Last year, the Presiding Officer of the National Assembly, Rosemary Butler AM, said she was worried that 'the majority of people in Wales don't get their news from Wales, they get their news from across the English border and therefore it tends to be English-centric.'[2] The Presiding Officer is absolutely right.
The newspaper industry in Wales is already weak, but fewer and fewer people are reading the Western Mail, the only national newspaper of Wales. Few people see the Welsh news on the BBC or ITV compared to Sky News or the 'main' BBC News. So why are we surprised that so few Welsh people know Carwyn?
The British media don't give a damn about Wales, that much is clear. It irritates me to see poor Hywel Griffith travelling across the country as 'Wales Correspondent' when news in England has a number of reporters for different issues.
If we are to ensure that Welsh people are more engaged with the critical issues and institutions of modern Welsh society, we must give Welsh politics a platform on mainstream television. What better way to do that, in Welsh and English, than by setting aside time each night as part of Newsnight for Welsh news, for Welsh affairs, based in Wales, specifically for the people of Wales?
If we are to ensure that people can scrutinise those they have elected to make decisions for them and for Wales, we must give Welsh politics a platform on mainstream television.
If we are to start rebuilding the news industry in Wales, and ensure that the people of Wales have – at the very least – a Welsh angle to their news, we must give Welsh politics a platform on mainstream television.
It worries me so much when I speak to someone about some matter or another and their response is 'Carwyn who?' or some similar remark. On one level, this is incredible – and on another, it is entirely understandable.
The people of Wales have no real access to the politics of their country. Wales aspires to be a mature, modern, progressive country. Goodness me, if we can’t even have a programme like Newsnight focused on our own affairs, then God help us!
This is not a luxury. This is not an add-on we would like to have. It is a prerequisite to our being a mature, modern, progressive country.
Let us work towards creating that country. Let's get Newsnight for Wales.
[1] http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/carwyn-jones-lower-profile-wales-5316456
[2] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-22572519
Originally from Cwmgors in the south-west, Cerith Rhys Jones expects to graduate in Welsh and Politics from Cardiff University this year.