My letter re Welsh media

Below is my letter regarding the Welsh media which appeared in yesterdays (24/01/2010) Wales on Sunday.


"AS a regular reader of Steve Tucker’s usually hilarious column in Wales on Sunday and student member of the National Union of Journalists, I was disappointed by the sentiments he expressed about S4C this week.

In his column about S4C’s recent Sgorio programme, which officially had no viewers, Steve asks “why can’t we have some programmes in English on S4C?”

My question would be why can’t we have English language channels specifically for Wales, much like RTÉ in Ireland, as well as Welsh language channels?

I am surprised to see Steve criticising S4C when its position is similar to the Western Mail’s.

I buy the Western Mail and Wales on Sunday because I want Welsh news, sport and opinion, but I am in a minority, the majority of people in Wales, that still buy a daily paper, will read a newspaper that was written for an English audience with nothing about Wales inside.



Despite not speaking Welsh, I often watch S4C, including Sgorio, with subtitles on because I want to watch programmes that reflect Welsh culture and tackle Welsh issues. I don’t believe I am alone in wanting to consume media that is relevant to me. You say things have got so bad Rod Richards said S4C should be closed down, well if Richards succeeds in stirring up support for S4C’s closure, how long until the Western Mail is under threat because it doesn’t have enough readers?

I applaud the work S4C, BBC Cymru Wales and Media Wales do but our media in Wales is still underdeveloped and in a delicate position.

I would hope Steve Tucker and other public figures in Wales get right behind the growth of independent Welsh media in the future."


GWYNFOR 1 MAGGIE THATCHER 0