Photo: The old Carmarthen Journal newspaper offices on king Street in Carmarthen, which closed in 2018.
Member of the Senedd for Sir Gaerfyrddin and Culture Committee member, Gareth Beer MS, has responded to the Welsh Government’s Ministerial Statement on the Future of Media in Wales by calling for an end to legacy print monopolies and an urgent modernisation of statutory public notice rules.
While the Welsh Government outlined plans to expand state grant funding for media, concerns remain that legacy print publishers, many of which refuse to publish audited print circulation figures, continue to hold a monopoly on lucrative public notices and local authority advertising due to antiquated legal definitions.
Organisations such as the Independent Community News Network (ICNN) and Press Gazette have long highlighted that independent online news platforms generate substantial local readership and engagement but are locked out of statutory public notice revenue.
Speaking following the Senedd statement, Gareth Beer MS said:
‘For too long, legacy print titles have held a monopoly over public notice revenue while remaining reluctant to publish true reader figures for their paper copies. Meanwhile, modern independent digital news sites in Sir Gaerfyrddin attract huge local engagement yet are denied access to public advertising due to outdated legal definitions.
The Welsh Government and our local authorities must create a genuine level playing field, as urged by the ICNN and industry campaign groups. Public notices and tax-funded advertising should follow actual readership and engagement, not outdated print monopolies. I will be calling on the Minister to modernise these rules and deliver fair access for independent digital publishers.’
Gareth Beer MS will be pressing the Cabinet Minister in upcoming committee sessions to address public notice modernisation and advertising equity across West Wales.
