The ''Western Mail'' is a daily

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, spor ...

published by Media Wales Ltd in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

owned by the UK's largest newspaper company, Reach plc. The Sunday edition of the newspaper is published under the title ''Wales on Sunday''. It describes itself as "the national newspaper of Wales" (originally "the national newspaper of Wales and

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, wit ...

"), although it has a very limited circulation in

north Wales North Wales ( cy, Gogledd Cymru) is a regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders Mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, ...

. The paper was published in

broadsheet A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long vertical pages, typically of . Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner and tabloid–compact formats. Description Many broadsheets measure roughly ...

format until 2004, when it became a

compact Compact as used in politics may refer broadly to a pact or treaty; in more specific cases it may refer to: * Interstate compact * Blood compact, an ancient ritual of the Philippines * Compact government, a type of colonial rule utilized in Britis ...

. It has an average circulation of 7,177 down from over 40,000 in 2007.

History

The ''Western Mail'' was founded in

in 1869 by

John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute, (12 September 1847 – 9 October 1900) was a landed aristocrat, industrial magnate, antiquarian, scholar, philanthropist, and architectural patron. Succeeding to the marquisate at the age ...

as a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

penny daily paper designed to promote the Marquess' political aspirations.

Henry Lascelles Carr Henry Lascelles Carr (1841 – 5 October 1902), known as Lascelles Carr, was a British newspaper proprietor and businessman. Born in Yorkshire, Carr relocated to South Wales where he became a journalist. Carr became editor of the '' Western Ma ...

(1841–1902), editor since 1869, bought the paper with Daniel Owen in 1877. Under Carr, and later William Davies, the paper became influential in Wales. Historically in

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

the ''Western Mail'' has always been associated with its original owners, the

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

and

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in ...

industrialist A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through per ...

s. Often this led to the paper being regarded with a considerable degree of enmity, especially during the strikes in the coal industry of the 20th century. This association between newspaper and its owner was so strong there is still a degree of distrust of the paper in South Wales. In contrast, and particularly following

devolution Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories ...

, the newspaper has adopted a populist, localist, pro-Wales stance, mainly in trying to find a Welsh focus on major news stories. The newspaper has also stressed the community issues such as the closure of

Welsh schools This article provides an overview of education in Wales from early childhood to university and adult skills. Largely state funded and free-at-the-point-of-use at a primary and secondary level, education is compulsory for children in Wales aged f ...

. The newspaper devotes a great deal of its coverage to Welsh rugby. In the mid 50s, journalist David Cole (1928–2003) became editor at the age of only 27, the youngest editor of a UK daily newspaper at the time. He was later awarded a CBE for services to journalism and became chairman of Western Mail and Echo Ltd. In the 1950s, Donald Woods, who later participated in the

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

n anti-apartheid movement and who publicised the events surrounding the secret death of activist

Steve Biko Bantu Stephen Biko (18 December 1946 – 12 September 1977) was a South African anti-apartheid activist. Ideologically an African nationalist and African socialist, he was at the forefront of a grassroots anti-apartheid campaign known ...

, was employed as a reporter.

References

External links

* - Media Wales Website of the ''Western Mail'' {{Economy and Industry of Cardiff Western Mail Publications established in 1869 Companies based in Cardiff 1869 establishments in Wales Daily newspapers published in the United Kingdom Newspapers published by Reach plc

History

See also

References

External links