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Hyperlocals join forces to increase political coverage

Two hyperlocal publishers have agreed a syndication deal which will allow them to boost coverage of political news affecting their patches.

Wrexham.com and Deeside.com have teamed up with Senedd Home, a political news website which covers the Welsh Assembly, to allow the two North Wales-based sites to bring their readers more news from Cardiff.

The deal comes 18 months after the publication of a report by the Assembly’s digital news and information task force, which said the Senedd must “look beyond the fragmented media in Wales to better communicate its work to a wider audience and address the democratic information deficit”.

The first syndicated stories were published by Wrexham.com and Deeside.com, which are both members of the Independent Community News Network, on Wednesday 23 January.

The Senedd, in Cardiff

The Senedd, in Cardiff

Senedd Home’s Owen Donovan said: “The chance to work with Wrexham.com and Deeside.com – two of the largest independent news sites in Wales – is too good an opportunity to turn down.

“Senedd Home has been praised for the accuracy and consistency of its output, but when you’re dealing with politics alone it’s always going to limit your potential audience. I’ve often had to go out and tell people that the site actually exists, but once they read it they usually stick around and I have a loyal audience.

“Syndication makes sense. I do the grunt work that hyperlocals might not have the time or resources to do; in turn it broadens their news coverage and boosts coverage of Welsh politics in places which perhaps don’t give a second thought to the Senedd.”

Owen added that he hoped other independent news sites and hyperlocals may consider similar arrangements should the scheme prove “a success”.

Rob Taylor, from Wrexham.com, said: “We always want to cover Cardiff Bay but do not have the resources, so we are using what we have got to help inform readers up here as well as supporting a fellow independent venture in Wales.

“There has been lots of talk over more Senedd coverage, but as is usual that goes on while people get on and do it. Owen’s work over the years speaks for itself and we are delighted he was open to the arrangement and look forward to working with SeneddHome.com.”

James Sheppard, from Deeside.com, added: “The Assembly, or likely soon renamed as Parliament, has more of an impact on the people of Wales than ever before but awareness of the work there is terrible. Up here in North Wales things are made worse with easier consumption of English television channels, and ‘Welsh’ media often owned and directed from England.

“We are looking to build genuine relationships with people motivated by the old school thinking of wanting to shine lights and inform, and we hope the new agreement will be a genuine win for all concerned.”

2 comments

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  • February 4, 2019 at 11:50 am
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    nice try but my guess is most people find politics boring

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  • February 4, 2019 at 1:16 pm
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    Good luck with this partnership. Teaming up in this way appears to be a sensible approach to me – I hope it works out.

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