Books Council of Wales to fund two Welsh-language digital news services from April 2022
Wales will have more dedicated Welsh-language digital news channels from April 2022 as the Books Council of Wales announces the recipients of the digital news service funding for the next 4 years.
Golwg 360 and Corgi Cymru will each receive annual funding of £100,000 under the new agreement, which will run from April 2022 until March 2026.
The grants were awarded following an open tender process, which invites applications for the delivery of a dedicated Welsh-language digital news service. The grant is administered by the Books Council of Wales on behalf of Welsh Government, with an independent panel awarding the funding.
Helgard Krause, Chief Executive of the Books Council, said: “The purpose of the grant is to enable Welsh-language news provision that makes a significant contribution to the quality and range of journalism in Wales, with the ultimate aim of increasing the number of people, especially young people, who engage with news through the medium of Welsh.
“Both companies presented exciting and distinct proposals to the independent grants panel about how they would deliver high-quality news services that will appeal to readers across Wales, with stories and content that are relevant, accessible and have a strong Welsh voice.
“We’re very pleased that we have been able to award grant funding to both companies and provide more choice than ever for people to access their daily news in Welsh through a variety of digital platforms.”
Owain Schiavone, Interim Chief Executive of Golwg Cyf, said: “Golwg is glad to have the opportunity to continue to offer a digital Welsh-language news service through golwg360.cymru. We have exciting plans for how to move the service in a slightly different direction, as we respond to what we have learnt about the audience since launching golwg360 in 2009, as well as the ways in which the world of news has evolved since then. We are confident in the ability of our experienced team to continue to provide the highest-quality service through the medium of Welsh in the years to come.”
Huw Marshall, Publisher of Corgi Cymru, said: “We’re grateful to the Books Council of Wales who have embraced our vision for a new Welsh-language digital news service that will target a new generation of Welsh speakers in post-industrial Welsh communities, as well as those living in more traditional Welsh-language communities.
“The investment from the Books Council of Wales will, hopefully, allow us to develop a commercially viable service in the Welsh language and add plurality to the Welsh media landscape.”
You can follow news from Golwg 360 at Golwg360 – Newyddion, materion cyfoes, chwaraeon a chelfyddau – y diweddara yn ddi-dor yn y Gymraeg.
Corgi.Cymru will launch on 25 April 2022. You can follow news from Corgi at:
www.corgi.cymru
Facebook.com/corgicymru
Instagram.com/corgicymru
https://www.tiktok.com/@corgicymru
