Democratic Deficit - Presiding Officer welcomes leading media figures to Pierhead in bid to ensure plurality in coverage of Assembly news
21 May 2013
The National Assembly for Wales’s Presiding Officer, Rosemary Butler AM, will welcome renowned figures from the media world to the Pierhead on Thursday, 23 May.
They will take part in the “Addressing the Democratic Deficit” event which will look at how the media covers the work of the National Assembly for Wales.
The day will be split into two sessions, both of which will be chaired by the former Director of Global News for the BBC and now the director of Cardiff University’s Centre for Journalism, Richard Sambrook.
In the first session, the panellists are Associate Editor of The Mirror, Kevin Maguire, former Assistant Editor of The Times Peter Riddell, and the Controller of BBC Parliament, Peter Knowles.
The second session will see a panel of Welsh newspaper editors discuss the role that our own domestic media can play in addressing this issue.
“Plurality in media coverage in Wales is a fundamental cornerstone of the devolution settlement,” the Presiding Officer will say in her welcome address to the conference.
“It is essential to ensure that the Assembly’s work is accessible and transparent to as many citizens as possible. It also facilitates robust national debate on the issues that matter to our communities.
“But there is a failure by the UK media to appreciate and relay the huge differences in approach to public policy, in devolved fields such as health and education, to its Welsh audiences.
“For example, research by Professor Anthony King and Cardiff University’s School of Journalism has noted that some of our leading UK broadcasters and news outlets default to an Anglo-centric position where issues affecting England-only are reported as though they apply to the whole of UK.
“The problem is compounded by the financial pressures faced by our indigenous Welsh national and regional press, which leaves many unable to resource comprehensive coverage of Assembly news.
“I believe we are in danger of sleepwalking towards a media landcsape in Wales where there is little or no plurality in the reporting of our political life – what future for the National Assembly for Wales then?
“That’s why I have called this conference today, to start the process of moving towards finding some real solutions.”
The conference will aim to explore:
Why broadcasters approach devolution in the way they do and how we can influence them to change;
How to get the UK press to reflect policy differences between the nations;
What are the main obstacles to raising the profile of Welsh democracy in our regional press?; and
The role new media platforms are likely to play in news and information sharing in the future.
That last point will be the subject of its very own session in the Pierhead on June 12, when Welsh bloggers and hyper-local journalists will take part in a discussion about their role in this debate.
Those interested in attending that event can book a place through the Assembly’s booking line on 0845 010 5500 or emailing assembly.bookings@wales.gov.uk .