Concern at Closure of Aberdare Leader
November 18, 2008
Plaid Cymru Assembly Members Leanne Wood and Chris Franks have hit out at job cuts and the closure of the Cynon Valley’s Leader office in Aberdare by Media Wales.
Valleys based AM Leanne Wood said:
“My thoughts are with the workers who have lost their jobs; I sincerely hope that they can find alternative work soon. I am particularly concerned that we are seeing the loss of local offices. These distinct titles are well respected in the areas they serve and to lose a local office it will have a knock on effect on coverage.
Many people pop in to the office with stories for the paper won’t now be able to. This is little more than centralisation and a cost cutting exercise. There is a worry that losing an editor will be the start of a merger of distinct titles that serve their local community. I’m sure they’ll be cross party opposition to these moves. I hope we’ll be able to effectively campaign against these proposals.”
Plaid Cymru AM Chris Franks added:
“We know that local papers are most trusted by the public and are widely read. A recent survey found that 64% of people in Wales use local newspapers as a source of knowledge about politics and current affairs in Wales. With the decline in ITV Wales political coverage it will mean that less and less people will get Welsh news. We now are staring at a Welsh information deficit about how decisions are made. With a referendum on the way how will people get the facts needed to make a sensible decision?”
Leanne Wood has tabled a cross party statement of opinion regarding the cuts and Chris Franks has written to the Heritage Minister Alun Ffred Jones about their concern.
Add to Favourites
Filed Under Business, Local News, Politics
