Local newspapers
across Wales
provide an important service to their readers and communities; they are far and
away the most popular source for local news and information. They’re well-read too; often better read
within their areas than their larger cousins, enjoying a high level of market
penetration.
Many are struggling
financially, however, and depend heavily on advertising revenue. The call from several politicians from multiple parties this week for the Welsh Government not to remove the obligation on Welsh local
authorities to advertise traffic orders in local weeklies is entirely
understandable in that context. But, as
reported, it seems as though maintaining the newspapers’ revenue is the only
reason for making that call, and that makes it sound more like a back-door
subsidy than a sensible advertising policy.
There’s nothing
wrong with the government deciding that local papers provide such a valuable
service that it justifies using public money to keep them afloat. But it would be far more honest to do that
openly and transparently. Ordering local
councils to buy advertising which is otherwise deemed unnecessary would merely
serve to create a delusion that the papers are commercially successful when
they’re not.
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