Projects designed to support and sustain Wales' journalism sector have been awarded funding.
The Welsh Government has announced over £210,000 of investment, through Creative Wales, to support the journalism industry in Wales.
The investment has seen sector support provided through an open fund to eight innovative projects designed to sustain Wales’s journalism sector,
The open fund, launched in June, invited proposals for projects that benefited the sector broadly and addressed key challenges identified by the 2023 report Of and For Wales: Towards a Sustainable Future for Public Interest Journalism, which looked at building a sustainable future for public interest journalism.
The successful projects will tackle critical issues including news gaps, diversity and inclusion, and workforce development. They range from creating Wales' first searchable database of magistrate's court cases to establishing journalism academies and mentoring programmes for aspiring reporters from under-represented communities.
Key funded projects include:
- Caerphilly Observer's Court List: an open-source, searchable database eliminating the need for journalists to manually search court records, addressing the growing news gap in court reporting
- Cardiff University project: research into understanding the needs of media users in Wales
- Golwg360 Newsgathering Academy: paid apprenticeships and intensive training for four aspiring Welsh-language journalists
- Nation.Cymru's Future Generations programme: providing mentoring, paid placements and commissions for emerging journalists from under-represented communities
- National Union of Journalists' State of Media in Wales Conference: bringing together media organisations, workers and policymakers to develop a sector-wide strategy
- Inclusive Journalism Cymru's Newyddion i Bawb programme: expanding community-led participatory journalism to Blaenau Ffestiniog and establishing a Wales-focused Fellowship at the Reuters Institute
- Institute of Welsh Affairs' anthology project: commissioning articles from Wales' news ‘deserts’ with mentoring for new entrants
- Talking Wales: providing opportunities for freelance journalists to contribute content to dedicated radio broadcast covering Welsh news and current affairs
Jack Sargeant, Minister for Culture, said:
A vibrant, sustainable journalism sector is essential for Welsh democracy and our communities. These 8 projects represent exactly the kind of innovative, collaborative thinking we need to address the challenges facing journalism inwales.
By investing in initiatives that benefit the entire sector, we're supporting systemic change that will strengthen public interest journalism for years to come. Whether it's creating new training pathways, developing vital infrastructure like the Court List database, or ensuring communities across Wales can access quality, locally-relevant journalism, these projects will make a real difference.
Shirish Kulkarni, project lead on Newyddion i Bawb programme, said:
This work will explore and evidence what marginalised people and communities really want and need from journalism. We believe this is a vital conversation for the future of journalism in Wales, and we hope the insights it generates will benefit the sector as a whole.
Sofia Lewis, the Reuters Fellow, said:
On a personal level, I was drawn to this opportunity because my own career trajectory remains relatively uncommon – and it drives my passion for forging new paths and improving class representation in the Welsh, and UK-wide, media industry. I’m eager to spark conversations and drive collaboration to help tackle this issue.
The Wales Public Interest Journalism Working Group was established in late 2022 to facilitate discussion between industry stakeholders and the Welsh Government. Its 2023 recommendation report outlined the actions required for a more sustainable, inclusive journalism sector in Wales.
