TALKING WALES

Building trusted news and information services

La entidad en datos

Principal actividad: Public Interest News Provision
Año de creación: 2023
Personalidad jurídica: Community Benefit Society
Número de personas trabajadoras: 3
Región/País en el que opera: Wales (UK)
Categoría: Cultural and creative industries

CLAVES DEL ÉXITO E IMPACTO EN LA SOCIEDAD

Talking Wales was incorporated as a Community Benefit Society in July 2023. It launched a pilot service to coincide with the UK General Election in May 2024 and the full service will start testing in June 2025.

Trust in news is at an all time low and public interest news provision is shrinking globally as the business models of legacy news com- panies fail due, in a large part, to the shift of audiences for news

to online. Trust is further eroded by the fact that the majority of news providers a private companies who exist to meake money for shareholders and owners.

Talking Wales is taking a different approach, from both a service and ownership perspective. We were supported by Cwmpas Wales in setting up as a cooperative, this means our audience and staff own the company and we as a service are accountable to our members, not shareholders.

A membership rather than a subscription allows people to feel invested in the service instead of paying for a service. Our editorial perspective and service provision is driven by what people are discussing not an agenda set by political parties.

Being answerable to a membership ensures transparency in how we operate as a business and editorially.

We discuss issues that matter to people’s daily lives, helping them make sense of the Wales they live in.

We are visible within communities, creating direct contact with the public and building trust.

Holding power to account and sharing public interest news, for free, with a wide audience ensures the strengthening of civil society.

DESAFÍOS ENFRENTADOS

Building a community and raising funds. Both are interlinked.

Developing trust with a community who are struggle to trust any news organisation has been hard. Likewise persuading people to invest, at a sufficient level has made it difficult to scale.

We are fortunate to be in a position now, finally, to access signifi- cant grant funding that will give us the time and space to grow the company.

ESCALABILIDAD Y REPLICABILIDAD

The business model we have developed is scalable and highly repli- cable. We are using the learnings from other cooperative news ser- vices in the UK, such as Bristol Cable, to develop ours. Where we differ is our use of technology. We make the best use of existing and developing digital technologies to deliver new services primar- ily in the audio and video spaces and at local and national levels.

I have been fortunate to be part of the Media Innovation Pro- gramme at the University of Central Lancashire, one of the leading exponents in the public interest news space in the UK. This has allowed me to research the business models of the public interest news space in the UK and examine how audiences interact with and are influenced by news. Digital News Deserts is the topic of my current Master’s studies.

Co-developing business cooperative models with an academic institution has been hugely beneficial, and I wish to explore this area further.

Our funding model allows for individual and corporate membership, enabling us to work with impact investors, companies, and organ- isations considering ethical investing as part of their investment portfolios.

In Wales and the UK, there is a marked difference from continental Europe; town centres are struggling largely because people do not live in town centres, and footfall has decreased due to the growth in online shopping. Our focus is on creating physical spaces where people can come in and discuss the issues affecting their daily lives and build a bond with communities, allowing them to see us at work.

This repurposing of spaces in town centres has enormous potential benefits for society and supports other businesses nearby by in- creasing footfall.

CONCLUSIONES Y MORALEJA

It takes time. Don’t rush things. Do thorough research and, where possible, seek support. In England, Co-operatives UK offers fantastic support, advice, and resources. In Wales, Cwmpas Wales serves the co-operative sector and provides both practical and financial support.Think about community engagement and how you will grow your membership. This is the most important aspect and an area we failed to focus on in our early days.

Remember, it’s a journey not a race. Make sure it’s a journey worth travelling.

SUARA

TAZEBAEZ