Media in Wales
Encyclopedia
The media in Wales provides services in both English
and Welsh
, and plays a role in modern Welsh culture
. BBC Wales broadcasts since the 1930s have helped to promote a form of standardised spoken Welsh, and one historian has argued that the concept of Wales
as a single national entity owes much to modern broadcasting
. The national broadcasters are based in the capital, Cardiff
.
is based in Broadcasting House
, Llandaff
, northern
Cardiff
and provides BBC One Wales and BBC Two Wales television channels. BBC Wales produces the most-watched Welsh news programme BBC Wales Today
, current affairs programme Week In Week Out, sports coverage in Scrum V
and Sport Wales,, science-fiction programmes including Doctor Who
and Torchwood
, and factual programmes such as X-Ray.
ITV Wales
is based in Culverhouse Cross
, western
Cardiff and produces regional news and factual programmes such as Wales Tonight
, Wales This Week, Sharp End and The Wales Show.
S4C
is the main Welsh language station and has its headquarters in Llanishen
, northern Cardiff. The channel features around 10 hours a week of programmes made in Welsh by BBC Wales, such as Newyddion
(News) and Pobol y Cwm
(a long-running soap opera) as well as programmes made by independent production companies.
produces two national radio stations, BBC Radio Wales
in English and BBC Radio Cymru
in Welsh. There are also a number of independent radio stations throughout the country which broadcast in both Welsh and English.
The main commercial radio stations broadcasting from South Wales
are as follows :
and Northern Ireland
, the Welsh national press is limited. The only Wales-based national newspaper is the Western Mail, produced by Trinity Mirror
. Its Sunday counterpart is the Wales on Sunday. When Wales won the Six Nations
Grand Slam
in 2005 the Wales on Sunday almost doubled its sales.
One study in the 1990s found that the most-widely read newspaper in Wales was The Sun
. Despite the popularity of London-based newspapers in Wales, most UK newspapers do not produce regional copies for the Welsh audience, although up until 2003 The Mirror was branded as the Welsh Mirror. Since the 1970s, there has been a decline in the number of Fleet Street
newspaper journalists based in Wales; now all national UK newspapers rely on the Press Association
reporter in Wales.
The most popular local newspapers are the Cardiff-based South Wales Echo
, the Swansea-based South Wales Evening Post
, and the Newport-based South Wales Argus
. The North Wales
edition of the Liverpool Daily Post
is distributed in that region. The Evening Leader is the main evening newspaper for North East Wales. A Welsh-language daily newspaper, Y Byd
, was planned to launch in Spring 2007, but it failed to publish due to a lack of funding.
Planet, a bi-monthly magazine covering the arts, literature and politics in Wales and the wider world, is produced in Aberystwyth
. Each edition features poems and short stories alongside cultural reviews and political analysis.
A Welsh edition of the Times Educational Supplement
, called TES Cymru, dedicates a number of pages of coverage to the country's devolved education system, with a reporter based in Cardiff
.
Your Wedding Day is the biggest bridal magazine in Wales.
, Builth, Crickhowell
, Hay on Wye, Llandovery
, Llandrindod, Llanwrtyd
, Talgarth
and Rhayader
", and the 'Cambrian snooze' newsletter in Aberystwyth
.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
, and plays a role in modern Welsh culture
Culture of Wales
Wales has a distinctive culture including its own language, customs, holidays and music.Wales is primarily represented by the symbol of the red Welsh Dragon, but other national emblems include the leek and daffodil. The Welsh words for leeks and daffodils Wales has a distinctive culture including...
. BBC Wales broadcasts since the 1930s have helped to promote a form of standardised spoken Welsh, and one historian has argued that the concept of Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
as a single national entity owes much to modern broadcasting
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
. The national broadcasters are based in the capital, Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
.
Television
BBC WalesBBC Wales
BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the British Broadcasting Corporation for Wales. Based at Broadcasting House in the Llandaff area of Cardiff, it directly employs over 1200 people, and produces a broad range of television, radio and online services in both the Welsh and English languages.Outside...
is based in Broadcasting House
Broadcasting House (Cardiff)
Broadcasting House Cardiff is the purpose-built headquarters for BBC Cymru Wales' radio, television and online services, situated in north Cardiff...
, Llandaff
Llandaff
Llandaff is a district in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales, having been incorporated into the city in 1922. It is the seat of the Church in Wales Bishop of Llandaff, whose diocese covers the most populous area of South Wales. Much of the district is covered by parkland known as Llandaff...
, northern
Cardiff North
Cardiff North or North Cardiff can refer to the collections of mainly middle class suburban communities in the north of Cardiff, Wales. The population of the north of Cardiff is around 85,000 and is represented by the Conservative Party on most levels of government...
Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
and provides BBC One Wales and BBC Two Wales television channels. BBC Wales produces the most-watched Welsh news programme BBC Wales Today
BBC Wales Today
Wales Today is the BBC's national news programme for Wales, broadcast on BBC One Wales from the headquarters of BBC Wales in Llandaff, Cardiff....
, current affairs programme Week In Week Out, sports coverage in Scrum V
Scrum V
Scrum V is the brand used by BBC Wales for its rugby union programmes. The brand extends to BBC Wales' live coverage, Scrum V Live, highlights programmes, radio discussion and website.-Television:...
and Sport Wales,, science-fiction programmes including Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
and Torchwood
Torchwood
Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from...
, and factual programmes such as X-Ray.
ITV Wales
HTV
HTV, now legally known as ITV Wales & West, is the ITV contractor for Wales and the West of England, which operated from studios in Cardiff and Bristol. The company provided commercial television for the dual-region 'Wales and West' franchise, which it won from TWW in 1968...
is based in Culverhouse Cross
Culverhouse Cross
Culverhouse Cross is suburban district in the west of Cardiff, capital of Wales, lying on the border with the Vale of Glamorgan.The busy Culverhouse Cross roundabout is an important part of the primary road network to the west of the city and connects the A4232 , the A4050 , and...
, western
Cardiff West
Cardiff West or West Cardiff refers to the collection of communities in the west of Cardiff, Wales. Also the usage is unofficial and boundaries are only ambiguously defined, they generally share the postcodes CF5 or CF15, and the telephone code 029...
Cardiff and produces regional news and factual programmes such as Wales Tonight
Wales Tonight
Wales Tonight is a national television news and current affairs programme, also including local sports news and local features of interest, produced by ITV Wales at its studios in the western outskirts of Cardiff....
, Wales This Week, Sharp End and The Wales Show.
S4C
S4C
S4C , currently branded as S4/C, is a Welsh television channel broadcast from the capital, Cardiff. The first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking audience, it is the fifth oldest British television channel .The channel - initially broadcast on...
is the main Welsh language station and has its headquarters in Llanishen
Llanishen
Llanishen is a district in the north of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. Llanishen is well-known as the home of the 'Tax Offices', the tallest buildings in north Cardiff and a landmark for miles around...
, northern Cardiff. The channel features around 10 hours a week of programmes made in Welsh by BBC Wales, such as Newyddion
Newyddion
Newyddion is a Welsh-language news programme consisting of Welsh, UK, and international news, produced daily by BBC Cymru Wales and broadcast on S4C.-Overview:...
(News) and Pobol y Cwm
Pobol y Cwm
Pobol y Cwm is a Welsh-language television soap opera which has been produced by the BBC since October 1974. The longest-running television soap opera produced by the BBC, Pobol y Cwm was originally transmitted on BBC Wales television and later transferred to the Welsh-language station S4C when it...
(a long-running soap opera) as well as programmes made by independent production companies.
Radio
The BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
produces two national radio stations, BBC Radio Wales
BBC Radio Wales
BBC Radio Wales is the BBC's national radio station broadcasting to Wales in the English language. Operated by BBC Wales, it began broadcasting on 12 November 1978 following the demise of the old "Radio 4 Wales" when BBC Radio 4 became a national network and moved from medium wave to long wave...
in English and BBC Radio Cymru
BBC Radio Cymru
BBC Radio Cymru is BBC Cymru's Welsh-language radio station, broadcasting throughout Wales from studios in Cardiff, Bangor, and Aberystwyth on FM since 1977. At the time of its launch it was one of the few FM-only radio services in the UK...
in Welsh. There are also a number of independent radio stations throughout the country which broadcast in both Welsh and English.
The main commercial radio stations broadcasting from South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
are as follows :
- CardiffCardiffCardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
- Red Dragon FMRed Dragon FMCapital South Wales is a British independent local radio station broadcasting from Cardiff Bay . The station serves Cardiff, Newport and the surrounding areas, broadcasting to a potential audience of around 1 million people...
- locally orientated contemporary and chart musicContemporary hit radioContemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts...
and information station for under 44s - Real RadioReal Radio (Wales)Real Radio Wales is a Regional Radio station owned and operated by GMG Radio and forming part of the Real Radio network. The station broadcasts from studios at Morganstown in Cardiff on various FM frequencies, DAB via the MXR Severn Estuary multiplex and across the UK on digital satellite TV...
- full service adult contemporary music station for South Wales, targeting 25-54 year-olds - Gold - classic popClassic hitsClassic hits is a radio format which generally includes rock and pop music from 1964 to 1989. The term is sometimes erroneously used as a synonym for the adult hits format, but is more accurately characterized as a contemporary style of the oldies format...
music station, with local information, targeted at 35-54 year-olds - Radio CardiffRadio CardiffRadio Cardiff is a community radio station serving Cardiff, the capital of Wales. It broadcasts locally on 98.7 FM and via live streaming on the Internet....
- MOBOMoboMobo can refer to:*Shorthand for the motherboard in computers and other electronic equipment*Shorthand for a mobile [network] operator or MNO *Shorthand for a mobile bohemian, a person who embraces mobile technology...
orientated station, such as reggaeReggaeReggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
, r'n'b and hip hopHip hopHip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
- Red Dragon FM
- SwanseaSwanseaSwansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
- The Wave - contemporary and chart musicContemporary hit radioContemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts...
and information station for 15-44s - Swansea SoundSwansea SoundSwansea Sound is a British independent local radio station broadcasting to Swansea and surrounding areas, aimed at a core 40+ demographic. Swansea Sound was the first local radio station in Wales, and has won several awards, including the number one regional station in South Wales....
- classic pop hitsClassic hitsClassic hits is a radio format which generally includes rock and pop music from 1964 to 1989. The term is sometimes erroneously used as a synonym for the adult hits format, but is more accurately characterized as a contemporary style of the oldies format...
and information station for over 40s - Bay Radio - easy listeningEasy listeningEasy listening is a broad style of popular music and radio format that emerged in the 1950s, evolving out of big band music, and related to MOR music as played on many AM radio stations. It encompasses the exotica, beautiful music, light music, lounge music, ambient music, and space age pop genres...
and adult orientated
- The Wave - contemporary and chart music
- NeathNeathNeath is a town and community situated in the principal area of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, UK with a population of approximately 45,898 in 2001...
/Port TalbotPort TalbotPort Talbot is a town in Neath Port Talbot, Wales. It had a population of 35,633 in 2001.-History:Port Talbot grew out of the original small port and market town of Aberafan , which belonged to the medieval Lords of Afan. The area of the parish of Margam lying on the west bank of the lower Afan...
- Nation RadioNation RadioNation Radio launched on 16 June 2008 as a regional radio station broadcasting to the South Wales area from Neath.Nation Radio took over the Ofcom broadcasting licence held by Xfm South Wales when GCap Media sold the station to Town and Country Broadcasting for an unspecified fee on 30 May 2008....
- modern rockModern rockModern rock is a rock format commonly found on commercial radio; the format consists primarily of the alternative rock genre...
station for 15-34 year olds - Afan FMAfan FMXS is a community radio station serving the Neath Port Talbot county borough. The station is owned and operated by Neath Port Talbot Broadcasting CIC and provides a range of dance and alternative music together with information services, primarily for 11-25 year-olds, from studios in the Water...
- ChartChartA chart is a graphical representation of data, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart"...
radio with specialist programmes throughout the week
- Nation Radio
- CarmarthenshireCarmarthenshireCarmarthenshire is a unitary authority in the south west of Wales and one of thirteen historic counties. It is the 3rd largest in Wales. Its three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford...
- Radio Carmarthenshire - local news, broad music and information service
- PembrokeshirePembrokeshirePembrokeshire is a county in the south west of Wales. It borders Carmarthenshire to the east and Ceredigion to the north east. The county town is Haverfordwest where Pembrokeshire County Council is headquartered....
- Radio PembrokeshireRadio PembrokeshireRadio Pembrokeshire is an independent local radio station located in Narberth, Pembrokeshire, Wales.- History :The prelude to Radio Pembrokeshire was Haven FM, which broadcast on 107.0 MHz from a small makeshift studio at Bethany Chapel in Pembroke Dock during the summer of 1999...
- locally orientated music, news and information station for adults in the area
- Radio Pembrokeshire
Newspapers and news magazines
Unlike ScotlandScottish media
Scottish media has a long and distinct history. Scotland has a wide range of different types and quality of media.-Television:BBC Scotland runs two national television stations...
and Northern Ireland
Media in Ireland
The media in Ireland include all the media and communications outlets of any other developed nation.-Press freedom:Ireland has freedom of the press enshrined in its constitution. The NGO group Reporters sans frontières named Ireland in joint first position in their "Worldwide press freedom index"...
, the Welsh national press is limited. The only Wales-based national newspaper is the Western Mail, produced by Trinity Mirror
Trinity Mirror
Trinity Mirror plc is a large British newspaper and magazine publisher. It is Britain's biggest newspaper group, publishing 240 regional papers as well as the national Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and People, and the Scottish Sunday Mail and Daily Record. Its headquarters are at Canary Wharf in...
. Its Sunday counterpart is the Wales on Sunday. When Wales won the Six Nations
Six Nations Championship
The Six Nations Championship is an annual international rugby union competition involving six European sides: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....
Grand Slam
Grand Slam (Rugby Union)
In rugby union, a Grand Slam occurs when one team in the Six Nations Championship manages to beat all the others during one year's competition...
in 2005 the Wales on Sunday almost doubled its sales.
One study in the 1990s found that the most-widely read newspaper in Wales was The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
. Despite the popularity of London-based newspapers in Wales, most UK newspapers do not produce regional copies for the Welsh audience, although up until 2003 The Mirror was branded as the Welsh Mirror. Since the 1970s, there has been a decline in the number of Fleet Street
Fleet Street
Fleet Street is a street in central London, United Kingdom, named after the River Fleet, a stream that now flows underground. It was the home of the British press until the 1980s...
newspaper journalists based in Wales; now all national UK newspapers rely on the Press Association
Press Association
The Press Association is the national news agency of the United Kingdom and Ireland, supplying multimedia news content to almost all national and regional newspapers, television and radio news, as well as many websites with text, pictures, video and data content globally...
reporter in Wales.
The most popular local newspapers are the Cardiff-based South Wales Echo
South Wales Echo
The South Wales Echo is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Cardiff, Wales and distributed throughout the surrounding area.The newspaper was founded in 1884 and was based in Thomson House, Cardiff city centre. It is published by Media Wales Ltd , part of the Trinity Mirror group...
, the Swansea-based South Wales Evening Post
South Wales Evening Post
The South Wales Evening Post is a tabloid daily newspaper that distributed in South West Wales. The paper has three daily editions - Swansea, Neath and Port Talbot and Carmarthenshire and is published by South West Wales Publications, part of the Northcliffe Media group. The current editor is...
, and the Newport-based South Wales Argus
South Wales Argus
The South Wales Argus is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Newport, south Wales. The Argus is distributed in Newport and the historic area of Monmouthshire....
. The North Wales
North Wales
North Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...
edition of the Liverpool Daily Post
Liverpool Daily Post
The Liverpool Daily Post is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is published Monday to Friday and is published in Merseyside, Cheshire, and North Wales editions, and is a morning paper...
is distributed in that region. The Evening Leader is the main evening newspaper for North East Wales. A Welsh-language daily newspaper, Y Byd
Y Byd
Y Byd was an attempt to launch the first Welsh language daily newspaper. It was scheduled to be published five days a week, from Monday to Friday, as of Monday 3 March 2008...
, was planned to launch in Spring 2007, but it failed to publish due to a lack of funding.
Planet, a bi-monthly magazine covering the arts, literature and politics in Wales and the wider world, is produced in Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth is a historic market town, administrative centre and holiday resort within Ceredigion, Wales. Often colloquially known as Aber, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol....
. Each edition features poems and short stories alongside cultural reviews and political analysis.
A Welsh edition of the Times Educational Supplement
Times Educational Supplement
The Times Educational Supplement is a weekly UK publication aimed primarily at school teachers in the UK. It was first published in 1910 as a pull-out supplement in The Times newspaper. Such was its popularity that in 1914, the supplement became a separate publication selling for 1 penny.The TES...
, called TES Cymru, dedicates a number of pages of coverage to the country's devolved education system, with a reporter based in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
.
Your Wedding Day is the biggest bridal magazine in Wales.
Zines
There are a large number of specialist zines produced in Wales, including Gagged! the South Wales anarchist newsletter, The Free Flyer the free paper for "BreconBrecon
Brecon is a long-established market town and community in southern Powys, Mid Wales, with a population of 7,901. It was the county town of the historic county of Brecknockshire; although its role as such was eclipsed with the formation of Powys, it remains an important local centre...
, Builth, Crickhowell
Crickhowell
Crickhowell is a small town in Powys, Mid Wales.-Location:The name Crickhowell is taken from that of the nearby Iron Age hill fort of Crug Hywel above the town, the Welsh language name being anglicised by map-makers and local English-speaking people...
, Hay on Wye, Llandovery
Llandovery
Llandovery is a market town in Carmarthenshire, Wales, lying on the River Tywi and the A40 road.The town is served by Llandovery railway station, where there is a park and ride to Llanelli and Shrewsbury via the Heart of Wales Line...
, Llandrindod, Llanwrtyd
Llanwrtyd
Llanwrtyd – "Gwrtyd's church" – is a rural parish in Powys, mid-Wales, through which flows the River Irfon.The parish church of St David dates from the 11th century and is surrounded by scattered farms...
, Talgarth
Talgarth
Talgarth is a small market town and community in southern Powys , Mid Wales, with a population of 1,645. Notable buildings in the town include its 14th-century parish church and 13th century Pele Tower, located in the town centre, now home to the Tourist Information and Resource Centre...
and Rhayader
Rhayader
Rhayader is a market town and community in Powys, Mid Wales. It has a population of 2,075, and is the first town on the banks of the River Wye, from its source on the Plynlimon range of the Cambrian Mountains....
", and the 'Cambrian snooze' newsletter in Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth is a historic market town, administrative centre and holiday resort within Ceredigion, Wales. Often colloquially known as Aber, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol....
.