Welsh executive council statement on the closure of The National
The decision of the Book Council of Wales to give £100,000 of public money to fund Newsquest’s Welsh language news service, Corgi, is now under question.
Newsquest has closed its news website for Wales, The National, 18 months after it was launched. In 2017, the publisher repaid a £245,000 Welsh Government grant after a production hub the money helped set up in Newport was closed.
David Nicholson, NUJ national executive council representative for Wales, said:
“The closure yesterday of The National (Wales) diminishes further an already scarce media landscape in Wales. The NUJ calls on Newsquest to do the right thing for its loyal staff and pay redundancy pay despite, apparently, not being legally obliged to under UK employment law.
"That Newsquest chose to close the title on the day that Reach journalists took strike action is a sign that journalists will no longer subsidise these organisations paying vast sums to their directors and shareholders while expecting their staff to subsidise media operations.
“Newsquest’s closure of the National also calls into question the decision of the Book Council of Wales to give £100,000 of public money to fund the media giant’s Welsh language news service, Corgi. The NUJ has already raised questions about this use of public money and we will be seeking assurances from Media Minister Dawn Bowden that should Newsquest close Corgi that they are contractually obliged to pay back the public money.
“The closure of the National makes the work of the Welsh Government’s Public Interest News working party even more urgent to come up with solutions to the issues facing Welsh news. The NUJ remains committed to helping establish a media landscape in Wales that provides news and holds power to account.”
Reach journalists on strike in Cardiff (pictured). Journalists at Reach's newspapers and websites went on strike on Wednesday 31 August after talks to resolve the dispute over pay broke down in one of the most significant walkouts across titles including The Mirror, Express, Daily Record, Sunday Mail, Western Mail, Wales Online, Wales on Sunday, The Daily Post, Irish Star, the Manchester Evening News, Liverpool Echo, Bristol Post, Birmingham Mail, The Journal, South Wales Evening Post and the Live websites.