During the last Welsh Assembly election, politicians quite rightly complained that Wales was in danger of losing its voice because of the lack of local media and the reliance on London-based output.
Well, today we face a serious attack on the amount of local media we have which will cause us to lose at least one radio station with a commitment to output from Wales and about Wales - and we all have a duty to stop this from happening.
It has been announced today that London-based radio company, Global, has agreed to purchase GMG Radio - the owners of Real Radio for £70million. This move will decrease the amount of Welsh news, sport and other local content on our airwaves dramatically and will cause us to lose a major voice in the Welsh media.
Global already has form in lowering the amount of radio it produces in Wales and it has not hid its desire to affect more cost-cutting in the industry by looking to possibly network Real from London, save for breakfast and drive time.
It is something they have already done in both north and south Wales. One of the UK's most famous local radio stations, Red Dragon Radio, was turned into Capital FM overnight and 75% of its output comes from a computer in Leicester Square. The same has happened to the once mighty Marcher Group of stations in the north; with an even tougher effect of wiping out both English and Welsh language local programming.
Aside from the Global group having no heritage in local programming, they also have no heritage in sports output. So it would be safe to say that the Real Sports Phone-In would be toast in Global's hands. This show, remember, is the only other challenge to the BBC Radio Wales monopoly on sports talk in the country, and is widely respected too.
Even if you don't subscribe to my view of the way Global works with local output, there is genuine evidence that this deal is anti-competitive. If Global are allowed to keep Real and the Capital/Heart stations, they will have the monopoly on ALL independent local radio choice in north Wales, and an excessive audience share of the local radio market in south east Wales.
Now, that isn't just bad for listeners, it's bad for a free market. It means they have a substantial chunk of the airtime sales market throughout Wales - it would be harder to find a bigger monopoly in UK radio.
So, people of Wales, it is time to act to save us losing another rare larynx of Welsh opinion. Please write to OFCOM, your AM/MP and the Competition Commission to stop this purchase from going ahead. If Real is for sale, it needs to be put in the hands of a company which has a track record of promoting local output on a local station. Or, it needs to be put in the hands of a Welsh business or people from Wales who understand what this audience deserves.
Now, don't get me wrong. I am not saying Real Radio is perfect. I know it has been criticised for its lack of Welsh Language output and also criticised at times for actually not being Welsh enough. But, their news bulletins are from Wales, produced in Wales with a high percentage of Welsh news.
They have a sports phone-in about Wales and most of the staff there are either from Wales or have lived here long enough to know more about this country than someone based in London.
If you are willing for a key part of our media to be run by a pre-programmed robot in Leicester Square, then please do ignore this blog. If you believe Wales deserves as many media outlets as possible run from Wales by the people of Wales, then please stop Global owning Real.
Thanks/ diolch
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