Swansea Bay news media support

Fantastic news from Port Talbot. Support is growing for a hyperlocal community news and information service.

The town lost its 84-year-old weekly newspaper to the recession a year ago but now the community seems determined to fight back.

After 12 months of hard graft by a determined squad of volunteer journalists - all solid, experienced professionals in their field - a key meeting was held in Blanco's Hotel on Wednesday night.

Influential

It brought together some influential and community-minded individuals impressed by the vision for a new breed of current affairs platform.

Local News Port Talbot already has an embryonic website but its members would like it to be a lot more than that.

At Blanco's they were delighted to greet Meyrick Sheen (Michael's dad), Barry Kirk (Captain Beany), Adele and Catrin from National Theatre Wales, Andy Williams of the Cardiff School of Journalism, local photographer and journalist Peter Knowles, and Port Talbot sports reporter Robert Clement.

Supportive

Everyone was supportive of the proposal and several made specific pledges of help and support. In particular, Peter Knowles is prepared to provide pictures and stories which would link with his own website.

Barry Kirk offered to provide a regular column. Andy Williams indicated that the School of Journalism would be happy to second students to contribute to the newsgathering process.

Spirit lives on as the Swansea Bay media tackles bullies

They've come in for stick over the past few years, but newspapers driven by the public sector do have their place.
Take Neath Port Talbot's Community Spirit.
Since late last year, this Welsh county borough has had no local weekly newspaper it can call its own. The Neath and Port Talbot Guardians fell to the recession, the Swansea-based South Wales Evening Post keeps up a strong sales presence and then there's the Post's free weekly insert The Courier.
Ad-based periodicals such as the Community magazines, Neath Gnolledge and Valley View have also taken a foothold.
But there's no getting away from the fact that some people in the great, historic towns of Neath and Port Talbot are feeling a little short-changed by the media.
Spirit fills a small part of the hole.
It's published quarterly by a consortium led by the local council and also featuring the police, fire service, health trust, health board, Environment Agency, the Council for Voluntary Service and Neath Port Talbot College.
In that sense, it differs from Swansea's The Leader and Carmarthenshire's Community News, both wholly created by the areas' respective councils.
Of course, there's little in the way of "negative" news in Spirit, put together largely by the council's Emma Gray.
However, serious issues are tackled.
The current issue - datelined spring - has a four-page pullout titled Beat The Bullies. It carries advice and guidance from the Neath Port Talbot Anti-Bullying Partnership and points out that even big names such as Charlotte Church, Chris Needs, Nigel Owens, Sarra Elgan and Colin Jackson have suffered bullying in the past.
This is a fine use of any newspaper and Community Spirit deserves praise for using its resources in this way.
Media Master hopes that this anti-bullying initiative bears fruit.

Swansea Bay media new kid: Councillors briefed

Interesting times in Port Talbot. Councillors have been invited to a meeting to hear about plans for a not-for-profit local news cooperative.
It takes place in the Bevin Avenue premises of social regen body New Sandfields Aberavon (NSA) on the evening of Monday, March 8.
Local News South Wales is a social enterprise established to provide news, information and training.
The board of seven directors - all professional journalists - is eager to brief Neath Port Talbot Council elected representatives at the get-together in their office loaned by NSA.
Market research has started and will establish what the townsfolk seek. Wise money is on a hybrid offering, with the younger residents probably seeking an online offering, their older neighbours probably seeking a print element.
Early feedback from councillors, AMs and MPs has been warm, with most citing a need for hyper-local content since last year's recessionary demise of local paper the Port Talbot Guardian.
Other grassroots media taking root within the Neath Port Talbot county boundaries in recent years has included youth sector community radio station Afan FM, a string of proudly low-tech advertising vehicles under the Community Magazine banner, and attractive, glossy advertorial titles Valley View and Neath Gnolledge.
All are chipping away at commercial and editorial content below the Radar of the area's media big boys such as the South Wales Evening Post, Swansea Sound and BBC Cymru Wales.
Media Master will follow the progress of all with interest.