Our ways of interpreting the world are based on shared collective positioning as a nation in relation to other nations. However, ethnocentricity assumes that one nation’s description of the world is right and is superior to the view of reality of other countries and societies. It is the acceptance of the dominant view of society regardless of other views. The history for centuries of the relationship between England and the Celtic countries – Ireland, Wales and Scotland – is that of domination by England.
A basic element of this relationship between England and the Celtic countries is prescription. The dominating group prescribes what is worthy of observation and how it is interpreted. Thus Newsnight reports from an Anglocentric perspective and when the Celtic countries are reported it is from the perspective of England. However, cultural factors influence what we perceive and how we perceive it, and what is important for Welsh viewers is typically ignored or if deemed newsworthy interpreted from an English stance.
A major factor in Wales is the Welsh language. How we think begins with and is determined by language. The majority of the world is at least bilingual and this is accepted in news reporting across the world where major news discussions are presented in two or more of the languages of the country in question. However our proximity to England has been problematic in news reporting from the perspective of Wales – from what is selected as worthy of reporting to its interpretation and analysis.
Language gives another perspective on the world. Anglophones often cannot see this. The rights of the dominant language users are seen as normal and invisible structures support this. The dominating group do not see themselves as dominating others as domination is taken for granted and any change to this is resisted. This has been reflected in the Westminster government’s attitude of grudging concessions in areas such as public broadcasting. Broadcasting in the UK was begun in 1920 with the goal of a ‘national service’. However, implicit in this was the essential Englishness of the BBC spreading the perceptions and attitudes of London to every part of the UK. It was only after lengthy protests that adequate provision was made for the Welsh language in broadcasting. This situation was re-enacted a generation later following the introduction of television. An adequate service for the 20th century was only conceded after long campaigns and dedicated efforts. Now in the 21st century, we call for Wales to have its own Newsnight, presented in both languages.