Euro elections and a media meltdown

Betsan Powys reflects on last night’s European election hustings – organised by the IWA – on her blog. She has chosen to focus on the row over the three out of four of the Welsh Conservatives’ candidates who apparently do not live in Wales. This debate was first aired in the Western Mail last weekend.

Above the media talk and party squabbles the theme of this election is likely to be voter ‘apathy’ – whether real or stirred up. Meanwhile there should be considerable concern at ITV’s move to ‘consolidate’ its Wales, Granada and Central operations. ITV Wales has now lost Elis Owen, who did his best in difficult circumstances and who could have escaped ITV Wales much earlier for more comfortable media climes elsewhere. And while the devolution process is transferring more responsibility towards Wales, the continued centralisation of media operations in Wales (as we saw with Trinity Mirror earlier this year) is making effective scrutiny of this process more difficult than ever.

Nick Morris is the IWA's Research Officer.

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