Seaside Social and Labour Club last night in Port Talbot and everyone who attended was given a free curry for doing so.

No problem there you might think, except for the fact it is supposed to be an independent consultation and it’s being held in the Labour club. Oh, and the fact that some people think the curry may be a sort of bribe….

Davies again, ‘They are acting like eighteenth century politicians in rotten boroughs by offering voters free victuals. Whether this is to persuade people to vote ‘yes’ I am not sure’ 

Regardless of Mr Davies slightly bad tempered moaning, it strikes me as sad that curry is needed to get people in Wales engaged in the next stage of devolution.

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Email me @ mabiblogion@googlemail.com

National news coverage of Wales is rubbish. It just is.

Don’t take my word for it. Last year’s scathing BBC Trust report was just one document detailing how bad reporting of Wales is.

With that in mind, and being a Welshman in exile, I have set up this blog. I intend to trawl the internet picking up the most interesting stories from Wales and posting my take on them here.  

 Be warned, there may be ranting…

Anyway, to get us underway is a review of some of the biggest, most popular, and weirdest stories to come out of Wales in 2008.

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The murder of Catherine and Ben Mullany on their honeymoon in the Caribbean was one of the most shocking and tragic stories of 2008.

A doctor from Pontardawe in the Swansea Valley, Mrs Mullany died after being shot on the last day of her honeymoon. Her Husband, Ben, also died a week later from his injuries.

The funeral service held at Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff was attended by more than 900 people. 

In Welsh politics, 2008 showed us the best and worst of the Assembly.

In July a survey revealed that three female members of the Welsh Assembly had been victims of rape.

Nerys Evans AM released the findings of her survey to coincide with the publication of a report into violence against women.

It was an impressive and brave move, and sent a powerful message about the prevalence of violence against women.

It also earned an important report some vital publicity.

Less impressive were the revelations in August that Assembly Members had spent £400,000 of tax-payers’ money on furniture for their Cardiff-based homes.

One North Wales AM, Leslie Griffiths, reportedly spent £2000 on a sofa.

Revelations later in the year that two Conservative AMs, Nick Bourne and Alun Cairns, had bought iPODS using their expenses allowance, also caused outrage.

The anger was not diminished by Bourne’s spokesman, claiming the AM only used it to listen to news podcasts, and to help him learn Welsh. He didn’t realise it wasn’t what was on the iPOD that was the problem…

 It was also revealed that Brian Gibbons, a local government minister on a wage of over £70k, claimed £16.50 for a Royal British Legion wreath.  

A miserable year for Labour was compounded by the collapse of their vote in the Welsh local elections.  First Minister Rhodri Morgan conceded his party had ‘taken a belting.’

In the world of entertainment Rhys Ifans broke up with girlfriend Sienna Miller and then spent the rest of the year ‘getting over it’. North Wales singer Duffy had spectacular success including a number one single.

In December a couple from Talacre claimed TV presenter Paul O’Grady had ‘Savaged’ their reputations in his autobiography At My Mother’s Knee and Other Low Joints.

Michael Long and his parents Rose and George defended themselves against claims in O’Grady’s book about the time when they were neighbours in Birkenhead.

In environment news it was reported that greenhouse gas emissions in Wales continued to increase despite initiatives to the contrary.

Agriculture minister Elin Jones continued to maintain an anti-GM position, while Environment minister Jane Davidson pushed forward with challenging targets for waste recycling and generation of electricity from renewable sources.

In December approval was given for the Gwynt y Mor wind farm off the North Wales coast.

In sport Rugby fans were delighted to see Wales secure the Grand Slam in March after hammering France 29-12.

In September there was scandal at the Paralympics as Becca Chin was stripped of her silver medal after games officials decided she was not disabled enough.

Wrexham Football Club dropped out of the football league after 87 years.

My personal favourite story of the year was this.

When a translation request was sent to Swansea council for a road sign they received a remarkably quick response. The sign was put up and all was fine until someone spotted that it said “I am not in the office at the moment. Send any work to be translated”.

And finally, the daftest story of the year has to be from the Daily Post who reported how a missing cockatiel was reunited with its owner after chirping its name down its rescuer’s phone.

A quiet news week then?

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Email me @ mabiblogion@googlemail.com