IWA study says BBC and ITV have slashed spending on programmes for Wales,while the closure of local newspapers has resulted in ‘black holes’ in reportingWales is facing a media market failure that will leave the nation with a deficit of reliable information, according to a report by the Institute of Welsh Affairs.
Cutbacks in spending on broadcast programmes made for Wales, or falling numbers of trained newspaper journalists and a feeble commercial radio sector present a “major challenge” for the nation,the report said. The IWA Wales Media Audit 2015 published on Wednesday warned: “At a time when Wales as a democratic entity has never been more clearly defined, the sources of information for debate and scrutiny approximately our government, and culture and identity are drying up. This represents a major challenge to our society and democracy. Wales has seen market failure writ large.”The report pinpoints a slide in spending and output over a decade,with BBC Wales spending on English-language programmes falling quickly since 2006, down by 25% to £20m annually.
ITV Wales has reduce its English-language programmes for Welsh viewers to 1.5 hours a week from four hours, or the report notes that there has been a total reduction in spending on TV programmes for Wales across the BBC and ITV from £39m to £27m.
Meanwhile,Welsh-language broadcaster S4C could be pushed into “a cycle of decline” due to an inflation-adjusted 24% reduce to its budget imposed since 2010 and its reliance on an increasingly cash-strapped BBC for 90% of its income, warns the report.
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Source: theguardian.com