PET(4)-06-11 p10a

P-04-336 A Welsh-language daily newspaper for Wales

Petition wording

We call on the Government to award a grant to the Welsh Books Council that would enable it to support and fund a Welsh-language daily newspaper.

Link to petition: http://217.140.46.80/cmo-assistantframeset.htm?previewurl=gethome/e-petitions/petitions_under_consideration.htm

Petition raised by: Ben Screen

Number of signatures: 37

Supporting information: We need newspapers in both languages to ensure that the Government can operate democratically. How on earth can the Government govern fairly, openly and transparently if the people who voted for it do not know what it is doing? How much coverage do English-language newspapers in England give Wales? How much coverage does the English-language press in Wales give Wales? The simple answer is: not nearly enough. This situation threatens the accountability of the Government in Cardiff Bay, as well as the mindset of Welsh people and their sense of Welsh people. As a result, a subliminal message is transmitted that permeates the thinking of Welsh speakers and teaches them that Wales is not big enough or important enough to warrant coverage from the mass media. That is why people disregard the notion of a Welsh-language daily newspaper. Britishness is what is offered in these newspapers, not Welshness.